Barnston Memorial

The Barnston Memorial is a rather tall obelisk in Farndon, Cheshire. It commemorates Major Roger Barnston, an army officer who died in 1857 from wounds sustained at the Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny. At its base lie four stone lions, either sleeping or mourning. Perhaps these powerful, but currently docile creatures, were thought fit representations of the gallant major; the warrior now rests, his battle cries heard no more, his sabre no longer a threat to the unwilling denizens of Victoria’s empire.

I sometimes think of the great warriors- intellectual and spiritual, usually- of the Christian faith. Their pens now rest, their thunderous pulpit voices echo no more. There is a sense in which others have taken the fallen mantles, but these lesser men have themselves been replaced by lesser men; weaker men have been replaced by even weaker men. Is there a sense in which those sleeping lions will one day roar, at the resurrection of the dead, when the Lord Jesus returns? Is there some future role for their strength and vitality? In these days of anaemic Christianity, when minarets increasingly dominate the skylines and when greed and godlessness pervade every town, just one short burst of Puritan flexing, Reformers’ growling and Great Awakeners’ praying, would breathe more life into our enfeebled churches than all of the silly programmes and contemporary gimmicks combined.

The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. Job 4:10

Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days. Hosea 3:5

A. D.