The Jews, wrote Jonathon Sacks, had a history longer and more remarkable than most. They were the first to find God in history and to see it as a coherent narrative rather than a random sequence of events. In fact, no people have ever insisted more firmly that history has a purpose and humanity has a destiny.

But for all that, he says, classical Hebrew had no word for history. Judaism organised itself around the concept of memory rather than history. Consequently, what happened to their ancestors formed part of their experience and was their life-story too. They understood their past as ‘family history.’

But their ‘collective memory’ did more than remind them of their past. It showed them what God was like and what He expected of them. And in so doing it became a constant source of challenge and inspiration.

As a Christian, I would want to go a step further. I have been persuaded that the God who revealed Himself to Moses and through the Prophets finally revealed Himself fully in a man called Jesus, a man who died a criminal’s death, but was raised to life again some three days later, to the delight of his friends and the consternation of his enemies.

The apostle Paul believed this too, which is why he could write sometime in the middle of the first century AD. “This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Now this may give the appearance of being a simple religious statement that has nothing to do with the real world. But the very opposite it true. It is an incredibly challenging, revolutionary claim because it tells us that we have a choice to make. Will we accept or reject the authority of the man called Jesus, knowing that it means ‘walking the walk’ not just ‘talking the talk?’

It means being willing to challenge every cultural value and every social institution that distorts God’s world. It must include a determination to put an end to poverty, injustice and tyranny, as well as a willingness to reject the latest ‘norms’ if they contradict His teaching. As Jesus said, His expects His followers should to place His Kingdom and His righteousness at the very top of their agenda no matter how unpopular that makes them.

Given the size of the task, when the most recent surveys show that people of ‘no religion’ now outnumber professing Christians it would be easy to feel despondent. But that would be to forget the lesson of history which teaches us that God can do the most amazing things in graveyards, as well as through the most unlikely people.

The first disciples are prime examples of this for when they experienced the intoxicating power of God’s Spirit they were able to change the course of history and turn the world upside down. It need not be any different today. Christians often seem to be the most unlikely ‘movers and shakers,’ but experience shows that God has a habit of doing the most incredible things through the most insignificant of people. So watch this space.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]