LIVING in a nation that has been steeped in Christian tradition for centuries, it is, perhaps, easy to take for granted the message which has largely shaped life’s structures.

However, the true Christian gospel is utterly radical – and the more so for us today as we drift into secularism.

In fact, a Christian based moral structure without a vital faith in Christ at its heart misses the point.

For instance, Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

In an age when “my rights” are paramount, we find Jesus telling us that I should not be fighting for my own rights (although I might well fight for those of others). In Christ, I have no rights of my own; but when I entrust my life to him, He will give me everything I need.

Without the reality of a relationship with God, this has no meaning; but with such a relationship, it means everything – and I wouldn’t swap it for anything.