Thought for the Day
A one-minute read to inspire or challenge. Written by members of the church and updated every few days.
5th December 2025
“Christians are not distinguished from the rest of mankind either in locality or in speech or in customs. For they dwell not somewhere in cities of their own, neither do they use some different language, nor practise an extraordinary kind of life. Nor again do they possess any invention discovered by any intelligence or study of ingenious men, nor are they masters of any human dogma as some are.
“But while they dwell in cities of Greeks and barbarians as the lot of each is cast, and follow the native customs in dress and food and the other arrangements of life, yet the constitution of their own citizenship, which they set forth, is marvellous, and confessedly contradicts expectation. They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign.”
This letter to someone called Diognetus was penned by an unknown Christian in the second century. Already, Christians were having to sort out where their primary allegiance lay. To the Roman Empire? To their particular countries with their distinctive languages and custom? Or their city or village, tribe or family?
“Jesus is Lord” was the early Christian watchword. Their citizenship was in heaven, and this gave them a Spirit-filled freedom wherever birth, work or migration had placed them, to seek the welfare of their neighbours wherever for the time being they happened to live, and to respect all other countries on earth that people called “home”. Promoters of “Christian nationalism” today, take note!
Keith Clements
28th November 2025
Trinity Theology In the church’s history, the theology of the Trinity has from time to time caused major difficulties; for Baptists, for example, the lapse of many in the General Baptist tradition into Unitarianism. But thinking positively here is a helpful summary of Christian theology. Thus in God the Father we have God before us; […]
26th November 2025
Do you ever shout at the television? Of course you don’t! However, I’m afraid I do. I know there’s no point, but it relieves my feelings. What provokes this futile reaction is usually when I turn on the television to watch a particular programme only to be told to watch something else on iPlayer NOW. […]
21st November 2025
A few years ago when Merry and I were walking through a street market in Bangladesh, I screwed up my courage to attempt to haggle over the price of oranges. The sum asked of me, though undoubtedly higher than anything asked of a local, was very cheap by European standards, but I thought I should […]
14th November 2025
Younger members of our extended family rather like the idea that we have our very own “whomping willow” tree in the garden. This tree in J. K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter books is sentient and might attack you! On a windy day, as the … well … willowy… branches dance around, it’s not hard to see […]
12th November 2025
During this past weekend we had the pleasure of attending the wedding celebration of my schoolfriend Ian. Ian met his first wife at Tyndale; he came along with me and Jackie came with Jan Smith (now Kuhn). Jackie died at a shockingly early age. So here he was marrying the lovely Sue with the support […]
7th November 2025
If you think the rate of technological change is ever-increasing, then you are not alone. We had a technology conference at work this week and one of the recurring themes was AI – “Artificial Intelligence”. It was good to get past the media hype and listen to those working in the industry. The most insightful […]
5th November 2025
So there will be a public inquiry into Orgreave chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield. FORTY years ago, striking miners tried to picket Orgreave coke plant (fuel not drugs!!) near Barnsley and police brought in from the whole country tried to stop them. A pitched battle ensued with arrests and trials for affray etc and […]
29th October 2025
The royal visit to Rome last week was welcome. The pictures of Pope Leo and King Charles, Supreme Governor of the (Protestant) Church of England, praying together was a symbol of the overcoming of historic estrangements in a world where disunity and hostilities are all too evident or actually deepening. But there’s a slightly amusing […]
24th October 2025
When I was at school I was very fortunate. We had an assembly each morning which included a Bible reading, a hymn and the chanting of a Psalm. Once a week it was the ‘School Psalm’ – Psalm 121. Why that particular Psalm was chosen I never discovered. Nevertheless I think it was a good […]