Is it because he loves us?

Tomorrow is Good Friday. For many years, churches in Doncaster have marked the day with a Walk of Witness through the town centre on Good Friday morning. Good Friday is a hugely significant day, when we remember the crucifixion of Jesus on a cross, and its significance for us today.

One hymn-writer puts it like this:

We may not know, we cannot tell
What pains he had to bear,
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

Of course, the vast majority of people in Jerusalem on that day did not understand the significance of Jesus' death. And there will be many people, I am sure, who will see us on the Walk of Witness and wonder why. To some, Good Friday holds no meaning.

A young mum was telling me recently that her 6 year-old daughter asked her to explain why Jesus died on a cross. It's difficult enough explaining the cross in plain English to an adult, never mind to a 6 year-old! The mum was struggling to find the right words when her daughter said, "Mum, was it because he loves us?"

Thank God for children!

Growing younger?

"You look younger every time I see you!" No, not a message for Cliff Richard, but believe it or not those words were spoken to me today! This afternoon I called to see an elderly lady whose late husband's funeral service I had taken a couple of weeks ago, and those were her parting words to me as I said goodbye after my visit. To be honest, it's not every day that I receive such nice comments! And to be fair, I'm not sure how well the eyesight of the lady in question is functioning these days. Nevertheless, it did give me a warm glow for a while.

Of course, the truth is that none of us can prevent the relentless march of time. Every 24 hours we find ourselves a day older. Despite the vast amounts of money some people spend on cosmetic surgery etc., "old father time" still has his way with our bodies. Whether or not we find it easy to accept, the fact is that sooner or later our ticker will stop beating and our time on plant earth will be up. Many people in the UK now live longer than the Biblical "three score years and ten". But earthly life doesn't last forever. Some of the big, soul-searching questions that it doesn't do any harm to ask ourselves, are, "What will my life add up to? Am I heading in the right direction? What will I achieve in my life?"

Some time ago the old wooden, falling-to-bits doors on our garage were replaced with a metal roller door. It was a massive improvement. A few days ago I went out to open the new roller door and I noticed a rather strange sight. A tiny snail had crawled up the door to about 3/4 way up. It was sitting there (if snails do sit, I'm not sure!) Unfortunately I don't speak snail language, otherwise I'd have asked it "WHY? What was the point of the journey? Are you sure you're heading in the right direction?"

I've no idea what happened to the snail, but at least it reminded me of some fundamental life questions with which I can challenge myself!

Putting off the inevitable

I must confess to being someone who tends, at times, to put off the things I'm not looking forward to doing. I can be a bit of a procrastinator. One example is mowing the lawn, which I really don't enjoy. The winter period is helpful in this respect, as the lawn lies fairly dormant and there's no need for me to feel guilty that the lawnmower stays in its shed. But winter doesn't last forever, and spring, wonderful as it can be, brings with it the inevitable consequence of the lawn waking up from its hibernation and beginning to grow again.

I suppose that I've not done too bad to have been able to leave it until April before the lawnmower comes out. The last couple of weeks, with some lovely sunshine, have seen the lawn grow at a rapid rate. I realised that it would soon get totally out of hand - it was beginning to look like a meadow. So when I arrived home late this afternoon out came the lawnmower, and the job has been done. Until next week, at least!

My Dad was a gardener in his early working life. He always had a great knack around the garden, and he loved to spend time there. When Sue and I were first married he used to come round and help us with the garden from time to time. Sadly he is no longer around to help us. Dad seems to have passed on his "green fingers" to my four sisters, though for some reason the gift hasn't really come down to me.

There is something about gardening which I do like, and that is the fact that when you have worked in the garden you can see what you've done; usually your hard work makes a noticeable and pleasing difference. Yet there is also a reluctance in me to get out there, and the weeds keep growing. Maybe I will turn over a new leaf (pardon the pun) and make a commitment to spend some regular time in the garden. Maybe also I will try to be better at facing up to the things I don't like doing. After all, one can't put off the inevitable forever!

In our churches we are reading through Mark's gospel during the Lent period. Today's reading was from chapter 8 (of 14) and already the shadow of the cross has appeared, as Jesus began to prepare his disciples for what lay ahead (his arrest, suffering and crucifixion). As the time drew closer, it must have been a great temptation for Jesus to try to put off what he knew was coming. Yet he resisted the temptation, because he was totally committed to fulfilling the Father's will. He knew that his sacrificial death would open the kingdom of heaven to all who believe in him. He truly is our example and inspiration.