The Greatest Showman and the Greatest Saviour

The Greatest Showman is a feel-good film with some very catchy tunes, many of which are played on the radio every day. Here is the first part of the story. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t spoil the ending.

Phineas Taylor Barnum had a difficult childhood; he worked with his father Philo who was a tailor. Life was hard and became even harder when his father passed away. Barnum tried stealing but wasn’t any good at it. He sold newspapers and did whatever he could to survive. The love of his life was a young girl called Charity, who was from a rich family. Even though their paths didn’t cross for many years, they kept in touch by letter. When Barnum had made enough money working for the railroad, he took Charity as his bride and lived in a humble flat. They soon had two daughters, and Charity was very happy, but for Barnum it wasn’t enough. He had tremendous drive to succeed, not allowing setbacks to stop him. He had, as the song says, “A million dreams”. Eventually, having obtained a loan in a slightly devious way, he bought an old museum, hoping to get people through its doors. Even though he was enthusiastic at sales, no one bought any tickets. His daughters said, “Dad, there are too many dead things in the museum; you need something that’s alive, something sensational!”

Barnum decided to recruit some unusual people to be a part of a show. Here are a few of the characters:

Charles the dwarf; the Bearded Lady; the Irish Giant; the World’s Heaviest Man; Dog Boy; Tattoo Man and Anne the African American trapeze artist.

All these people had been “outcast” - no one had ever wanted them. Now they had become a family working together, and suddenly everyone wanted to come to the museum/circus. Life was looking up, and for the first time in his life he was making real money.

Jesus, like Barnum, had a difficult start in life. His family was very poor and were refugees struggling to survive. When he began his preaching ministry he became very popular and everyone wanted to see him. He fed the hungry, made sick people well, even brought the dead back to life. He helped those who were sad to be happy, the anxious were given peace of mind, the bad were made good. His band of followers was a ragbag team of people who suddenly were made to feel very important. Everyone loved him, except the Jewish government, who were jealous of his success!

In the end they had him crucified and it looked like the end. But God had other ideas! Jesus was part of God and he gave his life for us, but he couldn’t stay dead. He came back to life with more power and authority than before. Now we can know his love, we can follow him, and he can help us overcome our struggles. He loves to reach out to people with low self esteem and give them real value and purpose.

This Easter, give Jesus a chance in your life.

R.I.P. Emiliano Sala

Sala was going to be the saviour of Cardiff City F.C. He was due to arrive on a small plane from France, but sadly, instead the twenty-eight-year-old footballer lost his life when the plane he was travelling in went down in the sea near the Channel Islands. Such a handsome young man with a bright future and suddenly it is all taken away.

The footballing world has had its fair share of aircraft tragedies, from the loss of the Busby’s babes in the Munich air disaster of 1958, to the more recent loss of the Leicester City F.C. owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who died in a helicopter accident while taking off from the football stadium after a match. It is a tremendous shock when these things happen, especially when people are cut down in the prime of life.

At the time of writing, Cardiff City have won their last two games, even without Sala. It maybe that the tragedy has somehow brought the best out of the team who desire to do well in his honour. Life in many respects is so fragile and every minute that we have is so valuable, and yet so often we waste time. The phrase, “One life - Live it!” comes to mind. You don’t have to own a Landrover to follow this motto!

Jesus Christ died in the prime of life at 30 years of age. So young. What a waste. Think what He could have achieved if He had lived much longer. Maybe things would have been different; maybe He could have conquered the world with God’s love, if only he had more time. To many, His life looked at best incomplete and at worst a failure. Here’s the irony. It was the manner of Jesu’s death that has affected mankind in every generation. So many people have found the meaning of life through His death. His death offers us a new start in life, with a new prospective, with new hope and purpose.

This Easter, think about Him who gave His life for us.

Receive from Him a new focus on life and follow His example.

May you all know God’s richest blessing,

Martin

Marriage - a noose or a blessing?

Forty years ago, I first went out with my wife Sharon. We married after a courtship of three years and four months at the ages of 21 and 19. At the time we felt so grown up! Now, looking back and having grown up children, I think how very young we were.

As I write this, I am aware that many relationships don’t seem to last very long. Even our own marriage went through some extremely rocky patches; but somehow, we have come through those times and our relationship is stronger than it has ever been. I have been trying to think what we have learnt over the years that is worth passing on.

Perseverance

There were many times when things were tough, when it would have been easier to give up than to carry on, but hanging in there during those times paid off in the end.

Being positive

It was very easy for me to focus on my partner’s shortcomings, but I have learned that if I concentrate on all of the good things about her, then my thoughts and actions are transformed.

Letting go of the past

This is easier said than done! We have found that with good counselling, positive prayer, patience and understanding of each other, we can be released from hurtful and negative experiences which try to control us.

Time

Life is often so busy. This tends to squeeze love and romance from the relationship. We cannot always drop things to make more time for each other, but making one another a priority and planning ahead to make sure we have some leisure time can make a difference.

Attraction

Many of the attributes that attracted me to Sharon were different from my own. Over the years the temptation was to try and make her more like myself! I am glad that I realised my mistake. The fact that she is different is why I fell in love with her. May she always be the person God made her to be.

The love of God

If it wasn’t for the amazing love of God we would have not got through. He has helped us to let go of hurt and to replace it with a deeper love for each other.

Wherever you are in life’s journey, commit your way to Jesus and don’t give up.