Thought
for the Day – Sunday 9th August
‘For our
present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us
an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see
right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over,
but the joys to come will last forever.’
‘’ (2 Corinthians 4: v17-18)
We seem to be tied up with all things Covid at the moment
but today’s verses from scripture should give us some encouragement to hang in
there and do all the things we are asked to do and hopefully a new and
sustained normality won’t be too far away.
One thing that does concern me is the future of the church
in our country. I wonder what going to
church or being part of a church will look like in 10, 20, or 30 years
time. I’ve tried to imagine what it will
be like but invariably, come up with a blank canvas. Covid has taught us that church can still go
on in some form during a crisis but certainly not in the form we’re used
to. Personally, I think that some of the
approaches taken have been quite innovative and have worked to a greater or
lesser degree. At the same time, I’ve witnessed others that
feel very alien to me but appear to suit some church members. Maybe the answer is that the church will not
continue exactly in the form we’ve been used to but will take a variety of
shapes and forms. Sometimes it seems to
me in all this that the means of transmitting the message is given more
importance than the message itself.
I once used a quote from a missionary who spoke at last year’s
general assembly who was asked why the church is growing in third world
countries while some areas of the church are in the decline here. His response was along the following lines. In the rich and developed countries, you have
God and things while in third world countries we only have God.
It's more important now than ever to pray for guidance on
how to take the message to everyone in all corners of our country and all
corners of the world, to the young, to the elderly and everyone in
between. It is our calling that we as
individuals should be doing whatever we are able to bring the good news to
those in this life that they may join with us in looking forward to what awaits
us in the next.
Prayers
Loving God,
We thank you
for the blessings you bestow on each one of us every day of our lives and help
us never forget where these gifts come from.
We thank you for the sunshine and the rain knowing that it is both of
these blessings you provide for us that make this little country we live in so
fertile and so beautiful. Be with us
this day Lord and with all the other folks that are part of your church all
over the world and help us remember that our congregations are part of something
much bigger than ourselves that seeks to serve and glorify you to all. Amen.
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