There is a notorious sermon – notorious in some quarters – called ‘Sinner in the hands of an angry God’, and it is by a noted US evangelist named Jonathan Edwards. It is a classic, perhaps it is THE classic ‘fire and brimstone’ sermon, in which those who hear it are confronted with the reality of hell and enjoined to change their ways.

Whilst I do believe in the reality of hell, I find that this emphasis is often self-defeating, and for some time now I’ve been pondering the phrase ‘sinner in the hands of a redeeming God’. This is because I think God’s redemptive work is rather more important than his anger, however that needs to be understood.

To explain this, I’d like to share a photo with you, taken from the Nagshead nature reserve the other day.

Here is a birch tree that has been toppled, presumably by some over-vigorous boar. However, what seems key is that the roots have stayed engaged in the ground; consequently, the tree is still alive and has, indeed, sprouted branches upwards from the toppled trunk.

This seems like a good image of redemption to me. After all, we all topple over sooner or later, beset by the boars of this world. If all there was to know about God was his anger then this would be a counsel of despair, toppled into hell. Yet God is so much more creative than that. He takes our toppling and brings something new from it. The tree is still alive, can still grow, can still contribute.

We are all sinners; we all topple – and we can all be redeemed. The key is to keep our roots engaged in the spiritual soil – the first psalm has something to say about this…