Sidcup and Old Bexleys Hustings
13 May 2010
It gave us great pleasure to host the hustings of Sidcup & Old Bexley’s parliamentary candidates, organised by Churches Together in Sidcup.
It was an impressive turnout, with well over 350 people attending, a substantial number of whom were from New Community itself. It’s great to see the church interested in politics: as Christians we are not called to hide away in ivory towers; rather we should be engaged with our culture and our society and this necessarily involves a degree of political awareness. We are called to be ‘salt and light’ (Matthew 5:13) in this world but we can only be as such if we know the world we are dealing with! It is only if we are aware of the issues that we can address them from a God-perspective, to help people, both Christians and non-Christians, to see the truth of the Gospel and apply it to their lives.
The evening was certainly interesting, with the candidates putting forth their views on range of issues, from the nation’s nuclear program, to the fate of Queen Mary’s hospital. The audience were also very forthcoming with a number of challenging questions for the candidates.
It is beyond the remit of this blogger to pass judgement on the policies espoused by the candidates, or indeed the results of the recent election. However, the result of a hung parliament does seem to indicate that we are living in a period of indecision and uncertainty. Yet as Christians, we put our faith not in worldly systems but in a God who is eternal, unchanging and sovereign over all: He does not need validation of His power in the form of sizeable majority in Parliament, nor does He need to haggle a coalition deal in order to secure his premiership!
With God there is no doubt: the security we have in Him becomes even more apparent when compared to the transient, fragile nature of the world’s governmental systems. It is so amazing to know that we serve a God who reigns in all circumstances and all ages: ‘Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.’ (Isaiah 9:7)
 
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