Reasons to be cheerful?

So here we go. 2022. Covid-19 is still with us. There’ll be new variants and vaccines no doubt throughout the year.

We’re technically only a few years away from another General Election. All the while, the business of government continues. As I look ahead there are, from a Christian perspective, real challenges on the horizon and some opportunities as well.

I’m an optimist by nature. Not for me the perspective that thinks everything will just get worse and worse before Jesus steps in once again to rescue His people. No! There are tremendous promises attached to the growth of Christ’s Kingdom. All things are under Him, for the sake of the church. His power is undiminished and He reigns in that place of special honour, over the entire universe. As I reflect on these truths and the failures and the weaknesses of contemporary leaders here in the West, what an enormous relief to know that our King is so extraordinarily perfect.

So, what are some of the challenges I can see coming down the track? Are there reasons to be cheerful? In the spirit of James 4, prayerfully and carefully, let me advance the following.

The first challenge is the conversion therapy legislation due in the Spring. At the time of writing, the UK Government seems to be holding the line and insisting that freedom of expression must be protected. However, there’s no doubt enormous pressure from the ‘other side’, so we must pray, engage where we can, and support those who are advocating on our behalf.

The second is that there’ll be fresh attempts to legalise assisted suicide. Sadly, even in the church it’s not a given that believers will share the understanding that God’s word forbids the intentional taking of life in the type of circumstances envisaged by those who campaign for assisted suicide. In His mercy, the law has not yet changed. But with a Bill in Scotland and one lingering at Westminster, who knows how long that will remain the case?

Reasons to be cheerful

Whisper it, but there’s a growing awareness in the public square about the very real dangers posed by a radical trans ideology. Parents are waking up to the ways in which they can be sidelined by the authorities if their children express a desire for gender reassignment treatment. The issue has caused splits within Stonewall, the UK’s pre-eminent LGBTQ+ lobby group. Maybe this is the issue that will bring more people in the nation to their senses.

While the UK Government’s Online Safety Bill (OSB) will raise huge challenges, especially for freedom of expression, it will also, potentially, genuinely help better protect young people online. Just before Christmas, it appeared as if Ministers were finally prepared to reintroduce age controls to online pornographic websites. If this proves to be the case, despite taking years longer than it should’ve done, it would be a major win.

But the biggest reason to be cheerful is unashamedly theological. The great hope of the nation is not politics. It’s the good news of Jesus Christ. For all the pressure, we’re free from the sort of relentless persecution our brothers and sisters experience elsewhere. We are free, still, to herald the gospel. Churches are being planted. People are being saved. Let’s acknowledge, pray, and work for more! As William Carey said, let’s expect great things from God and attempt great things for God. That’s the spirit we’ll be taking into the New Year at CARE as we seek to influence legislation. May God empower us in 2022 and pour out His Spirit in great power.