September the 18th 2014 the referendum

The referendum on Scottish independence takes place today. As I live in England, I do not have a vote. There are however things that are now of concern to me. If the poles are correct, the outcome is on a knife edge and could go either way on a very small margin. This means the country is deeply divided on this issue and there are already people who are very angry indeed. Whatever the outcome, it means that those who lose are likely to still be very angry. This is not a good thing. We christians need to be magnanimous and be seen to be caring and compassionate peace makers. There are people dear to me who will be deeply affected by this if the YES camp win, and there are people in my family who will be disappointed if the NO camp win. Therefore, I need to assert my primary identity as a citizen of Heaven. I am that before I am British, Scottish or European. There could be families who remain divided for years to come. One only has to look at how bitterly divided some families still are after the 1984 miners strike. Some people do not talk to their fathers who remained on strike when they went back to work and the feelings are still raw. I trust my own family not to behave like that, but I am not so sure about other peoples. When I was in Stornoway, Kathleen said of the referendum that people at the church have all sorts of opinions, so they do not talk about it. I think this wise. However the day of reckoning is here and tomorrow we will know the result.