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Thought For The Week 18 March

Over the last week or so I have had the privilege of being involved in a number of funerals.  Whether your loved one was 17, 79, or 96, every life is precious.  Every life touches the world in a unique and irreplaceable way.  The tragedy of life is that so few of us realise the treasure that we hold, while we still hold it.  The great hope of life is that God’s love is brimming with life eternal.  One thousand new tomorrows, carried in the loving arms of the One willing to sacrifice all things to rescue us, restore us and make all things new.

Every year the church calendar comes around to Easter once more, and we remember once more that “Christ died for us”.  There is a danger that in familiarity, these words are emptied of their meaning.  The dying and rising of Christ can become just a series of words that we repeat, words of allegiance to a private club.  But just as the lives we share are precious, Jesus’ life was irreplaceable and unique. The moments of brokenness and separation in our lives are like one thousand tiny deaths that separate us from one another and from God.  Somehow, in a way that I cannot ever fully understand, Jesus carried each one of those moments to the cross, and redeemed them in his love.  Not just for a chosen few, but in a great chorus of hope for the whole world.

All the great tragedies and great hopes of this life are gathered together with Jesus on the cross.  His great love is rising in us and he will one day make us whole.

Arohanui,

Rory

Categories: Thought for the week