B is for Beloved

What is a B Road?

A "B road" is a type of road classification in the UK. They are the back roads that take you out into the wilds, leading you to beauty off the beaten track. The more numbers after the B, the more the road will meander often single track with passing places. To my North American friends reading this blog, think secondary highways or better yet, range roads.

The term "life on the B Roads" was born in a toast. As two glen cairn glasses clinked together, swirling their cask strength, lioness milk contents my life was about to change.

I would often catch up with a dear friend, Kenny Borthwick, over a few drams of whisky in Edinburgh. On this particular evening, he seemed concerned. He shared that he was tired of seeing ministries over inflate their successes at the expense of truthfulness. He commented on Christian discipleship more generally; there is so much focus on programs. results and hype. Have we lost the awe and mystery of God and the simple invitation to follow Jesus and do what he says? Nosing his dram and then taking a sip to chew on, Kenny reflected further that we need ministers of the Gospel who are not driven by results or plagued by the need to be noticed. Instead, he suggested that we look for "a sort of…well… B road life."

It's not that a B road life runs away from any moments in the spotlight. No, you can be seen and minister there. But in the depths of who you are, you have become so lost in God, experiencing his eternal love in Jesus his beloved Son, that you can take or leave the need to be noticed. You don't feed off the limelight. Your sense of well being is not rooted in results or the show. It is found in God.

"I. Am. In!" I said, raising my glass to connect with his.

"Here's to life on the B roads." he smiled.

Later that night, as I walked home through Auld Reekie's frost nipped, November streets, I thought about that particular conversation again. That toast was turned into a prayer: "Lord, I'd like to live life on the B roads, in awe of you and the goodness of your name that I would need nothing and no-one else to satiate desire in me. I don't care about being noticed. I don't want to focus on results. I want only you."

Well, that prayer was answered. Not in a way that I would ever have envisaged. I have been on these roads now for a few years, and I have no intention ever to come off them. Don’t get me wrong, I am no cave dwelling hermit. I am still a minister of the gospel, active in the life of the church and the world. But a deepening in the love of God has happened in the core of who I am. A B road life takes you into belovedness. This blog is designed to share some of the learning, stories and poetry from along the way. “Here's to life on the B roads!”