Living by faith

We may be pessimists by nature but we can be optimists by grace. Wearing the dark glasses of unbelief the future may seem gloomy but by faith we can see light on the horizon. I haven't sung it for years but a snatch of an old chorus has been going through my mind. It went like this: "Lord, lift me up and help me stand, By faith, on heaven's table land". With all the gloom and doom in the world we can look up and believe that beyond the clouds the sun is shining. God has not done with his world or with us as individuals. Hope is the music of the future and there is no reason why we can't dance to it today.

Get a life!

It might be said that a person's bare individuality is like the bit of grit which gets into an oyster shell. The pearl of our lives is made by the relationships we gather around us. Some people find relationships difficult and resist them even as they long for them. But it is only by being open to others that we can help them to overc0me their inhibitions and be open to us. That is the way to get a life. I would add that we should be open to God also. He is not remote or removed from us but only a prayer away. He has revealed what he is like though Jesus. Incredible as it may sound. he really loves us.

Living and dying

It must be tough to come to die only to realise that you have never really lived! For some people life is nothing more than a monotonous succession of days leading to nothing in particular. As an old man I am glad to look back and realise that my life has had meaning because at a young age I dedicated all I had to God for service to others. That means a lot to me.