Sometimes we want our heroes to have no faults. We want them to do the right thing, standing tall, with no stain on their life or character.

But everyone makes mistakes.

The life of Thomas Cranmer shows that God uses failures in his church for his own glory.

He moved amongst Kings and Queens, influencing the throne of England and the centre of national power. But he lived at a time when the power of the monarch was absolute and sometimes the decisions you made were a matter of life and death.

Thomas Cranmer’s life is perhaps best known for a decision he made that he later regretted and deeply repented of.

But his final legacy is the truth that he held on to the last.