Spanish lesson

I recently returned from a fortnight's holiday in Spain. We stayed at a little place called Bena Vista, which is on the southern cost of Spain, situated between Marbella and Estapona. There were 7 of us in the party, and it was lovely to spend some quality family time together. The weather, naturally, was pretty much wall-to-wall sunshine, and the swimming pool was very well used! To be honest, I usually prefer to holiday in the UK, but the benefit of going to somewhere like the Costa del Sol is that the weather is generally much more predictable. We returned to clouds and rain in the UK!

It was a visit to the local supermarket that set off my train of thinking. I noticed as we walked round that a number of products had the word "SIN" in the title. I took my camera along and managed to get a picture of one example, some cheese, which was titled "SIN LACTOSA". This means, "without lactose".

I found it interesting that the Spanish word "sin" means "without". I thought about how this fits in with the word sin as used in the Bible. Basically, what the Bible calls sin is anything which goes against God's will and purpose. When we choose to take a course of action which disobeys God's commands, then we sin. More than that, the Bible states that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). In other words, sin separates us from God, creating a barrier between us and God, leaving us, in a very real sense, without the intimate, close relationship with God which is his desire and purpose for us.

The good news is that Romans 6:23 goes on to say, "...but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." On the cross, Jesus died to pay the price for our sin. By accepting his sacrifice, believing in him, and committing our lives into his control, we are set free from the law of sin and death. We can live a new life, empowered by his Spirit. No more separation, no more being "without", but drawn into loving relationship with him and discovering our true purpose and identity. It's strange the thoughts that can come from a packet of cheese!

Reflections on the riots

I have been deeply saddened by the events of the past few days. TV pictures of gangs of roaming the streets of London and other cities, ransacking properties, causing mindless damage, and setting properties on fire, have been very disturbing. Apart from the physical damage to properties, there has been deep psychological damage caused, not least to those who were innocently caught up in the violence. Many have lost jobs and homes. The consequences will be enormous.

Of course the media have been full of the story, and people have not been slow in coming forward with their solutions (often conflicting!); there has been no shortage of people willing to lay the blame. Those with wisdom, and any real understanding of the situation, however, realise that the issues are far from simple. It's easy to point fingers, but far less easy to come up with meaningful and lasting solutions.

It would appear from reports that many of those who have caused such problems in the past few days have been young people. What has happened in the lives of these young people which has led them to the point where they are willing to be part of such unprecedented violence and destruction? One very interesting and insightful question which was asked in a discussion in which I was involved was, "Where are the role models for young people in our society today?" Parents? I would imagine that the parents of many of those young people have been far from ideal role models. Football stars? Think about recent revelations concerning Giggs, Terry, Rooney etc. Royal Family? Consider the goings on over recent years, and one might consider that the Royal Family are not altogether the best role models. Politicians? Mmmm.. expenses scandals etc. might suggest otherwise. Media? News of the World revelations of recent times point in another direction. The Church? Sadly, even the church has so often failed to provide the kind of role model so desperately needed. Is there any wonder that young people are tempted to go astray when they see so very few examples of how to really live?

Someone said that "the heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart". When a society dismissed God from its thinking the consequences become evident very soon. If only our nation would turn back to God and live in his way! I have been reading recently about the Welsh Revival of 1904/5 and how that nation was transformed in such a positive way. In God there is always hope for a better future in him. We as a Church must repent of the mistakes of the past and our bad example, and cry out to God to forgive us, restore us, and heal our land.

The Bible entreats us to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" Let us also work and pray for God's peace in our nation and local communities.

Do they know how much you them?

Last week I took two funeral services. Nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps, for a church minister. What did make me think, however, was that both the people concerned were men in their early 50s (both younger than me!) who had died very suddenly. Apparently healthy, their earthly lives had come to an end without warning. Perhaps it is harder to accept when a loved one dies without warning. On the other hand, the death of someone we love it is never easy to deal with, even when one is prepared. And many have said to me over the years that a quick death is better than a long, lingering one.

These funerals have certainly reminded me of my own mortality, and of the challenge to be grateful for and make the most of each day God gives. And how wonderful to know that if our faith is in Jesus Christ our eternal destiny is assured.

It is normal, when one has been bereaved, to receive condolence cards from family and friends. These often contain messages of care and support, and sometimes also reflections on, or memories of, the deceased person. The widow of one of the deceased men had written out some of the messages she had received from various friends of her late husband. He had obviously been very highly thought of. I must admit to thinking when I read them, "It would be great if things like this could be said about me!" I decided to read them out at the funeral service as part of the tribute to the deceased person.

My other thought with regard to these messages, was that I wonder if the deceased gentleman knew what others thought of him. Did he know how loved and respected he was by his family, friends and work colleagues? It was lovely that people took the trouble to write down these reflections on a card and send them to the man's widow. Perhaps even better if they'd taken the trouble to express the same thoughts to the man himself while there was still opportunity.