No present like the time

It is said that there is no time like the present but also, there is no
present like the time! We might receive wealth or position but without
time they would be of little worth. The gift of time is not something
to be left under the tree but rather to be used wisely and well.
Compared with previous generations we have many time saving devices
but what do we do with the time which is saved? We should resolve to
spend it wisely, and the time to begin is now!

A culture of death?

AN announcement on Australian T-V news stated that the leading cause of death for both men and women under thirty five was suicide and it seems that this obtains in some of the richest countries. The tragedies of affluence abound. But why this waste . not least among young people with the potential to 'make it' in life?
I put it down to a lack of faith in the widest sense of the term. Many lose faith in themselves and in there being any meaning in this life and are ready to take their chance on the next world even if for them it represents nothing but oblivion.
People with a positive attitude or faith believe that the best is always yet to be. Life is not a bubble, empty and without significance. It is more like an egg, full of untold posibilities.
Life is to be affirmed and meant to be lived to the full believing that God loves us and thinks highly of us.

Live contact

No doubt recorded messages have their uses but sometimes I am frustrated when I phone a firm and receive a series of recorded answers to questions I never thought of asking anyway. I want to scream 'Let me talk to a live person to whom I can explain my individual need!' On many issues I am glad that by faith I can speak to God and be assured of his care and concern for me as an individual. I will not be fobbed of with a stock answer but will receive grace sufficient for my need.

Take courage

Courage is not the absence of fear but its conquest. Fears can come like poisoned darts and destroy our confidence but courage is fear that has said its prayers. In the Bible the phrase 'fear not' appears 366 times- once for every day in the year - even in a leap year. The peace of God can be like a sentinel guarding heart and mind. That is just what we need!

Knowing and not knowing

St John said that we know that we have passed from death to life but St Paul said that we only know in part. To know is not to know all. We can know enough to be able to live and move and have our being, physically and spiritually. But we should also know that there is much that we don't know. It is said that faith is a balance of knowing and not knowing. We may find satisfaction in knowing but humility in realizing that there is much that we cannot know or, in other words, mystery in life and death.

Talk 'n tucker

We live in a world of rushing and sometimes miss out on the blesings of a more human approach. I think of sharing a meal with a good friend and engaging in open conversation with a real person and compare that with the exasperation I feel when dealing with many dehumanised firms with recorded messages answering questions I never thought of asking.

Ideals and possibilities

It is good to have ideals and aims for which we strive but sometimes we have to come to terms with what is possible. This is not a perfect world and we are not perfect either. There are limits which we have to accept and beating ourselves up may not solve anything. The bible says that God knows our frame. He at least is reasonable. Without being overly soft on ourselves we can only do our best, leave the rest - and then be at rest.