When I began my last job as a vicar, there was a small bookshop in the church, run by a Christian who had some very strong beliefs. The books on the shelves reflected his rather narrow theology. I could cope with that, but he also would pin up articles from various newspapers and journals, which invariably attacked the wider Church, and clergy in particular, for their lack of faith in God and in the Bible. Usually with a hand-written comment from him like: “Clergy lack faith!” He was an otherwise kind man, and (I think!) accepted graciously the clipping of his wings with the arrival of a new vicar.

I start with that story, because there’s a lot of focus on church leaders’ faith in God and in the Bible. And, of course, a lot of variety and disagreement in how that faith works out, or should work out, in today’s world and in the local context.

However, it seems to me that a vital but very undervalued ‘faith’, for church leaders and Christians generally, is our faith in people. Our faith in people is very much linked to our faith in God and in the Bible, because each person is made in the image of God, and it’s the first chapter of the Bible which assures us of this. Nonetheless we rarely focus on the faith we need to have in people.

In the wonderful film Hook, Robin Williams plays a grown-up Peter Pan, who has forgotten who he was and is. As a workaholic lawyer, Peter Banning has neglected his family time and time again, but when his two children are stolen and taken to Never-Never land, Peter must go there to save them from Captain Hook. But to save them, he must first remember who he truly is, and become Peter Pan again. To the lost boys he meets in Never-Never land, he is initially a figure of ridicule, until a small child takes Peter’s face in his  hands and looks searchingly deep into his eyes. And after much looking: “O Peter – there you are!” And from then Peter himself begins to believe, to remember who he is and how to fly.

In the moving climax of the film, when Peter fights Captain Hook, Hook plays on Peter’s doubts about who he really is, reminding him of his past failings. Peter looks defeated, but is saved from this brutal attack on his self-image by the children who say, one by one, “I believe in you” and finally his son Jack who says “You are the Pan.” With his faith in himself restored, Peter finds his mojo and goes on to defeat Hook.

I visited a couple about 10 days ago, whom I’ve seen on and off since their teenage son tragically took his own life a few years back. As I walked away from the visit, it seemed to me that what I have been able to offer into that dark place was something very much like “I believe in you.” In particular: “I believe you have the resources and support to ‘get through’ this to a place where every waking moment is no longer a nightmare. Things will get better. You will begin to have energy for life. Things you look forward to. You will know joy again. The gaping black hole in your daily life will always be there, but it will not constantly suck you in.”

We are currently in Lent. Confession and penance are founded on a belief in people, as well as in the forgiving nature of God. This is how we can forgive ourselves and forgive others.  We believe we (and other people) have it in us to choose a better way. We can face our selfishness and mistakes and not be overwhelmed by them, but find relief and move forward less burdened.

As a vicar I’m convinced that believing in people stands alongside believing in God as about the best I could do for anyone. And people believing in me is just about the best thing they can do for me. Especially when I’ve lost my self-belief and I’m inclined to believe the accusations of an over-active conscience.

As individuals and as the Church, we yearn for people to believe in God. And to discover the life God offers them in Jesus. Surely no-one turns to Christ without knowing, at some level, that God believes in them. God’s call must mean that God believes in us. We are significant. We are loved. Not faceless slaves, but loved children. And we can make a difference.

The mission of the Church, any Church, depends crucially on its capacity to demonstrate that we believe in one another as well as in God. It’s a dynamic of the whole people of God, and nurturing this must be a priority for every form of church leadership .

For any of us to thrive, we need people to believe in us at every stage of our lives – teachers, family, friends, work colleagues, pastors and especially our parents. I remember my son once getting frustrated with me, saying something like: ‘you don’t listen to me. You don’t think I’ve got anything worthwhile to say.’ Ouch! I was (eventually) glad he could trust me with that painful truth.

Believing in someone is an expression of love and respect. It always translates into words and actions which reveal that belief. Giving people opportunities. Trusting them. And ‘trust’ is what it’s all about. “Trust” is a perfect translation of the Greek word normally translated “faith” in the New Testament – ‘pistis’.

The two greatest commandments, according to Jesus, are to love God whole-heartedly and to love our neighbours as ourselves. They go together. Believing in God and believing in our neighbour.

When Paul writes his wonderful words about love in 1 Corinthians 13, he is addressing young Christian communities. Above all, they are to love. This is “the most excellent way”. God’s love is the model – a love which “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” A risky love indeed, but one which is necessary to help one another achieve our potential. God believes in us. Let us believe in one another.