Confidence under threat

News bulletins with repeated accounts of death and destruction can be demoralising. The world may seem to be a dreadful place and our confidence for life and living can be shattered. But Easter is a fillip for faith with its message about the triumph of life over death and goodness over evil. All is not lost. God is still alive! Robert Louis Stevenson said, "I believe in an ultimate decency of things" and John Greenleaf Whittier wote, "Yet midst the maddening maze of things And tossed by storm and flood, To one fixed trust my spirit clings, I know that God is good!" I say Amen to that.

Who is in the driving seat?

It has been said that man is an omnibus in which his ancestors ride and we may believe that our genes are an important factor in our life. But all not all important. I don't believe that any of my ancestors drive my bus! By the grace of God we can determine our own destiny. Years ago I knew a fine Christian man who told me that he was born as a result of his mother being raped. The circumstances of his birth could have undermined his self-worth. In fact he had made good and chosen to live a life that was useful and happy.

Life is lent

For many people Lent is a season for making sacrifices - going without meat, sugar or whatever. Perhaps we also need to remember that life itself is only lent. We came into the world at no cost to ourselves. We didn't purchase our existence or do anything to deserve it. One day we will have to give it back and be accountable for the ways` in which we have invested our years on earth. We tend to think that all are mortal except ourselves but sure enough the day of accounting is coming for all of us. By the grace of God we can face that day with confidence not simply because we are good but becuse God is.

Never give up!

Winston Churchill went to give a speech at his old school. He was announced as the greatest orator of his generation and the pupils waited for his words with bated breath. Churchill went to the podium and in measured tones declaimed, "Never, never, never give up!" Then he returned to his seat. It must have been one of the briefest speech he ever gave - and one of the most memorable! An illustration of what he must have had in mind took place on February 8th, 2010 when in Haiti, Evan Ocinia was rescued from the rubble of a market and taken to a Salvation Army clinic 28 days after the earthquake and two weeks after official rescue operations had ended. We may marvel at the buoyancy and the spiritual resilience of a man who could survive such an experience. It challenges those of us ready to give up under far less pressure.