Thought for the day - Wedneday7 October

Thought for the Day – Wednesday 7th October ‘I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.’ (1 Corinthians 1: 10) Well if we are also part of God’s creation and we are to care for everything in God’s creation just how do we ensure we care for each other? Well, I wonder if you have you ever had one of those moments when you have to make a running repair in your home – like when you have to stick a piece of wallpaper back in place or join two pieces of wood together or even two bits of metal or plastic – only to go to the cupboard or your toolbox and discover that you have the wrong sort of glue. Wood glue won’t stick the metal, wallpaper paste won’t stick the wood together and so it all turns out to be rather a waste of time because the glue you are using is not up to the job in hand. On the other hand if you have exactly the right glue for the job then the result can be amazing because a bond will be created and it will be a bond which lasts. Now, in a way that is how we care for each other in creation because for us as Christians the ‘glue’ that causes a strong bond is love and when we share love with others we create strong bonds. I know in reality sometimes this can be difficult for there are divisions among people everywhere – between individuals, within fellowships, between churches, between denominations, between ethnic groups, even between countries – and that is a result of our own human shortcomings. After all, we have to acknowledge that we are all different and we will all have had different experiences of Jesus to relate to in our lives, so it is only natural that there will always be differences of opinion and outlook among people. We also have to acknowledge that there will be some people we are naturally more drawn to than others – that quite simply is a fact of life. However, if we are to live out our call to care for all those who live in God’s creation and if we are truly ‘in Christ’ then our faith should help us to overcome any such differences - with the love that unites us being much more powerful than anything which might divide us from each other. Love is the glue to form those strong bonds and the outworking of love in our lives in response to God’s call to care for his creation brings us into union with each other. Truly, in the words of Lennon and McCartney ‘All you need is love’ Prayer A prayer written by John Birch entitled ‘This is Love’ and posted on Faith and Worship This is love. Not that you spoke words of comfort, walked with the unclean and unloved, shared wisdom, bread and wine, brought healing into lives and challenged the status quo. This is love. That you spoke the word of God, walked a painful road to the Cross, shared living water, bread of life, brought Salvation to the world and died for the sake of all. This is love. It is a seed sown in the ground, which germinates, blossoms, and spreads its sweet perfume.