Without vision the people perish

It’s sometimes strange the way certain verses of the bible crop up again and again at various different points along the faith journey. This was the case recently with this verse from Proverbs that my Dad gave me while I was still in High School. This morning at church the talk was based on Luke 2 v 21ff and on the man Simeon. Simeon had a vision from God that showed him that he would not die before setting his eyes on the Saviour of the whole world and human race. He had a spiritual vision that gave him hope and a gift of perspective that others perhaps did not possess. I just thought that this is a message that is almost more pertinent now, in this day and age, when hope and perspective are so difficult to come by. So, as we all face the year 2009 let our prayers be for new eyes and an inquenchible hope in God and his plans for our lifes, our families, communities, nations and the whole world. What a wonderful and refreshing perspective, without which we might as well curl up and die.

Distracted when worshipping God? Anyone...

Today I was responsible for distracting children. Obviously this is not always an undesirable thing, however this particular incidence was an attempt to engage and welcome - gone wrong - it didn't take very long, a matter of seconds really. It's funny how quickly a good idea can backfire. It's also interesting how easily we can become distracted from the things that God wants us to focus on. HIMSELF! Especially in this advent season, our focus is to be solely fixed on God. This does not mean that we are to exclude ourselves from fun and festivities. We are cultural beings after all, God made us that way. Santa, for example, is very much a cultural figure which celebrates the generousity of a real man called Nicholas. Gift-giving is an expression of generousity and enjoying time with our families, eating and singing carols are also good and God-given joys in this world.

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However, at the centre of everything, the motivation for everything, the root of all our fun and cultural rituals - needs to be Christ, the God-man come to earth, humbling himself to show us a better way to live. Not only a better life, but a better way to experience the gifts he has given us in his creation. To be distracted from worshipping the one and only God, creator and sustainer of the universe is wrong. Whether we are singing songs of praise in church, whether we are enjoying a feast with friends and family, whether we are watching sport on TV or playing it on the field or the court - we need to re-orientate, re-ground ourselves in the truth of the matter, the answer to all our questions - JESUS CHRIST. So, Father in our play and in our work may we see you clearly, know your love and celebrate your continuing presence in this world, Amen.