EXPLORING THE BIBLE

Do we have faith that will allow us to call on Christ’s mercy, obey him and live as if we are healed and transformed?

In the bible passage, Paul encourages Timothy in his faith in Jesus Christ though love, words and prayer. This is a story of two people of different ages that were called by God for his own purpose and grace.  What does this intergenerational attitude look like for us today?

At the time this story was told, wealth was understood to be a sign of God’s favour and poverty a sign of God’s displeasure. Imagine the shock for the hearers of this story. It is not the rich man but Lazarus, who longed to satisfy his hunger, who is brought into eternal favour.

There is both cost and promise in following Jesus. As we continue in our discipleship, God is present in our lives, shaping and transforming us. Through us, transformation comes to the Christian family and to all those communities of which we are part.

Who puts the 99 in jeopardy in order to take the risk that one might be found? It makes little sense to spend so much time looking for one lost sheep or a tiny coin. Or does it? Jesus tells us it does not only make sense but saving those who are lost is what God is all about! And when one is saved there is a lot of rejoicing!

“I believe in the God who is made known and available to me through Jesus Christ – that is, a personal God, who I believe knows me as an individual, cares for me, and enables and inspires me to live my life with a firm sense of purpose and a deep satisfaction in the service of others”. Professor Alister McGrath of Oxford