Thought for the Day
Last Friday I went to Thorpe Park with my son’s school trip as a helper, and I don’t know about the children, but I had a great time! I love going on the rides and enjoying the thrill of the biggest and scariest rollercoasters. For those of you who are familiar with Thorpe Park, I managed to ride Swarm, Nemesis Inferno, Saw: the Ride and Colossus. However towards the end of the day, I was persuaded by one young man to accompany him on a ride called the Tidal Wave. I should have known better, but let’s just say my day had a rather soggy ending!
With all those rides, including the very wet Tidal Wave, there were plenty of ups and downs, as well as twists and turns and even the odd upside down moment. A bit like life really.
The school trip was in fact an end of term farewell to the children who were leaving their middle school, and so for some, it was tinged with sadness, for others possibly a celebration, and still others, a mixture of those two, and other emotions. Our experiences in life will be full of different emotions, whether they are ups or downs, celebrations or sad farewells, fearful or peaceful, times of great joy or deep sadness, and whole range of other emotions to make up the fabric of our lives.
This week I have witnessed a rollercoaster range of emotions, from those who have recently celebrated the birth of a child, to a family mourning the death of a child. From someone who was terrified, to someone who was blessed by someone else’s generosity towards them. From a child who was nervous about going on a ride and then the exhilaration of going on that same ride.
For me, as a Christian, it is such a comfort that God is someone who has experienced emotion, and still does. The Bible tells us that God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, and we can read that he faced fear, joy, bereavement, stress, ups and downs, excruciating pain and torture, mentally as well as physically. Jesus went through good times and bad, and so he can relate to us and what we are going through.
At the beginning of the Bible, we read the account of the creation of the world, and at every stage God pronounces his creation “good”. However, the first thing that was not “good” was that man was alone. This is not just a statement about marriage, but that we were made for relationship with others. It is not good when we have to try and face the challenges of life alone, or even celebrate the joyful times alone. God made us to share with each other, to support together, to celebrate together, to mourn together, to relax together, to cry or laugh together. We are made for community.
We are also made for relationship with God, and although we sometimes try and fill that gap in our lives with all sorts of things, good or bad, we still need God. We need the God who can relate to how we feel, who loves who we are and who wants a relationship with us.
Why not take the opportunity to find out more about the God who loves you, just the way you are. We don’t have to earn our way into his good books. We just have to ask. Visit a local church or visit our church website to find out more… www.biggleswadechurch.org. Have a great day!
