Choir Notes

Life Made Richer by Faith
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4249

Former British prime minister Tony Blair remembers very clearly the day his faith became personal. When he was 10 years old, his father suffered a severe stroke and was rushed to the hospital. Uncertain if his father would live, he went to school fearful of the future. His teacher, noticing his young student’s anxiety, suggested that they kneel and pray for his father’s recovery. Tony Blair hesitantly whispered, "I’m afraid my father doesn’t believe in God.”

The teacher’s reply made a lasting impression: "That doesn’t matter. God believes in him. He loves him without demanding or needing love in return.”

Blair’s father recovered, and years later, Tony Blair went on to lead Great Britain during a tumultuous decade. He still points to that conversation with his teacher as a pivotal moment in his life. He realized that his faith gave him a sense of purpose and direction. He came to see why faith is so vital to so many people throughout the world. "Faith matters,” he says, "because it inspires people to act and raise their sights beyond themselves.”

Faith in something larger than ourselves gives us a reason to hope, a reason to move forward when life wears us down, a reason to love and believe in love. It teaches not only that we have worth in the eyes of our Creator but also that everyone else has the same worth. It’s what can unite this great family of humankind.

Tony Blair expresses that hope in these words: "[The] idea of unconditional love, which made such an impression on a frightened young boy so long ago, is at the core of all our great faiths. We need to get back to this guiding light. By understanding one another, [and] respecting one another, … we can show why humanity is made not poorer by faith but immeasurably richer.”1

1 "Why Faith Matters,” Parade, Sept. 12, 2010, 22.