Colossians 1:1-17
Psalm 76:1-12
Proverbs 24:21-22
I'm so tired today that I read through the Bible passages above and then thought to myself, "OK, what am I going to write about these?" I then I realised that despite having only just read them I couldn't remember a single word apart from the fact that there was 'something nice' in the Colossians reading. Sometimes Bible reading is more like a passive system of osmosis than an active process of learning.
In the Jeremiah reading God is seen almost bending over backwards trying to bring Israel and Judah back to him after they have run off following other gods. It's almost an embarrassing picture as he pleads with his people, ready to accept even the slightest glimmer of genuine repentance. It is matched by the image of God in the Parable of the Prodigal Son as the insulted father running to welcome back his son without any prior proof that the son has truly repented. Growing up in Northern Ireland the predominant image of God in that country is of an incredibly stern figure ready to start shooting off the thunderbolts at every available opportunity. Jeremiah helps correct that. He still speaks in strong terms about God's judgement but that judgement is strongly tempered by his emphasis on the searching love of God that reaches out to even the most unholy and impure people you could think of, yes even the bankers!
The nice bit in Colossians was this - " This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace."
One of the real privileges of this job is seeing that process in action. Sometimes it's really slow, infuriatingly slow but sometimes it happens incredibly quickly and you see someone who was living in a destructive spiral last year living as a completely new person today. It's not just the dramatic cases either but somehow the ordinary people are the most fulfilling to see change, to watch them find a purpose in life and have their world transformed by encountering God's Grace.
2 comments:
I like the idea of absorbing by osmosis!
One thing I take out of this Blog is the notion of "in God's time" as opposed to our impatience to get results and see results now and to somehow feel we have failed if we don't As it says in James 5: 7-9 :-
See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
I don't interpret the "coming near" as the end of time but of him fulfilling his plans. Anyway I enjoyed the blog and got a lot of other things out of it besides.
Thanks Nan,
I'm just about to go out and preach on Philippians 4 where that same phrase, "The Lord is near" is used and I was wondering whether to interpret that as a reference to the second coming or the fact that the presence of God is always near to us.
I was veering toward the second one and your comment has helped push me down that route even more.
Thanks!
William
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