We all have our own blinkers. We’re so used to them, we just don’t think of all they block out.
Years ago, newspaper headlines always said how many “Britons” were involved — as though the only people who mattered were “Britons.” After may years in parish ministry, I realise just how narrow, parochial in the wrong sense, my outlook has often been. I’ve missed all sorts of resources and refreshments, and blunted my awareness of gospel and kingdom.
God promised Abraham a blessing as abundant and far reaching as the sand of the seashore. The Apocalypse speaks of a time when all things are gathered together in Christ — the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. Therefore, as the great missionary pioneer and strategist Max Warren once said “It takes a whole world to know the whole gospel.”
Therefore we invite you to dive into these pages and make yourself “at home in the real world” — to open your heart and mind and imagination to all the richness, diversity and inspiration out there, and to identify and enjoy your personal share of the whole blessing God promised Abraham.
With every good wish and blessing
+Alan Buckingham
