In God is Rest

There was an audible sigh as I drew the curtains this morning to see a second day of uninterrupted blue sky. Although a breeze plays in the leaves of the trees, there is no driving wind or edge of incipient rain. The day feels settled.

Here on an island the weather is capricious, restless as the waves that batter the coasts. It can be tiring, even emotionally, to live in constant change. So nice to feel the contentment of a settled day. 

Jesus invites us to come to him and rest. In him is peace. The Father promised Joshua that he would never leave him nor forsake him. In God is rest. Whatever the weather, whatever the family turmoil, whatever the political upheavals, whatever the doctor’s diagnosis, in God is rest.

Come away

Pedestrian Flow Zone!

The directions are clear; sometimes we just don’t see them. Times Square, NYC. The most natural thing was to pause and look, as lights and words and images projected from every direction. How could we keep moving? We didn’t even see the sign! I just noticed it now, a week later while looking through the pictures.

Life is busy. It’s easy to miss the signs, however clear they are, because of the busy-ness. Take time to smell the roses, my dear Dad used to remind me. Come away with me, Jesus invited his friends. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere peaceful and secure. Come away.

Through the Keyhole

As we prayed this morning, I found myself looking through a giant keyhole, the kind that takes an ancient castle key. I was looking into a room of palatial grandeur. Gilt and carvings; crystal  chandeliers and elaborate ceiling coving. Highly-polished hardwood floors and Persian carpets of colour and intricate design. French mahogany couches and chairs, upholstered in creamy brocades. Porcelain clocks.

Voluptuous beauty, reminding me of Versailles or the Hermitage. Breathtaking. 

Jesus said he goes ahead to prepare a place for us. There was nobody in this extraordinary room. Yet.

Interesting that I was looking through a keyhole. Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, going on to give him powers to bind and loosen. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer is the key we all have.

Through the keyhole. The television programme invites viewers to snoop round someone’s home and deduce what sort of person lives there and guess who it might be. 

The room I saw this morning is the room of royalty. We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings. We are invited in.

I don’t think of the prayer picture just as a promise of what is to come, but as an encouragement to step into the Kingdom now and to open the door wide so that others may enter too.