Take a break!

It’s August! Does that mean holiday season for you? Of course it will be for some…but where and doing what?

Holidays mean all sorts of different places and activities – sometimes inactivity – and our preferences and choices are hugely diverse. Whether you are travelling this month, or staying at home, any break in our routines gives us a brilliant opportunity. We have a God-given moment to get perspective. Or perhaps I should say that we have the chance to get a renewed sense of who we are, who’s we are, and who we might become.

I invite you to step back from everyday tasks and burdens and to place yourself into the glorious divine perspective. It’s something we do week by week (or more regularly) in our worship but a holiday, or a break in our normal pattern of life, gives a special chance to do this. Seeing ourselves in a bigger context will, of course, be humbling and make us freshly aware of our frailty, yet it will also raise our eyes and our sights to the potential in which we have a share.

The invitation which Jesus gave to his first disciples is the same one he gives us who are the latest generations of his followers. It is to share in something greater and bigger than we can ever fully comprehend, and to do that by accepting our personal part in the community of the Gospel, the church, in building the Kingdom of God.

‘Take a Break’ urges the signs on motorways. Take a break this summer, whether or not you leave home, to regain your perspective on the beauty and privilege of being a follower of Jesus in bringing the Kingdom a little closer. See the opportunities as well as the challenges in your community, our nation, and the world. Looking more widely and more broadly gives a proper perspective on who we in the divine economy, and how we can serve both God and also other people.

Bishop Christopher Foster
Assistant Bishop for the Diocese of Bath and Wells