June 2023
Ah, at last some summer sun and a quiet couple of months to catch up with myself... Yes, I know, I’m dreaming again. It is, however, inspiring to see God’s creation transformed as the old dies away and new leaves and plants grow vigorously. This reminds me of how my faith development has had its times of growth and times of cutting or dying back. One of the main things one of my friends remembers from when he was growing up was pain. He grew to be 6’8”, over 2metres tall! The bones lengthening and muscles stretching caused the pain over his teen years. We may not all grow to be over 2 meters tall but we all grow up in different ways. I remember having really large size 10 feet at the start of my growth spurt, which made me rather clumsy! We may have stopped growing in height, but our bodies continue to grow in other ways, and we learn to adapt and manage the changes through our lives. As well as growing physically and mentally, as Christians we should also place an importance to our continued spiritual or faith development. However, we decided to follow Jesus, joining a church or making a prayer of commitment, is just the starting point on our journey of faith. It is easy to stay in our comfort zones, but God has a habit of nudging us out of these at times, it may be a painful or stretching process, but we grow as we move out in faith. The last year has been challenging, yet somehow it has deepened my dependence on God. John 15 reminds us of the importance of remaining in Christ, ‘apart from me you can do nothing’. Jesus describes Father God as the gardener; he cuts off unfruitful branches and prunes others so that they will be even more fruitful. This can be painful at the time, but God knows what he is doing and we can reap the benefits in the future if we remain faithful. This is also true for churches there are times for growth and times for cutting back. Growth can occur in various ways, including our depth of spirituality and outworking of our faith in practical ways. Reading our bibles is an important pillar of our faith. When you buy a new product, you turn to the manual to help you understand how to use it; yes you can experiment and learn so much, but to make the most of the product you turn to the user manual. Our bible is our maker’s manual for us, with instruction on how we are to ‘live life in all its fullness’ as the creator intended. This has been and still is an essential part of my faith which has helped me through the difficult times in my life, when I had to let some things die away or cut them back; and has been central at times of growth and fruitfulness. To be a disciple of Jesus is to commit to continue to grow and learn whatever our age. How will you be growing over the coming weeks and months? Are you ready for God to surprise you? Love, joy and peace Rev Mike
