GREATER LOVE HAS NO MAN THAN THIS …
written by the Team Rector, Revd. Gary Cregeen
November is often a month of
‘remembering’ - there’s the rhyme,
‘Remember, remember, the fifth
of November...’ and, of course, the
following week, we have an
opportunity to remember with
gratitude the courage and devotion
of those who through death, injury
or bereavement, suffered to bring
peace and freedom to our world; to
give thanks to God for His
deliverance of our nation in times
of war and danger; and to pray for
peace and justice, not least during
present conflicts and tensions in
places such as Afghanistan, Syria
and the Middle East.
War is a terrible but an inevitable tragedy. The Bible says we
should not be surprised when we
hear of wars. Jesus predicted that
this would be a feature of the
period between His two advents
(His first coming 2000 years ago
and His second coming sometime
in the future). This is what He told
His disciples: ‘You will hear of
wars and rumours of wars, but
see to it that you are not
alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to
come. Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against
kingdom.’ (Matthew 24 v.6&7)
It is no surprise to learn that more
people were killed in the last
century as a result of war, and their
own repressive governments, than
in all previous world history. It is no
wonder the 20th century has been
called a 'century of suffering.' As
the world has progressed
technologically, so it has
progressed in its methods of killing.
Thus, human sinfulness means
that war is inevitable until Christ,
the Prince of Peace, comes again at
the end of time. Yet, in a strange
way, war can draw out the best as
well as the worst in people, can’t it?
‘Greater love has no man than
this: that he lay down his life for
his friends’ - these words,
recorded in John’s Gospel, were
demonstrated in a true story I read
about some British prisoners of
war who were forced to build the
bridge over the River Kwai during
the last war. Many of these men
died in the process. They were
literally treated as slaves and made