Our first experience there was with the youth camp. It
was inspiring to
see the young people from across Scotland growing in their relationship
to God and to each other. Those friendships they develop at camp can
last a lifetime and often become the backbone of the Church in the
future. In fact, John and I were impressed with the unity and closeness
of the body of Christ in Scotland. The members we spent time with know
and support each other across the country. One of the reasons for this
may be because they are so outnumbered by the nonbelievers and their
message is generally rejected by a population that mostly has disdain
for organized religion. The whole country is a mission field.
When we
were in Dundee, I was handing out leaflets in the early evening on
Saturday and almost everyone that I talked to was intoxicated or on
their way to the pub to get that way. Many of the beautiful cathedrals
have been turned into restaurants, night clubs, banks, or pubs (see
John’s article). It seems
that organized religion has been so
violent and divisive in the past that people cannot get beyond their
national history to see the biblical message of love and unity that
Jesus taught and lived. I think that the lesson for Christians is to
preach only Jesus and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23) — and to
live as if we really believe it!Photo: Patty Gibson