No matter what struggles and injustices human beings endure, we are in God’s hands and our names are engraved on his palms.
That is the central theme of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2015, written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Drawing on Archbishop Tutu’s lifetime of fighting for justice and against oppression and prejudice in South Africa and around the world, In God’s Hands is an intimate meditation on the human condition.
In his foreword to the book, Archbishop Justin Welby writes that Archbishop Tutu is ‘one of the most extraordinary Christian leaders alive today, or to have lived in the last century or more.’
The BBC has published a series of weekly online resources In God's Hands based on the themes of Archbishop Tutu's book.
Starting in the first week of Lent and ending in Holy Week, the resources provide readings, reflections and prayers for individuals and church groups inspired by its themes, which will also be reflected in Sunday Worship (0810-0850) and the Daily Service (0945-1000 BBC Radio 4 LW and digital radio) on Radio 4, and in Local Radio Sunday morning programmes.
In the book, Archbishop Tutu reveals what has sustained him through his often turbulent life: the unshakeable belief that human beings are created in the image of God and are infinitely valuable.
Each one of us is a God-carrier, a tabernacle, a sanctuary of the Divine Trinity, he writes, and God loves us not because we are loveable but because he first loved us. This turns our values upside down –showing us that the Gospel is the most radical thing imaginable.
In his foreword, Archbishop Justin Welby says the vision that has emerged from Archbishop Tutu’s profound struggles ‘is one that calls all people to share his hope, regardless of where they come from or what they experience.
‘It is a global vision for a divided and cruel world.’
Explore the resources on the BBC website here and on the programme web pages.