Proof of Identity

Every Wednesday in our community there is a luncheon club for elderly,frail and lonely people held in the church hall just along the road from where I live.  I have been helping out every Wednesday for quite a few months now.  After I had been helping for a few weeks it was accepted that it wasn't just a flash in the pan and that I really was committed to helping, I got some forms through the post to fill in and send back so I could be vetted and I had to supply two references who would guarantee that I am who I say I am.  Fair enough I suppose.  You can't be too careful and I didn't mind.  This week I received a letter parcel and inside was my badge.  It's official!  I am now a helper trying to make a difference in my community under the watchful eye of the Royal Voluntary Service and I have the badge to prove it.

Of course a badge with your name on it is nothing new.  Whenever we go shopping, most of the large stores make their staff use their name badges and their particular role within the company, whether that's customer service, manager or cashier.  Most of the large supermarkets will have a hanging notice high above every aisle telling us exactly what's in that aisle and each individual item has a name/title at the top of the packaging.  We don't need to open it to see what's inside.  We can tell by what it says on the front.  With fresh produce, labels are put beside each tray of goods so we know exactly what it is and where it's come from.

A piece of cake?

Usually when we do our shopping trip on Friday mornings, we stop part way through the morning and have a coffee and piece of cake at our favourite family-run coffee shop,appropriately named 'Detour'.  They sell a very reasonably priced coffee/tea with cake that is about half what you would pay at your usual more well-known coffee shops.  There is always a great variety of cakes, all freshly baked.  We made it our solemn duty to try a different one each week so that we can then decide which we prefer.  (That's my excuse) Actually as you've probably guessed - they are all yummy.  Normally you can just look at the name and say which one you want, knowing by their label just what's in them.  Yesterday, however, they had some new cakes in keeping with the Christmas spirit with some very seasonal names.  The one called 'sugar and spice' was easy to guess.  (It was just as delicious as I had anticipated by the way!)  But there were others that we had to ask, 'What's in that one', like Jingle Bell Slice and Pixie Pie.  Their identity label didn't really suggest what to expect.  You couldn't tell from the name that Jingle Bell Slice was a flapjack with a layer of mincemeat through the middle or that Pixie pie was a normal pie crust filled with a gooey chocolate filling topped with mini marshmallows.

We've heard much this week about a certain American politician who says that a particular ethnic group should all wear badges so people can see at a glance that they belong to a certain religion.  (Sounds like history repeating itself but with a different faith group)  It made me think.  Those of us who profess to be Christians and therefore are not so readily identifiable as such from our clothing, do we live in such a way that people can see what our faith is without reading any label?  If we had to wear a badge saying that we are Christian, would people be surprised by some of the things that we say or do?  Is my identity really that of following in Jesus' footsteps?  Do I really live according to The Way?  Apart from attending a place of worship on a Sunday, does my daily way of living and attitudes to others really reflect the teachings of Jesus?  How do I show my identity as a follower of The Way?  Do I make it clear or do people need to ask or just guess by my lifestyle?  Is the way I live my life proof of my identity?  Hmmm!  Time for a coffee and food for thought.