Salters of the Earth

At Rotherhithe in London, overlooking the choppy, grey water of the great Thames, are some statues of the Salter family: Ada, Robert and their daughter, Joyce. The Salters were active social reformers and leading trade unionists. She abandoned evangelical Methodism for Quakerism, while he became a Quaker from a state of agnosticism. While viewing them from a differing political angle, I cannot but admire their diligence and concern for fellow humanity, at a time when there was so much poverty and injustice. Perhaps they were a deeply spiritual couple, and their Quakerism prompted them to see ‘a bit of God in everyone’, but where are they now?

When we stand before God, we shall not be asked for a list of all the people we helped, causes we espoused and institutions we founded. Only how we responded to His Son will be of any import. Having accepted the Son of Man as Lord and Saviour, we will, naturally, develop a burden and concern for others. Without Jesus, however, and we lose everything; having Him, we gain all else.