Helen Tyte

The Sun and the Wind

On Tuesday Gav and I will be celebrating having been on Bermuda for four years. We were appointed to bring about change and help to grow the church, something that we are still very committed to. It’s part of our purpose, our reason, our mission here. As Christians we are all part of God’s mission to share the news about Jesus Christ, and welcome people to the church family. But how should we go about it? Thinking about this reminded me of one of Aesop’s fables:

The North Wind and the Sun had a falling out about which of them was stronger. While they were arguing, a traveller passed along the road wrapped in a cloak.
“Let’s have a competition,” said the Sun, “whoever is the stronger will be able to make that traveller take off her cloak.”
“Very well,” growled the North Wind, and at once sent a cold, howling blast against the traveller, trying to remove the cloak by force.
The first gusts of wind whipped the ends of the cloak about the woman’s body. But she immediately wrapped it more closely around her, and the harder the Wind blew, the tighter she held it. The North Wind tore angrily at the cloak, but all his efforts were in vain.
Then it was the Sun’s turn. At first his beams were gentle, and in the warmth after the bitter cold of the North Wind, the traveller unfastened her cloak and let it hang loosely from her shoulders. The Sun’s rays grew warmer and warmer. The woman took off her hat and mopped her brow. At last she became so hot that she pulled off her cloak.

We cannot force people to come to know God, or to be part of the church. But we can make it our mission to encourage people in with kindness, acceptance and love.