Our accommodation during our visit to Northumberland was in a house as part of the Chillingham estate. The castle itself was not marked on our road atlas but the Wild Cattle centre was. These cattle are completely untamed, have been untouched by human hands and never had any veterinary interventions.
The castle was like a cross between Miss Havisham’s and a hoarder’s paradise. One room was dedicated solely to hats. There were top hats, hunting hats, straw boaters, sombreros, bowlers, and pith helmets amongst the collection. (I recommend a visit to both if you are in the area).
Why do people where hats? Protection from the sun, protection in case of attack or a fall, status or ceremony. Fashion statements or perhaps markers of faith. I remember my grandmother bought herself a new hat every chapel anniversary – thank goodness that practice has been long abandoned! (The buying of a new hat not the chapel anniversary).
How do people recognise us as Christians? Is it the clothes we wear? Probably not. Anyone can dress up in fancy clothes and put on a new hat. Is it what we say and do? Is it our attitudes and behaviour? Yes, but non-Christians also do and say some very good things.
Is it more about our conviction that we are all sinners, and that through the blood of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again, that, as undeserving as we are, our sins are forgiven and we are promised eternal life as children of God?
Jesus died and rose again for me, he paid the price for my sins, and for you. How amazing is that?
How often do we share that belief with others? Let us share our faith with others, not by the hats or the clothes we wear, but in living our lives as Christ would have us do.