Thought for the Day - Friday 19 February

Thought for the day Friday February 19th 2021   1 John 4:11-12 (New Living Translation)   Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.   Since it’s Friday, I thought I would start on a lighter note before attempting to write a little about today’s reading from Holy scripture.   Is it only me that when I call friends just now, I sometimes seem I have very little to talk about because none of us who are adhering to the Covid guidelines are doing much worth talking about.  Most days my routine changes very little, I walk my dog for at least 6 of those days and on Sunday, that responsibility falls to another.  I find that when out walking, we get time to think and, sometimes overthink some of life’s little occurrences.  For example, during the week, I was walking my usual paths when a family was approaching consisting of four generations of the female gender varying from a small child in a buggy to a friendly looking soul who appeared to be the matriarch.  When I got closer, the matriarch shouted enthusiastically to the occupant of the buggy; ‘haw Charmaine, look, it’s a woof woof’.  Now after this friendly and harmless encounter, I found myself thinking about it and arrived at the following conclusion: ‘haw Charmaine, look, it’s a West Highland terrier’ would be unrealistic, but surely ‘doggy’ instead of ‘woof woof’ shouldn’t be too much to expect!   Another thing on social media that caught my eye was a message that said; ‘The fact that there’s a ‘Highway to hell’ and only a ‘Stairway to Heaven’ could say a lot about anticipated traffic numbers’.   Anyway, I hope you’ll forgive the previous anecdotes, now to the real business.  I was checking out the ten commandments and noticed as you will all know, that each one of these commandments tell us things that we shouldn’t be doing (don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t gossip etc.). Taking this a little further, I wondered if we kept all these commandments, would it make us more likeable and lovable people in the eyes of God and Man.  The old testament tells us of God’s power when we are told of the creation, the flood and how those not on the Ark were dealt with, the way the Egyptians pursuing the Israelites were dealt with, the way Lot’s wife was dealt with and many other examples of His power.   In the new testament we are told ‘what to do’ as opposed to ‘what not to do’.  When Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment, he responds ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: Love your neighbour as yourself.  All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments’.   Todays reading reminds us that although God is a powerful God, He is also a loving God.  He doesn’t ask us to show we are His people by demonstrating acts of power and punishment.    Jesus came into this world because God loved us enough to send his only son to live His life as a perfect example to all mankind for all time.  John asks us to please God by being loving to one another and that if we do this, God will truly live within us.   Prayer. Our Lord and our God, we thank you for the love you give us each day when light follows darkness so we can see the wonders of your creation in the grasses and trees all around us, for the birds and other wild creatures that share this world with us, for the food you provide each day.  Help us remember to say thanks and try to love as you have commanded us. Amen