November 2011

Dear Friends

There's a wilderness in God's mercy

This is the first line of a hymn and when a friend of mine announced the hymn he called it, by mistake, "a wilderness in God's mercy" instead of "a wideness in God's mercy"

I have thought a lot about that slip of the tongue ever since and I think that it was an inspired slip, one that was designed to make us think. For many people a relationship with God is extremely difficult. Many think that there is no way that God can love them because of all the things that they have done or experienced. Foe many people the realisation that God loves them and has abundant mercy is a very foreign notion.

Our God is a forgiving God, as a mother loves her children, so God loves us all and, as the hymn says, "Father like he tends and cares us". We are called to express this love and mercy in our everyday lives as we walk with God and His Son Jesus Christ.

The mercy of God is wider and broader than we can imagine, however many people feel that they can not be loved and there is no way that they can or should be forgiven. For many people the suffering that they experience in their lives is seen as punishment for the sins they have committed. This is not true! We see all the time examples of suffering from those who appear to have lead exemplary lives and those who care "not a jot" seem to survive.

God, through Jesus His Son, who died the most horrific of deaths is with us in our suffering. God is there weeping with us and shedding tears as we cry. God is there walking with us and carrying us in out times of trouble. He knows our every thought and our whole being and should be at the centre of our lives so that we can enjoy that peace which the world cannot give, in the depths of our souls. He is waiting for us to repent of our sins and acknowledge our wickedness so that we can experience resurrection in our own lives and share the joy of the risen Lord.

During November, we celebrate the feast of All Saints and also Remembrance Sunday, when we remember those with whom we have walked and lost and those who have suffered on our behalf's so that we may live as free people. During this month, maybe we can all take time to give thanks for the mercy of God and to share with others that mercy that knows no bounds.

For many, there is a wilderness to be navigated so that they can find and experience the loving, healing, forgiving God who is waiting with his arms open to welcome, comfort, and renew us. Whoever we be, however old we may be and whatever we have done.

With my love and prayers