God is FOR us

At one of my churches we've recently started a teatime fellowship.  The idea is a simple one: we get together and share some food and chat, then look at a story of Jesus from the gospels.  It's a really good format, and can encompass people of all ages.  We don't go into great depth, but ask ourselves four questions: what does the passage tells us about God or Jesus, what does it tell us about people, what we should do in response to the passage, and who can we share the story with.

The passage we looked at yesterday was from Luke 7, the story of the woman who wept at Jesus' feet.  The woman comes into the story when Jesus is eating at the house of a religious leader.  We are told that the woman had lived a sinful life, and it is clear that the religious leader and his friends judge her as worthless.  They are shocked when Jesus shows love and compassion to the woman (when the religious leaders elsewhere call him a 'friend of sinners' they are not being complimentary!)

Time and again in the gospels we read of how Jesus showed acceptance, mercy and love to people, even when others might have regarded them as the dregs of society.  Jesus came to show us that God's love is for ALL people.  Everyone who comes to him is welcomed with open arms.  The story in Luke 7 is such a powerful one, and worthy of reading many times to allow its full impact to sink in.  The message of the passage is that whatever our background, whatever kind of life we may have lived in the past, God is FOR us, and wants to help us to live life to the full and discover our true worth and purpose.

This morning a friend posted a video clip on Facebook which makes this very point in a vivid and powerful way, for more eloquently than any words of mine.  I've watched it more than once, and each time I've been brought to tears.  I'll write no more, but encourage you to watch it HERE.

Mr Wesley and the General Election

So, we’re in yet another pre-election period!  For some, like Brenda from Bristol, it will be a massive turn-off.  Others may be looking forward to the forthcoming electioneering and the debates.  I find myself edging toward the latter camp.  I do, however, have some concerns as to how the next few weeks may turn out.

Not long after the General Election had been announced, I made the following comment on social media: “Hoping & praying for an election campaign in which positive policies & perspectives are put forward & mudslinging is avoided.”   One of my Facebook friends responded, “There is always hope!”  Others were more pessimistic, with comments such as, “In your dreams” and “Not a chance.”

I was interested, some time later, to come across some words from John Wesley (1703-1791), who was one of the founders of the Methodist Church.  Wesley kept a journal, and on 6 October 1774, he wrote:

I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them:
1) To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy.
2) To speak no evil of the person they voted against.
3) To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.

[A “society” was a local group of Methodists].  Wesley may have written those words over 240 years ago, but I'm sure that they are still just as relevant today.

Each human being is a unique individual, different from others in many ways.  However close we feel to other people, we are always going to see some things differently and have different perspectives on a range of issues.  There will be many issues raised during the course of the election campaign, on some of which we may disagree very strongly with friends and family members.

But surely John Wesley was absolutely right to challenge those of us who claim to follow Jesus to avoid speaking ill of, or looking down on, those who see things differently.  It may be asking a lot, but is it too much to ask?

After all, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples’ (John 13.35).  If we can’t learn to love in spite of our differences, then we are falling well short of what Jesus expects from us.

The Cross says it all

I led a school assembly recently, and talked with the children about symbols.  I showed them a number of well-known symbols and asked the children if they recognised them (their favourite, not surprisingly, was the yellow M of McDonald's, probably one of the most recognisable symbols in the world!)

I then showed them a X and asked them what it symbolised.  On a birthday card it can mean a kiss, or love; on a journey it can symbolise a crossroads, with pointers showing the way.  The children were very good at coming up with various ideas.  However, when I said that in a school book a cross against a sum means that the answer is wrong, the teacher in charge was quick to jump in and say that crosses aren't used in that way in the school anymore!

I didn't have time later to ask the reason why, but I did wonder whether the school feels that it isn't good to tell children that they've made a mistake.  If so, I feel it's quite sad, because one of the lessons we all have to learn in life is that we sometimes get things wrong.

The Bible talks about something called sin which, put simply, is when we act in a way which is against what God wants for us.  St Paul makes it clear that sin affects us all, 'everyone has sinned' (Ephesians 3.23).  The big problem with sin is that it separates is from God; it builds a dividing wall between us and God.  Added to that is the reality that there's nothing we can do to restore that broken relationship.  We can't, but God can (and did).

^'God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.' (John 3.16).

Today is Good Friday, so-called because by his death on a cross Jesus paid the price for our sin; he took it on himself.  He gave his life so that we can know forgiveness and eternal life through him, and a living relationship with God.  The cross is the symbol of God's amazing love for all humankind.

Earlier today I joined with 100s of other people at the "Leicester@the Cross" event in the city centre.  Through drama, readings, music, dance and song, we were reminded of the significance of this day.  As I stood in the crowd, I glanced down at my feet and noticed that on the paved area where I was standing had been painted a small red cross.  I'm not sure what the cross was there for, but to me it became a poignant reminder that the cross is personal.  Jesus died for ME.  And for YOU.

What's more, it's Friday, but Sunday's coming!

Seasons

I feel so blessed to live in a part of the world in which we can experience the richness and variety of the changing seasons.  It may be true to say that due to climate change etc., the seasons don’t seem to be as clearly defined as they used to be, but nevertheless each new season brings its own glories.  What a wonderful creation we can enjoy, if we have eyes to see and hearts to appreciate what God has given!

There are seasons in life generally, too.  I recently visited my Mum on the occasion of her 94th birthday.  She is now very frail, but I can think back to times when she was full of energy, and was a great driving force in the family.  I also have photographs of her as a child.  One photo of Mum which I particularly like is of her sitting on the beach at Scarborough, a place I love and have visited many times over the years.  All this is a reminder that in terms of our age, we travel through various seasons of life.

There is another sense, too, in which life has seasons.  There will be times when everything is going well, when we feel “on top of the world.”  In those seasons, we can feel a real sense of happiness and contentment, and see few clouds in the sky.  On the other hand, there will be seasons when life is really tough, and we seem to have little strength even to put one foot in front of another.  The dark clouds are gathering!

A hymn which addresses the reality of these ups and downs of life is Matt & Beth Redman’s hymn, “Blessed be your name.”  The first verse goes like this:

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful,
Where Your streams of abundance flow,
Blessed be Your name.
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place,
Though I walk through the wilderness,
Blessed Be Your name.

The key to dealing with the ups and downs of life, the good times and the bad, the easy and the tough times, is to keep our eyes fixed on our heavenly Father, who loves us with an eternal love and had promised that he will never leave us or forsake us.  If our hand is in his, we can journey through every season with confidence.