Thought for the week - the Rev Paul Knight - Community

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Thought for the week - the Rev Paul Knight

The Rev Paul Knight, St Peter's Church, Birstall.

Published on 20/01/2013 10:00

This week Les Miserables has picked up its first awards at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles.

As people left the cinemas on Friday night they were reporting a fabulous film which was captivating and ‘spontaneous applause’ broke out at the end of most, if not all, of the showings.

The story begins when Prisoner 24601 comes to the end of his sentence and is released on parole, regaining his name: Valjean. I started thinking about our identities. The cover of a University Prospectus I saw recently declares, ‘Be a name not a number.’ But so often we are recognised, at least in part, by a number: a passport number, a driving licence number, a National Insurance number, etc.

Sometimes, even worse, we’re known by a description: vicar, doctor, manager, sales assistant, visitor with a badge to prove it. However we are so much more than that.

A prophet, living thousands of years ago, wrote that God says, ‘I have called you by name, you are mine. Do not be afraid, for I am with you.’ God not only recognises us by our name, is always with us and cares for us but also wants to help us to fulfil our purposes for him. My turn to see the film has yet to come but I only have to wait One Day More.

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