Forgive me for mentioning my cat Nala again. Every day she goes round the house and garden sniffing not only things that are new but everything that has changed, and Lisa and I spend time with her to calm her down and to make her feel safe. My thoughts for this week are more about people, of course, for we all go through difficult times and need help.
We all know the story of the good Samaritan. A man lies beaten up and is in a desperate state. Two apparently good people walk by and leave him there and then a hated foreigner comes by to help the man, even as he puts himself in danger. He puts the man on his mule and takes him to an inn and pays for him to be looked after. If the Samaritan had kept to the rules of his own country, the man would have died.
Day by day in lockdown there are changes; why? The government gives us rules to abide by because thy say that they are necessary to save others from becoming ill and dying. But, because they keep changing, many people are finding them difficult to keep to, and this leads me to God because GOD NEVER CHANGES. Throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New, God tells us what is good and right for us and I suppose we might call them rules. But, what are rules?
Most rules involve authority over people, exercising power, restriction, and more authority! God’s rules are none of those. Gods rules are good for us. They are the ten commandments and if we look at each one, we will see that if we ignore them either God gets hurt or another person gets hurt and we also get hurt. Now we turn to Jesus who gives us a shorter version. The story of the good Samaritan was told by Jesus to a man who asked how he could have eternal life; he knew the law but not the love (Luke 10 v.27). Jesus never changes and God never changes. In John 15 v. 12 Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. This is my command: love each other.”
PRAYERS
HEAVENLY UNCHANGING GOD.We praise and thank You for the way You show us what is good and right for us and yet we often fail to hear your words and even when we hear them we think that those rules are not meant for us so why should we keep to them.
Lord God, we have listened to the lives of the prophets like Isaiah, your chosen people who have shown us time after time that what you promise you never change from. We have read or listened to David’s Psalms, which are full of your ways of giving us what is good and right for us and again we have gone our own way and looked to you for help to see us through the dark days.
HEAVENLY UNCHANGING GOD.
We come to you now with the words of Jesus in our minds and hearts. The words which reminded us of the greatest gift ever given not only to us but to all the world who would remember what your Son did; gave his life for us.
HEAVENLY UNCHANGING GOD.
You proved that love is what would change the world. The love of Your son Jesus Christ, the love of you, Father God, and the love of the Holy Spirit – the THREE IN ONE – and the love of all people. ‘Love each other as I have loved you,’ said Jesus, ‘and love your neighbour as yourself.’ It’s love that is needed so save our world with love and forgiveness. AMEN.