All too often theology and doctrine is not only allowed, but deliberately place, in our view so that God becomes obscured from our sight. He is, thankfully, nevertheless still there, and I'm sure that in human terms, He must surely shake His head constantly at the folly of humanity!
For so many people, their view of God, of Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit, is one which has been sanitised into a form of 'comfort blanket', the sort of thing that a small child so often has to help overcome fears and worries. In fact, perhaps that is the problem of many who profess Christianity, that they cling so tightly to their comfort zones that they never grow beyond infancy, and therefore never learn the true joys and the pains of knowing and following Jesus Christ, and of serving God in His name in the Spirit.
As a teenager I experienced many 'growing pains', yet none were ever so severe, nor equally so rewarding, as the pains of my Christian growth. The pain of discovering that I was not always right, of learning to bow and acknowledge always the superiority of God when it comes to the matter of Will, of learning to love the un-lovely, and so much more besides. Yet through all of this the one thing that keeps me going on is the knowledge and the certainty of the faith with which God has blessed me. My hope lies in Christ alone, and today of all days I am reminded of the cost to my heavenly Father for my salvation.
The world continues to turn, even as it appears to shift on its axis and bring the effects of that which is referred to as Global Warming. Atheism appears to be having its day here in the West, almost certainly fuelled by the cult of materialism that grips so many in its greedy, grasping hand. Even on this day it is probable that the majority of shops will open, and that many churchgoers will patronise them, confirming that their staying open must therefore be the right thing to do. Yet also on this day there will be countless thousands who quietly remember and acknowledge that the love of God reached out to them from the Cross all those years ago, and that the action of an obedient Christ changed the world for ever. Thankfully, history can never be rewritten, and so the facts of Christ's crucifixion, of his act of selfless sacrifice for the love of mankind, can never be erased.
Today, despite its significance in some respects, is a day not only for reflection and meditation, but also a day for celebration and thanks-giving.
For so many people, their view of God, of Jesus, and of the Holy Spirit, is one which has been sanitised into a form of 'comfort blanket', the sort of thing that a small child so often has to help overcome fears and worries. In fact, perhaps that is the problem of many who profess Christianity, that they cling so tightly to their comfort zones that they never grow beyond infancy, and therefore never learn the true joys and the pains of knowing and following Jesus Christ, and of serving God in His name in the Spirit.
As a teenager I experienced many 'growing pains', yet none were ever so severe, nor equally so rewarding, as the pains of my Christian growth. The pain of discovering that I was not always right, of learning to bow and acknowledge always the superiority of God when it comes to the matter of Will, of learning to love the un-lovely, and so much more besides. Yet through all of this the one thing that keeps me going on is the knowledge and the certainty of the faith with which God has blessed me. My hope lies in Christ alone, and today of all days I am reminded of the cost to my heavenly Father for my salvation.
The world continues to turn, even as it appears to shift on its axis and bring the effects of that which is referred to as Global Warming. Atheism appears to be having its day here in the West, almost certainly fuelled by the cult of materialism that grips so many in its greedy, grasping hand. Even on this day it is probable that the majority of shops will open, and that many churchgoers will patronise them, confirming that their staying open must therefore be the right thing to do. Yet also on this day there will be countless thousands who quietly remember and acknowledge that the love of God reached out to them from the Cross all those years ago, and that the action of an obedient Christ changed the world for ever. Thankfully, history can never be rewritten, and so the facts of Christ's crucifixion, of his act of selfless sacrifice for the love of mankind, can never be erased.
Today, despite its significance in some respects, is a day not only for reflection and meditation, but also a day for celebration and thanks-giving.
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