In the Wake of the Cross

Silent walk behind the cross this morning, trudging the familiar trail through Banchory. Stopping at several wide-spots along the way to hear the story again. To imagine the rejection, the loneliness, the courage and the pain of Jesus on that first Good Friday.

Silent walk. Time to reflect. To think about his sacrifice. To recognise that feeling worthless is self-indulgent and untrue; why would Jesus have died for me, or for you, if we were worthless? In the words of the ad for a beauty product, he died ‘because we’re worth it’. 

Sometimes that is hard to see. Where we see the problems, Jesus sees the potential. He made each one of us. He knows what is inside of us. He knows how to draw the best out ... if we just let him.

Spend some time in silence today. Think about why Jesus did it. Why he left his glory in heaven to live amongst struggling, poor people. Why he allowed himself to be pinned to the cross. 

Because, in his eyes, ‘we’re worth it’. I know, hard to believe. But it’s true not because of who we are, but of who he is.

Silent walk. Time to reflect on my own path. There are things which obscure the road ahead. Is it straight? Does it turn sharply, or bend gently up ahead? Where are the potholes? Where is the ditch? 

Uncertainties fog my vision and I just don’t know. If I allow it to, fear could grip me and paralyse me into inaction, negating faith.

I won’t allow it to. There is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out fear. And what I see on the cross of Calvary is perfect love. Perfect love named Jesus.

Where there are problems, there is potential. Opportunity for me to see God act in amazing ways. I am open for that. I am alert and watching, my hand firmly in the hand of Jesus as I expect him to lead me through the fog. 

I refuse to stand shivering in indecision. I will walk forward, one step at a time, into a future full of hope and joy. 

All because of what Jesus has done on the cross, memorialised today, on Good Friday.

Thanks be to God.

The Promise of Spring

The sky is blue, with a warm sun beaming down on the northeast of Scotland. Crocus and snowdrops splash their colour amongst the green verges; one or two trees are in blossom.

Spring is on its way.

And yet...

Early this morning, before the sun was properly in place over the country, the temperature was below freezing and there was ice on the roads. And on that ice, one of my dear daughters-in-law skidded her car, landing on its roof in the field. 

Mercifully, God was riding in the car with her, and she emerged without a scratch, much to the paramedics’ amazement. 

God can do more than we ask or imagine.

Is it coincidence that her husband, Jamie, our eldest son, is en route to Africa for a two week stint of work bringing development and conflict resolution to some deprived and unquiet areas? You may draw different conclusions; I know many Christians who don’t really believe in the activity of an enemy in the world, but I know what I think. The enemy is a liar and a deceiver and also a destroyer, and he does whatever he can to subvert the growth of God’s kingdom in the world.

God is loving and merciful, and his ways are mysterious. He doesn’t always protect believers from the consequences of living in this world, but whatever happens, he is always in the car with them. 

Praise Him that this morning, Jesus sat taller than Chrisie did in the front seat, and absorbed the impact on the roof himself. 

He took the hit so she could walk free.

Same thing he did on Calvary. Praise Him!

Spring is indeed on the way.