Thought for a few days

Martin Luther King said this: "The hope of a secure life and a liveable world lies with disciplined non-conformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and community." It's quite a thought, in a world which often feels very insecure and, for many people, almost 'un-liveable', because of fear, violence, hunger or despair. And it's all the more challenging because he invites us to be "disciplined non-conformists" - that is, people who are committed to living life differently. Not to be curiosities just for the sake of being different. Not so that we feel good about ourselves. But so that we live a kind of life which makes people ask, "I wonder why they do that, because it seems to make a difference." So in churches, we need to practise the art of non-conformity, to encourage each other to live differently - perhaps most of all, by showing that we are concerned for people who are different from us, not only for those who we easily agree with. G