the white African & Mugabe

Tonight I was able to go and see the film.

'Mugabe & the white African'.

Make sure you do, too, if you get even half a chance. It's powerful, moving, stirring, disturbing. It warrants the accolades it's already been given. It should, indeed, be right up there on the short-list for Oscar Nomination.

Here, in the fairly immediate aftermath of watching the film - here, in headline form, is something of the impact that it had on me.

Pain. I'll get this over with first. I found it upsetting. I kept thinking - that's my family, those are my people.

There were tears running down my cheeks through the second half of the film. And part of the reason for that was the pain I felt for them. I know them. And I felt within my spirit the pain of the trials these folk have been through. I wept unashamedly for them.

Humility. It was humbling to see Christ in these ordinary people. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Which has everything to do with the tough business of living for Christ in the world of today.

If you've always wondered what 'the fruit of the Spirit' looks like, go see the film. You'll see it in Mike and Angela: you'll see it in Ben and Laura. It's all there. All of it.

Humbling indeed. Movingly so.

Pride. A rightful pride, I hope. Pride in the fact that here were my folk showing the way to the world.

How do you respond to dictators? How do you deal with oppression?

The western way has too often and too easily been to send in the bombs and exercise military muscle.

Too often we've thought the only alternative way is a passive submission or averting our eyes and hoping it all goes away.

Here I was watching the Jesus way. No meek lying down and letting the guy simply trample all over the land. But no angry, violent resistance either.

This is the way of the cross. Standing up for the rights of others. Standing up for the cause of truth. Standing up for justice when the rule of law has gone. Standing up for the poor and oppressed. But without any vindictiveness. Just real compassion.

And prepared to take the suffering which comes. Beatings and torture, losing all worldly goods, losing, perhaps, your own life.

The way of the cross. The way of Jesus. I was proud of these folk that they show to the world what it means that Jesus is Lord.

I was proud of my Gran who years ago on my eighteenth birthday wrote me a short, simple letter in which she quoted words of the prophet Micah.

"What does the Lord require of you but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

Proud that she'd pointed me forward like that. Proud that my relatives know how to live like that.

Proud of my Lord, that he's shown us the best way to live.

Gratitude. Gratitude for Mike and Angela and the way they've lived their lives on the basis of their confidence in Christ.

Gratitude for Ben and Laura and their warm, courageous faith - ready to risk all, including their own dear children - as they seek justice for the peoples of the land.

Gratitude for my forbears and the prayers by which they perpetuated their faith in the generations of their family.

I share a great-grandfather with Angela. The Rev John G Train, a fine, godly man, who preached the good news of Jesus without fear or favour, and who left behind a legacy of vibrant faith.

And gratitude, too, for the courage of the folk who made the film, at considerable risk to themselves: and who didn't gloss over the faith of these folk at the heart of all that they did.

Inspiration. I found it hugely inspiring. These are my people, I kept thinking.

Not just family. But the people of God, the people of whom I'm a part. This is where I belong and how I mean to live.

I stand with these folk, I pray for these folk, I serve with these folk. These are my people.

And although they live those thousands of miles away, I don't want to let them down. I want to live here as they are living there. I'm involved in the same basic conflict.

Something deep in my spirit was stirred again.

I think there's a verse in the book of Daniel which puts it well. The people who know their God shall do great exploits.

If you don't know what that means, you don't know what you're missing!

And you need to watch this film!