How long will the
poor, broken and abused struggle?
Glasgow City Mission will have its Annual General Meeting at
the end of May. In 1826 David Naismith established the first City Mission in
the world, right here in Glasgow. I often wonder how long he thought the
movement would be needed. We’ve got minute books going all the way back to
Glasgow City Missions inception, they are a fascinating read.
Glasgow has seen some great significant changes since those
days, improved housing, sanitation, welfare state and education. It’s no longer
1826 – and like many I’m grateful for that. Poverty looks a little different,
however there is still poverty in Glasgow.
Have you ever wondered why people behave, or react the way
they do? When you ask children when they are little, what they want to be when
they grow up, they don’t say… “I want to
be an addict” or “I’d like to be a
prostitute” or “Petty criminal sounds
fun”. Somewhere in our life we can either be given more hope or it can be
stolen from us. This junction can have a significant bearing on how we behave
towards others and society in the future. Once bitten, twice shy.
The state can and does provide better accommodation than
those in 1826 can ever imagine, it provides healthcare which would have been a
fantasy when Glasgow City Mission was established. However in a world of hidden
darkness and abuse, we still get to know men and women with horrendous
childhoods, which have robbed them of hope, and then they turn to
self-destructive methods of coping. If
we want to see an end to this form of poverty, we must eradicate the poverty of
hope! In its place the men and women we love and serve need to see and have a
hope and a future. [i]
As someone trying to follow Jesus, I’m convinced we’re
supposed to reveal something of this hope and future to others. We should live
in a way that reflects this hope, and gives others a taste of it. Will you join
us in praying for change and participating in it? Would you be willing to
befriend one or two people caught in a poverty of hope and journey with them to
enjoy of life in all its fullness[ii],
a life of the ages[iii]?
My children have fantastic dreams of the future. Children still
dream about flying cars and teleporting. My dreams for the future and much less
fanciful: I just want to ensure that in the next 188 years we see the end of
poverty. What are your dreams?
