Added Value....

Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

School League tables are a statistical minefield. On first reading it seems that its easy to determine which schools are doing best - it's obvious really, those which are getting the best exam results. But is it? The schools which get the best results seem to come in the most affluent areas so put crudely they have the best 'material' to work with, so they should do best. And of course this creates a scramble as parents buy houses in the correct post codes so their children can go to those schools.... But some commentators have started to look for other indicators in the tables. If the 'best' material was going to get an 'A' grade anyway, what value has actually been added? The best schools are surely those which turn 'D' students into 'B's....

So here's a thought. If someone on the outside was looking at my life, my journey with God and the way it has transformed my relationships, happiness and the like, what added value would they see? The satirist Terry Pratchett observes of religion "The gods.... these days they restrict themselves to things like grace, patience, fortitude and inner strength. Things you can't see. Things which have no value." (Reacher Gilt, Going Postal).

So I'm wondering what value is a faith which adds only things which cannot be seen? But I don't really agree with Terry about my God. I believe He wants to see communities and lives transformed by us being in relationship with him and each other. I believe he wants to see it, and that he shows it in lives all around the world. Things such as restored marriages, broken addictions, bodies healed are all visible and have real value. I believe that grace, patience, fortitude and inner strength, when they are truly present in a person, add real quality and depth to that person's life. And when they are, we can speak with conviction about what the Lord has done for and through us. A lot of people around us are used to measuring, of weighing up and comparing. They are used to making choices, and many of them ask of us 'What would following your God do for me?' Maybe we just need to be more open about the added value that comes into our lives, and the lives of our communities by being servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.