Knife crime is a national issue in the United Kingdom. Government after government has tried to address the issue and tackle the causes of knife crime. Sadly, knife crime has taken the lives of many young people throughout the towns and cities of the United Kingdom. The British Ironwork Centre came up with an idea to combat the problem of knife crime.

With the help of local police forces, the British Ironwork Centre built and placed two hundred deposit boxes around the country for people to surrender their knives anonymously. The amnesty campaign saw one hundred thousand knives handed in.

The knives were shipped to an artist who blunted the knives and welded them to create the Knife Angel. The Knife Angel is a twenty-seven foot high angelic sculpture made largely of the knives collected from the amnesty campaign.

I have had the opportunity to see the Knife Angel on a few occasions. Each time I have seen it I have been moved, not by the size of the structure, nor the workmanship gone into making it, but always by the number of knives on display. I cannot help but think of the many lives that have been taken and changed by those awful knives.

The Knife Angel reminds us that although we have done wicked things in the past we can have a new life in Christ. You may not have done something so evil and sinful as taking a life by the blade, but we have all sinned before God in some degree. It is true that not all sins are the same and not all sins are as wicked as others, some are a lot worse than others.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” This is the new beginning that the Gospel offers to all. The Bible teaches us that our sins keep us out of Heaven. The hope of the Gospel is that we can have a new life in Christ, a new start. This life that Christ offers us begins with an acknowledgement of sin and embraces Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

Here are some questions to consider.

1. Do you have new life in Christ?
2. Have you asked Christ to forgive your sins?
3. Is Jesus the Lord and Saviour of your life?
4. How can you promote peace in your community?
5. What encourages you to speak out against evil?