1 Samuel 17:38-18:30
Woo ha! My boys loved this story so much when I read it to them. They saw that it proves God is the biggest strongest one in the whole universe and he can bash anything, even a massive massive giant. They jumped up shouting “show me those robbers and mean people who don’t love Jesus and we will bash them with stones and cut off their heads and throw their carcasses to the birds and then everyone will know that God is the greatest one ever!!”. We have confiscated their catapults. It’s funny though because while I’ve seen this story in nearly every single childrens’ bible I’ve never once seen the one about David’s wedding present to his father-in-law. Yeowch! I wonder if he had them gift-wrapped? The beef in this casserole though is surely the twin concept that David had great success because God was with him (18:14) and that God was with David because David knew that “the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (17:47). This isn’t the power of positive thinking or even a formula for a full and happy life but just an appreciation that God runs this whole show and that life will go well if we listen to him. Whatever battles we are facing - juggling multiple responsibilities, striving for personal morality, engaging with difficult people at work - we can know that they are actually the Lord’s battles. And, if we acknowledge that and seek His glorification in all of them, then we are probably on a good track towards seeing success in at least some of our ventures.
John 16:5-17:5
For the whole of John’s gospel we’ve been getting closer and closer to seeing this concept of eternal life spelt out loud and proud in simple, unambiguous language. It’s like we’ve been climbing the spiral staircase inside the Tower in the Palace of Westminster, feeling like we must be getting closer to Big Ben but also feeling slightly dizzy and exhausted from the circular nature of our journey. Now, just as we have reached the top and laid eyes on the Great Bell some bright spark has pulled the bell-rope and clanged the bellmetal right in our faces. Our ears, our faces, our minds resound with the reverberating truth that this is eternal life: to know God, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he sent. “But he aint’ here” we bellow above the dazzling din, and we are stuck in this God-forsaken place with no earthly way to find him. The bell is swinging so powerfully and so fast that we feel it is completely beyond us to behold it and know it and live in it. Eternal life may have sounded grand but, in practice, perhaps it is not for us? But no. That is to deny how John introduced this theme and to ignore what Jesus said about the Counsellor. It is better for us that Jesus is not here. It is better for us that his Spirit is with us. You see, this eternal life stuff is not about our efforts, it is not about us reaching out to touch the bell. It is about the Spirit of God coming to us and convicting us of our sin, leading us into truth and making Jesus known to us. Eternal life is received, not won. It is about His work, not our work. All that remains for us is simply to be alert and to be open. To enjoy what we are given and to be faithful in response. We must go on being filled with the Spirit. We must not grieve the Spirit but be alert to his voice. We need to be prayed for in ministry time. We need to give him time in our days.
Psalm 68:1-6
God sets the lonely in families. Isn’t that just the most moving thing to think about in a society as separated and lonely as ours. O God, would you help us as your church to be family to the lonely, and that we may lead forth prisoners in singing.
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