Not everyone who goes through the Restorative Justice process "gets it". One man I knew was released in 2019 and back in prison within weeks after raping two more women. Another managed to stay out for several months before he too had his parole revoked and was back inside. Even those who want to change and do understand many of the principles they're taught find that life outside is too full of challenges and temptations. Old "friends" want to pull them back into a life of crime, family pressures build up and, with apparently few options available, even the best intentioned can fall. What seems to make the biggest difference between success and failure is a humble attitude and sincere faith in Jesus.

One man who was part of the very first Restorative Justice course I was involved with is a great example of this. Edward had been imprisoned for over twenty years when he was released in the middle of 2019 with no family support and nowhere to go but with a deep Christian faith and a clear understanding of the principles of Restorative Justice. He walked miles around Cape Town and beyond looking for a job with no success but filled in his time by volunteering in the church and community. He tried to restore relationships with his children and make sincere apologies to his victims, all the time trusting in God to provide for his needs and praying that he would be given the chance to help young men avoid making the mistakes he had.

It's hard to find a job in South Africa in the best of circumstances, even harder if you're an ex-offender. Often there'd be no money for rent or even food on the table.

Just as he'd been told he'd have to move out of the house he was staying in an opening occurred in a home for young men 18-24 who'd otherwise be homeless. They needed a caretaker, couldn't pay any wages but would provide food and board. It was an answer to prayer.

Beth Uriel House

Beth Uriel house (www.bethuriel.co.za) in Cape Town provides a home for young men who'd likely be on the streets and vulnerable to crime without it. They're given a family and opportunities for training and education. Of the few young men I spoke to two were training to be electricians, one a web-designer, another (rather optimistically in the time of covid) is studying tourism and others had completed barista training and were staffing the onsite coffee shop. The house is run on Christian principles and has a secure and happy atmosphere. Local supermarkets donate excess food and what's not eaten by the men each day is taken to the homeless who live under a nearby bridge. Edward's prayers had been answered.

Edward's house

He lives in his own small shed on the premises (22 young men make the main house rather noisy at times) and is uncle/father figure. The input he can have into young lives is invaluable - he's been there, made mistakes, done wrong and has come to realise what really matters in life. So many of the men who end up in crime and prison have no responsible man in their lives, no one to show them how to grow into a strong, humble and godly man themselves, no active father figure. They appreciate Edward, not just for his reportedly excellent cooking, but also for the love and wisdom he shares with them.

At the coffee shop

David the barista with one of his creations

Add-ons

 My husband loves getting add-ons for his web browser. They do all sorts of nifty things, enhance his "user experience" and add a bit of fun to his life without fundamentally changing what's going on.

How often do we look on Christian faith as if it's an add-on to our lives? We pick the bits we like - being forgiven, going to heaven, feeling loved, and ignore the difficult parts like loving our enemies, forgiving others, living the way Jesus wants us to even when it's hard.

Making the decision to follow Jesus is not an add-on to life, it's a complete change of operating system. Everything is different, even if it takes a long time to download, update and install properly

Don't give up

 I was admiring a vase of roses with a friend this week when she noticed they were dying. Time to throw the flowers away and replace them with something new.

She told me about a bunch of roses she once had. They died, but for some reason she didn't throw them away. Instead she kept them, regularly changing the water and waiting. After several weeks caring for a bunch of dead flowers she noticed new shoots emerging from the stems and a tangle of fine roots reaching into the water. What had seemed lifeless was growing once more.

How often do we give up on situations or people too soon? We think they're stuck in their ways and there's no hope of any change. We've tried to reach them for years or tried to alter a situation with prayer and effort but nothing seems to happen so we give up, stop caring, throw the flowers away and move onto something or someone new.

Sometimes it takes a long time for new life to show itself; many unseen factors have to slot into place. Sometimes we'll never know the effect we have in this world, but we should never give up hope.

Martha and Mary

Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but few thigs are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha knew Jesus just as well as her sister Mary did. She wasn't trying to earn her way to his favour by working hard to make the meal, she was honouring him in the way she thought was required. Her desire to make everything perfect for him can't be faulted but that impossible desire overwhelmed her. Instead of recognising she was attempting too much that wasn't necessary and then adjusting her behaviour, she looked for someone to complain about. Who better than her sister, shirking her responsibility to help in household tasks, taking the selfish option of sitting and listening to Jesus?

Mary knew Jesus loved her without conditions. She valued his company, his presence, and knew he valued her for herself, not her ability to provide a tidy house or well presented meal.

How often do we think that it's more important to serve than just to be with Jesus?

This isn't the same as trying to earn our way to heaven (an impossibility) but is there sometimes a touch of justifying Jesus' care for us when our time is consumed by doing things, good things, which keep us away from actually spending time with Christ? Are we trying to say to God, "See how useful I am. You'll be glad you've taken an interest in me." Are we trying to pay back a gift that is far beyond our price range? Are we using busyness to distract ourselves and avoid what is really important?

Psalm 18:19 says, "He rescued me because he delights in me."

That is a wonderful thing to think about. He rescued me, he wants me to know him because he delights in me. Not because he wants to use me or because he wants to increase his number of followers, but because he knows that I am (you are) unique and of intrinsic value and my (your) company brings him joy.

Of course we are called to serve and act, that grows naturally out of our love for God and desire to please him, but God doesn't need our service to accomplish his purposes. He invites us to get involved and offers us the exhilarating experience of playing a part in his plans. Yet what is best is to walk with Jesus, sit with him, be with him, listen to him and enjoy his company as he delights in ours.

When that is in place, everything else falls right.

God knows what you need

A friend of mine has had a difficult 18 months. She was assaulted by a work colleague whom she thought was a friend and, though he was dismissed, found her own position in the organisation was no longer bearable thanks to the attitude of leadership and some co-workers. For the sake of her own emotional, physical and mental health she resigned a few months ago in an attempt to leave that misery behind. Then lockdown happened. Jobs can be hard to find in South Africa in the best of times but the restrictions enforced because of covid 19 make it near impossible at the moment. She was left isolating alone without an income and few ideas of what the next step would be.

God never ignores the pleas of his children.

Instead of turning her back on God she called to him in her distress. He heard and answered, not waving a magic wand to make everything go away but showing her areas of herself that she should work upon, asking her to trust him, even through the valley of the shadow of death. There was no way round, she had to go through the experience but she would not be going through it alone.

Slowly her vision started to clear and she began to discern the direction God was pointing to her. She heard his promises. Her ideas and dreams became more concrete, centring around the skills and talents she has, but people kept backing away, coming close then changing their minds. Well-meaning relatives encouraged her to leave the town she was convinced God wanted her to remain in, to go back to her home province and get a menial job. On one hand that made sense. She was getting discouraged, she needed to pay the rent; the wind and the waves were distracting her, taking her eyes away from Jesus (Matt. 14:30-31) and she was almost ready to give up saying, "I feel useless."

That afternoon she felt strongly that she shouldn't go on her normal walking route but instead turn the other way. Not knowing why, she did. After a while she met an aquaintance from church who excitedly told her about the sponsorship she'd been granted from a local charity to pay the fees for cookery school. My friend had also felt that she should get more training, in her case in sewing skills, but had no way of paying for the classes. Here was a possible solution, she too could apply to the charity for a grant towards the fees.

She continued walking, her head full of ideas of a business using her marketing and business abilities combined with opportunities for other women to use their sewing skills, working together in a way that honoured God and provided a livelihood. Would that even be possible for someone with no support network or capital?

She came to a building and went inside. At the back was a woman with three sewing machines. This woman was living the dream that my friend had. It was possible, and this was the encouragement she needed to keep her going through the long slog ahead.

"Your Father knows what you need," (Matt. 6:8) whether that's practicalities, ideas or encouragement coming just at the right time.

Help me hear your voice Lord,

That still small voice cutting through the noise,

When I take time to listen.

Let me stay so close to you that all it takes

Is a whisper,

Gently in my ear;

Not the shout to one walking away,

But the quiet murmur of a friend,

Always by my side.

Bandwidth

In some respects people can be like old fashioned radios. Often not quite tuned into the right station, fuzzily not picking up all the details, easily suffering from interference which blocks out the message completely. We can chunter away in our own little corner, taking no notice of anything else unless it gets too close whereupon we explode into a crackle of painful static.

Some models have a wider bandwidth than others, a more sensitive aerial for catching nuances otherwise missed or ignored. Some have found one station and are sticking to it come what may.

I once read that one of the original meanings for the word "prayer" was to put out a net to catch what God wanted to send. I don't know how accurate that translation is but I think the image is wonderful. Whether you ask that your bandwidth be widened, your aerial reach high or your net be extra-fine and strong, may the message that God is sending your way be received without interference.

Vulnerability

The vulnerability of God lets something else in,

Something strange and unearthly.

The vulnerability of God confounds us,

Asks who we are,

What we want,

Why we're here,

And answers.

The vulnerability of God shouldn't be possible,

But it is,

In power,

At the Cross.

Noah

My daily Bible readings have recently taken me to the first chapters of Genesis. Today it was Noah and the flood (Genesis 7 & 8). The parallels between Noah and his family confined to the Ark as life as they knew it was changed inexorably and our current situation of lockdown and isolation struck me vividly.

Noah was inside the Ark for the best part of a year. He would have been conscious of the world drowning outside his place of safety, perhaps heard the cries of humans and animals as they perished with him unable to do anything to help. He would have felt the strange and scary movement of the Ark as the waters rose around it, been buffeted by the floods and perhaps even seasick. Could the windows be opened? Not at the start, surely as then the rains would have poured inside. Was it dark? It must have been smelly with so many animals but at least caring for them would have given the humans plenty to do (useful in the days before Netflix). Did they make pets? Teach tricks? Or just wonder what to do with the ever increasing quantities of dung. Perhaps they made well-fertilised vegetable plots, sowing the seeds of the food that was eaten, something to help them avoid scurvy.

Even release from lockdown was gradual. After the Ark grounded on Mount Arafat it took many weeks before the command to leave and repopulate the earth was given. There were even a few unsuccessful trial runs as the raven and the dove couldn't immediately find places to settle (I do hope their partners found them after the general release). Everyone and everything emerged into a new world.

The covid19 situation isn't as drastic as nearly all living creatures being wiped out but there is still a sense of the world perhaps changing, being reordered. Will it be? Will we remember the lessons we've learned about valuing human contact when it's taken from us once we're free to go out and be busy again? Will we take time to smell the roses or will we be so busy with "important" stuff that time speeds by: always so many things to do, so little time, and nothing accomplished that is truly, eternally, worthwhile?

The first thing Noah did was to thank God for his preservation. It took faith to sacrifice some of the few animals that were left. Wouldn't it have been better to postpone the sacrifice until the future looked more secure, the economy more stable?
Noah got his priorities right. He knew who had brought him through, who had given him everything, and who would see him safe into the future (whatever that might hold).

God was there, in control from the start, fully aware of the contents of humanity's heart ("bent toward evil from childhood" (Gen. 8:21)), but still unwilling to totally destroy his creation. Love is powerful. Love takes its time. We could do well to remember that.

Pride & Love

Followers of Jesus should be identifiable by the love they show; love whose source is God and whose effects are visible throughout creation.
Sacrificial, mindful, overwhelming, courageous, beautiful.
How often is this actually the case?
How often does our pride come between our intentions and verbal professions and the actions that show what's really important to us?
We try to disguise it, saying, I'm only using my God-given common sense and freedom of choice but at the root of it is pride, pride that says I know best; I'm going to do it my way and everyone else had better adapt.

In some cases we may in fact be better equipped intellectually and educationally than those making decisions. We see men and women advanced into positions of power and influence who have little talent, skill or insight but great greed, acquisitiveness and desire to promote themselves by the subjugation of others. Promotion beyond one's ability is not limited to any particular country, colour or race but is perhaps more obvious in times of difficulty when vital and swift decisions have to be made and information understood and digested quickly. Sometimes the decisions made make little sense and appear to owe more to a politician's pet hates than a considered policy but unless the law of the land goes against the law of God, as Christians we should endeavour to obey (Romans 13). This doesn't mean Christians should blindly accept authority. Test everything and speak out against what is unjust or could be improved, but do not break the law merely because it curtails what you want to do. We all experience laws that have no apparent justification or benefit and seem basically stupid whilst having a huge effect on the way we live. We see others ignoring them with impunity and think why do I bother?

Pride takes a lot of swallowing.

Surely I have a right to go out to work, meet my friends, wear or not wear what I want? The scientists don't really know what they're talking about. It's still mainly guesswork and why shouldn't my guess be as acceptable as theirs?

Sound familiar?

Christ asks us to lay aside our pride and fierce independence for him. To exchange them for the love which gives up everything and receives so much more.

In our present situation of lockdown for covid19 the human aspect is in danger of being forgotten. We want to stand on our rights, especially in countries where many politicians have done little to deserve the trust of the people, we can be understandably sceptical about the efficacy and unintended consquences of some measures imposed upon society but we must not forget love and compassion.

Following Jesus doesn't mean being a doormat and giving in to everything without thinking. It does mean putting him and others first, following his example in giving up our rights for others, conquering pride and making the choice to show love to others even in ways that may inconvenience ourselves.

Beauty

See beauty in the little things,

The purposeful waddle of a penguin

Who suddenly forgets where he's going

And stops.

The all-black lizard sunning herself
On a rock at the edge of the world.

See beauty in the big things.

Waves crashing with inconceivable power,

Sun rising with colours so striking

They make you want to meet the artist.

               The Artist,
     Who's made it all just for you,

For you, for humanity, 

For sheer joy in creation.

 

Cairns

Among the hills and mountains of Britain, sometimes in the most unexpected places, it's not uncommon to discover a cairn, a pile of stones built as a commemoration of reaching the top or just being there. Some are large and many years old, others small and much more recent but all have been built from little things, rocks light enough to carry and add to what others have started.

Most rocks seem insignificant. Of course occasionally you'll find one of beauty, an odd shape or distinguished colour, but on the whole they're rocks which are ignored and passed over; unless you trip over one it doesn't much affect your life. However, pile many of them together and you build something significant, each one adding to the effect.

 Every time we greet a person, say hello or smile at them, we're adding to their cairn. We're putting a rock on their self respect, acknowledging them as a being like ourselves, made in the image of God and worthy of respect. Even a small gesture  can build towards something bigger.

Renew my mind

It's an education being involved in prison ministry.
Today I went to my usual Friday Bible study at prison with nine of the inmates. The smaller number gives us chance to have a less formal structure; more tailored to individual issues and with less chance to hide in the crowd. After going through a book with true stories of how former prisoners found God, we're now working through the Gospel of Matthew using the SOAP method - Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. So many of the men abandoned formal education at an early stage and are vulnerable to the persuasive talk of manipulative preachers that it seemed a good idea to give them tools and practice in studying the Bible for themselves.
So far it's encouraging. Most men remember to bring their Bibles to the meetings, some are even equipped with notebooks which they use during the week and they're asking thoughtful and practical questions.
However, every so often an issue comes up that reminds me about how important is the renewing of our minds so we conform to heavenly, not worldly standards.
One of the men will be released in a few months. He's already said how he wants to be serious about following Jesus, he really wants to get a job and work honestly, not go back into crime or end up dead like many of his friends, and he is sincere in his desire.
Today he spoke about jobs on a ship that some of his friends know of. Men with criminal records have been employed and earn good money. The catch is he wants R5000 to pay for his record to be (illegally) expunged before applying for his honest job and it didn't seem to cross his mind that this would not be the best start to his life of going straight.
Sometimes it's so difficult to lift our thoughts out of their old worldly patterns and see the inconsistencies in our ideas, even if we think we're aiming at the right thing. We all need God's help to renew our way of thinking (Romans 12:2).