Christianity’s Struggle For New Beginnings

I’m reading a book with this title (above) by John Philip Newell.

The book has many insights into the struggle that we have to remain faithful to Christ’s call to follow in his footsteps.

One part struck me today – where he recounts a dream that he had. He dreamt that he was running for president of the United States, Barack Obama was also running. In the dream he was waiting to go on and be interviewed about his campaign and his policies.

He was worried in the dream about how he was going to answer questions about economics and foreign affairs etc. How was he going to be able to have clear detailed answers that would satisfy the interviewers?

In the dream he realised that he wouldn’t have those kind of answers. This is what he says “There I had my realisation. I knew what my essential stance would be on every issue. Yes of course, I would require all sorts of detailed assistance from experts in the various fields, but I knew what would guide me in every decision in the dream.

I realised I would decide every issue from the standpoint of how it would affect all of us. I would ask not what is best for us alone – for our class, nation,, species – but what is best for the whole and for the relationship between all things – for every class, nation and species. The same would apply on every issue. The heart of the matter was profoundly straightforward.