Time for Reflection

– in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 March 2011.

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Photo of Alex Fergusson Alex Fergusson None

Good afternoon. The first item this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Pastor Duncan Strathdee Jr of the Dunblane Christian Fellowship.

Pastor Duncan Strathdee Jr (Dunblane Christian Fellowship):

Good afternoon, everybody. First, I thank you for the invitation to lead time for reflection today.

We all have our own journey in life. I doubt whether any of us ever imagined when we were children that one day we would be in this amazing building—the Scottish Parliament, in Edinburgh. You are here making the decisions for the common good of our nation, and I get this chance to share these few moments with you. I think that’s awesome.

My journey began as a cute baby. To my wife, by the way, I am still that. Then I was a pupil, a student, a teacher, a headteacher, a pastor and now I am here. The funny thing is, we often describe ourselves as I have just done—by the things that we do or have done, rather than by who we actually are.

I have thought a lot about today. I woke up in the middle of the night recently, thinking, “The Scottish Parliament—that’s a bit scary”, but there was a passage from the Message Bible going through my mind, and it was this. Jesus said:

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth ... Here’s another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.”

My heart’s desire today is to honour you and to encourage you with this. You are a God-flavour and a God-colour. You are not just the colour of the party that you represent, which is good, but something that transcends that. You—the person, with all of your life’s journey’s experiences—bring something that no-one else can bring to this chamber. You bring something to this great nation of Scotland and to the people you come into contact with, directly or indirectly. You bring a hope for the future, and you bring justice to the oppressed and so much more.

The same passage also says this:

“If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?”

Whatever you do, do not lose your saltiness. Although some may not believe in God, God most certainly believes in us. The thing that makes a great meal is when you experience all the different flavours, and the best light is when all the colours mix together. History will record that I was here today bringing my colour, my flavour. That is quite nice, but more important is that history will record the flavour and the colour that you all bring to this chamber and this nation.

My prayer for you is that you are blessed in all that you do, and that God grant you the wisdom and understanding to bring the full flavour and the brightest light to our nation.

Be blessed in your deliberations this afternoon.