Meeting of the Parliament
Meeting date: Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Official Report
797KB pdf
Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. The first item of business is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Pastor John Leitch of the Glenboig Christian Fellowship.
Pastor John Leitch (Glenboig Christian Fellowship): Presiding Officer and members of the Scottish Parliament, Luke chapter 4, verse 4 says:
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
You are all no doubt familiar with the statement, “Let’s do this by the book.” It generally comes up in situations in which people want to ensure that everything is perfect or there is no comeback, but I would like to reflect this afternoon on doing it by the Book. As a Christian, I refer of course to the Bible, which I believe to be the word of God. Even if you do not share my convictions, though, there is no reason why you cannot benefit from the wisdom, guidance and direction that it offers.
Our land was once known as the “land of the Book” or “Bible-loving Scotland”. We have a tremendous heritage and history, built on the principles of scripture. Much of our judicial system was based on the premises of scripture, such as the necessity of two witnesses to confirm a matter.
Many of our public buildings have scripture inscribed in stone. On the lintel of our libraries we read:
“The entrance to his word gives light”.
The original motto of my home city, Glasgow, was:
“Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of the word and the praising of his name.”
Likewise, Edinburgh had the motto:
“Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes in vain.”
Even Westminster bowed to the wisdom, with the motto:
“Guard the city O Lord.”
If we turn to our halls of learning, the same respect and deference is given to the word. The University of Aberdeen’s motto is,
“Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”,
and the University of Glasgow’s is:
“The way, the truth, the life.”
So we have good precedent for “going by the Book.” It still contains excellent policies for any society, covering social behaviour, justice, welfare, commerce and the uplifting of the poor. Its wisdom is classless, non-racial and available to whosoever will. It has value for the individual:
“Your word is a light to my feet and a lamp to my path.”
It has value for the nation:
“Sin is a reproach but righteousness exalts a nation”.
It has value for the world:
“God so loved the world he gave us Jesus who came not to condemn but to save.”
We could well benefit the nation if we would simply “do it by the Book.” Thank you for allowing me to share these reflections with you. May God bless your deliberations this afternoon.