By the time you read this the
European Elections will be over (collective sigh of relief!) and we will no
longer be subjected to the bizarre party political broadcasts from fringe and
mainstream parties alike. It has become clear to me that far from seeking to
help the voter to a clearer decision making process, these programmes have
clouded the important issues – for all I know perhaps that’s deliberate. So we
have the party of ‘in’ or ‘out’; but equally there will be another party of
‘up’ or ‘down’ and then there will be the party of ‘round and round’. Am I not
taking this seriously enough?
Yet in that ‘in’ or ‘out’
argument I can find something a little more serious but not necessarily in the
way that the – well, let’s not become too political here… we’ll refer to them
as the Okey-Cokey Party; not necessarily in the way that the Okey-Cokey Party
intended. The argument appears to centre round the benefits of remaining in the
EU over the benefits, as seen by others, of getting out. Now it seems to me
that in most cases the force of the argument is driven by the way in which it
appears to benefit the individual – and some individuals would undoubtedly
benefit from ‘out’. Some would equally be worse off. The majority, however,
would receive little benefit either way. They are simply the battleground on
which the small group of ‘ins’ and the small group of ‘outs’ wage their bitter
campaigns. The winner is the side that can fool the most people in the middle
into thinking that their lives will be better if the ‘ins’ or the ‘outs’ are
richer.
And the argument is over what? An
organisation that exists almost entirely to serve itself? That is what some
say. Others say it is open to manipulation by those countries which have the
most financial and political muscle – or vulnerable because of the economically
weak member countries. And it is all based on human activity – the Way of the
World.
I’m still not being serious, am
I? Well, okay, here’s where it gets a bit more real. You see, I can identify
with the party of ‘in’ (but not necessarily the Okey-Cokey Party!), but I’m not
talking about the EU here. We may consider the EU, the UN, NATO or any other
organisation ostensibly formed for co-operative existence between nations but,
as with all human activity, they are limited by human understanding. But the
Kingdom of God has an ‘in-out’ requirement which leaves no-one in the middle
ground; it requires a response which involves a cross, but not on a ballot
paper. When Jesus died on the Cross he was voting for our salvation. ‘In’ is
the acceptance of the healing that the Cross offers. ‘In’ is part of God’s plan
to make all things new. ‘In’ is the decision for life.
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