Rachel Calvert, Chair of A Rocha France, reflects on the challenge of humility
“In humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Look to their interests” (Philippians 2.3-4). Assume the best of their motives. Be prompt to forgive as Christ forgave you, ready to overlook perceived slights. On paper, it sounds straight forward. But how hard it is to put into practice in the nitty-gritty of daily life!
Within A Rocha, we often we work with local and regional authorities and other environmental charities who do not share our commitment to Christ. But there are still many ways that we can work together for the common good, for the flourishing of local communities and of all God’s creatures.
Other organisations we partner with are Christians with whom we share a real proximity in terms of theology and church background. We have a shared understanding of mission and of gospel priorities. Others again are from different Christian traditions, with different emphases, different ways of understanding Scripture, and different ways of doing things. Some are perhaps not sure whether we are “real Christians”… and at times, the reverse can also be true! It’s not always easy to seek to understand and think the best of one another, whilst remaining clear and uncompromising on gospel essentials. And when tensions arise, it can be complicated to untangle envy and personal ambition from more noble motives.
I often find myself wondering exactly what Jesus meant when He sent his disciples out and told them to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10.16).
In Romans: Momentous News, David Cook writes of the Apostle Paul: “He is a man of generous spirit. He is not given to parochial interests. If God is at work, Paul prays for and supports the work. What a model he is in ministry in contrast to other examples of professional jealousy and territorial insecurity.”
Please pray for us, and for others involved in Christian ministry in France, that God would help us to grow in this area!
