Over the next couple of weeks our two churches in Godstone will be distributing the Good News Newspaper to every doorstep in the village.
In the world of the media, the general principle is “bad news sells!”, so this is a tremendous opportunity to remind people that for every bad news story, there are thousands of stories of hope and grace that never get heard.
We are a ‘Good News People’, called to follow in the steps of Jesus proclaiming through our words and our lives the Good News that “God so loved the world…” that he set in motion a plan to redeem and restore it.
Recently I read a post by Beverly Greer that reminded me that we don’t have to succumb to the negativity and skepticism that bombards us through the news headlines. She writes this:
“Sometimes I just want it to stop. Talk of COVID, looting, brutality. I lose my way. I become convinced that this “new normal” is real life. Then I meet an 87-year-old who talks of living through polio, diphtheria, Vietnam protests and yet is still enchanted with life.
He seemed surprised when I said that 2020 must be especially challenging for him. “No,” he said slowly, looking me straight in the eyes. “I learned a long time ago to not see the world through the printed headlines, I see the world through the people that surround me. I see the world with the realization that we love big. Therefore, I just choose to write my own headlines.
“Husband loves wife today.”
“Family drops everything to come to Grandma’s bedside.”
He patted my hand. “Old man makes new friend.”
His words collide with my worries, freeing them from the tether I had been holding tight. They float away. I am left with a renewed spirit.
My headline now reads “Woman overwhelmed by the spirit of kindness and the reminder that our capacity to love is never-ending”.
We are set free to interpret the world differently than the headlines that compete for our attention. We are called to see people through the lens of the Kingdom of God. We are called to hope based on the promise of a better future offered to all.
The call on our lives is to write our own headlines of grace as a sign of that kingdom and that future. What headline have you written recently that does that? If you haven’t- don’t panic, there is still time today to write some good news… off you go!
– Phil
