Jigsaws

Carol Purves Carol's Blog

I do just one jigsaw a year, which I start between between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Actually it usually takes me weeks to complete. I consider them a time-waster, not a waste of time. I know they stimulate the brain but I don’t have much spare time to do them because I’m doing other things to stimulate my brain. This year my jigsaw is a picture of my local city and it is taking longer than expected. In some ways jigsaws are like life and in many ways they are not. Jigsaws are made up of hundreds of pieces, like life. In a puzzle, all the pieces eventually dove-tail together perfectly. This doesn’t apply to life. No wonder Messy Church is so popular. It reflects actual life.

A missing piece in a puzzle can destroy the final picture; in God’s jigsaw of life will we be the missing piece and spoil the picture? This used to worry me as a young person. Would my reluctance to give my life to Christ, spoil His big picture. I now know that the Christian world will continue without me, but God loves me in particular as He does everyone and wants me. Would I be the weakest chain in the link? Would it snap with my link? Part of growing in the spiritual life is understanding our place. It brings peace, joy and contentment.

To see the jigsaw picture at it’s best, one needs to stand back. By standing back we can see our Christian life better. To see our lives from the aspect of heaven we will see the perfect picture. God has it all in hand. Why did we worry so when God has it planned out. Until I see the perfect picture I am content with all that God does reveal to me.

Thwarted Plans

Carol Purves Carol's Blog

Like most people I had plans for the new year. Not new year resolutions, I don’t do those. But plans for things to do during the coming months and a few changes to make.. Suddenly for a number of reasons, nearly all these plans fell apart. I would not being going where I thought I was, I wouldn’t be doing what I thought I would. Sometimes I would be busier than expected and sometimes have time on my hands.

Throughout these changes of plan I had the feeling God was extra in control. He could see that some of my plans would lead me into trouble and there were other places where He could use me more.. This stands to reason, because He can see into the future and I can’t. This makes me excited, what thrilling things are going to happen in the next twelve months?

The Flavour of God

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As Eugene Paterson puts it in Matthew 5:13 ‘You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God flavours of this earth.’ I like that, we are asked to be salt and light in this needy world. We all know the improvement that a pinch of salt can bring to a meal. And at this time of year we appreciate the need for extra light.

What a joy it is to be used to bring light to a dark place, light instead of darkness, hope instead of despair, joy instead of weeping. Every day we pray that God will lead us to the right place, to the right person.

But I must pose a question to which I don’t know the answer. Do we need to be Christian to bring light and hope to others? What about non-believing people who show more Christian attributes than we do? Christians don’t have a monopoly on kindness. My friend says her daughter is the best non-Christian Christian she knows. We understand what she means. I know the daughter and that comment is true.

I am led to think about the comment Jesus made when faced with a question about another person’s state of goodness. ‘Lord, what about him’, Peter asked inquiring about the future of a fellow disciple. Jesus replied, ‘What is that to you.’ John 21: 22

Obedience

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As children of God we are called to obedience. In our hearts we wish to be obedient because we know His will for our lives is for the best. As an all-seeing, all-knowing God we know He has the capacity to ‘wish good for us and not ill’ We want to obey but that can be as far a we get.

I remember at the age of six, my aunt saying’ After school, I’ll meet you at the corner of the field near the letter-box and we will go black-berrying.’ I didn’t listen properly and waited at the wrong place. Only as an adult do i now realise how frantic she must have been. I was missing, was I safe?

Decades later I don’t think I’ve learned to listen properly. God’s guidance and instructions are all around me. Guidance in the Bible, through church sermons pointing the correct way and by the leading of the Holy Spirit. But so often i don’t stop to listen. What pitfalls I could avoid, what wrong turnings would I miss by just listening to His voice.

Lord, give me Samuel’s ear and David’s yearnings. Stop, look and listen are not just traffic instructions, but lessons for life. May I stop and wait patiently for the Lord, my I look to the places of guidance and may I listen to God’s leading.

Wise Men from the East

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In their search for the king foretold by the star they were following, the magi would have had many days absence from their own homes and pursuits. They didn’t know how far they would have to travel. Their journey was uncharted and their destination unknown. It would have been the culmination of years of study, no sacrifice was too great.

The gifts they were bearing were expensive, making the journey a dangerous one, thieves abounded. Would they be safe as they travelled? Journeying through different countries brought further difficulties. Day after day, night after night they faithfully followed that star until they took a wrong turning and ended up in Herod’s palace. Fortunately they were still wise enough to listen to their dreams and return home a different way.

What difference would the journey have made to their lives? No doubt it was something they would never forget. They had actually been able to worship at the manger of the King of Kings, though He was just a helpless babe. It is likely that they would have known nothing of His future life, His teaching, crucifixion and resurrection. Their task was only to worship Him as a babe. Because of them the significance of gold, frankincense and myrrh is still noted today.

Religious Leaders

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What about the religious leaders in the time of Herod. Part of their brief would have been to know about a new star in the sky and what it meant. It was left to foreign magi to study and observe the new star and discover it’s meaning. They had all the required knowledge, their life had been spent studying, yet they didn’t know about this star and what it portrayed. What were they about? What had distracted them? Did their lives revolve round how important they were and their position or were they just not interested? They obviously weren’t doing their job because they had missed the significance of this particular star. They had missed the point.

Are we like this in our religious life? Are we distracted by our own importance? Do we take our our eye off the star and the direction God is leading us? The only way to keep focused is to look to Him.

Herod

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Just imagine what fear and alarm there would be if there was a threat to replace the President of the United States or the Prime Minister in my country. Sadly we have seen this in many African countries and around the world. These threats have caused coups, uprisings and much loss of life. It was the same in Herod’s day when the Magi were seeking for Jesus.

Herod’s power was tenuous, he didn’t need anyone to threaten his position.Then along came the magi from a foreign country far away, seeking a new king. Who was this so-called king, what danger was he to Herod’s power, was his whole position in jeopardy? Having discovered a few facts, he decided that infanticide was the only answer. Killing all the baby boys under the age of two would surely solve the problem.He had no regard for the terrible heartbreak he was causing, he had to be secure in his position, but had he been successful? For the rest of his days he would never be sure if he were safe. Every little disturbance or uprising would cause him to ask, is this it? Is this the end?

It is said ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown,’ no head would have been more uneasy than Herod’s.

Thrilling Stories

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We don’t need to go to the library or a bookshop to read thrilling stories. The most stunning stories and ones true to life are found in the Bible. I turned to 2 Kings 5 again and read of Naaman, a commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great and highly regarded soldier but his situation was summed up in three words ‘he had leprosy.’ The story then switches to a young girl captured from Israel who was a servant of Naaman’s wife. She had the boldness to speak ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.’

When Naaman heard this he went to the king of Aram and requested a letter from his king to the king of Israel. At this stage I’m reminded of the three wise men going to Herod when they were seeking for Jesus. They and Naaman had got it wrong. We’re told that the king of Israel tore his robes, he couldn’t cure leprosy! Was the king of Aram trying to pick a fight? When Elisha heard the story he requested the leper to come to him.

Naaman arrived full of pomp and circumstance, after all he was an important man. ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the jordan and you will be healed’ This wouldn’t do, he had better rivers in his own city of Damascus. The servant of Naaman enters the story saying if you had been asked to do a great thing you would have done it. He did listen, went to the Jordan, dipped himself in it seven times and was cleansed. End of story? Not a bit of it.

Naaman wanted to give Elisha gifts but the man of God would have none of it, the praise went to God alone. So the man and his gifts commenced the journey home. After the cleansed man had travelled some distance, he was followed by Gehazi, Elisha’s servant saying Elisha had changed his mind and would accept some of the gifts. On getting back home, Elisha challenged Gehazi about his greed and as punishment, the leprosy was passed on to Gehazi

I must declare that I believe the Bible is the sacred word of God and it is all true, but whatever one believes, it must be confessed that there are many lessons to be learned in this tale – pride, obedience to God’s commands, greed and punishment.

Faith Without Works

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We read in James 2:26 ‘Faith without works is dead.’ Verse 1 of this chapter further tells us ‘If a man claims to have faith but has no deeds…. what good is it, my brothers.’ He goes on to explain that when we see someone in need our faith compels us to act. He explains that Abraham was considered righteous for what he did.

It was these thoughts that prompted many Christian pioneers in the past. Dr Barnardo was deeply moved by the poverty he saw among the youngsters in the East End of London. Knowing he had the means to help he established many orphanages up and down the country. A number of these people went on to achieve successful lives all round the world. ‘Barnardo Boys’ had a claim of honour. At one time the ball boys at the Wimbledon tennis tournaments were lads who had been brought up in the homes. I know because for a period I had the privilege of working at their headquarters at Stepney.

I read that the Cadbury brothers, founders of the great chocolate brand (who incidentally have just lost their Royal Warrant), took extra care of their workers, even building them a special village known by the name of Bournville.

These are only a couple of men who believed that faith without works is dead, and followed the example of Jesus by caring for the needy.

Big Boots

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I read recently ‘you don’t wear big boots if you want to win a race.’ Donning my evangelical hat I realised this could mean that as a Christian you can’t suffer from pride; we need humility. We have nothing to boast about, we are all sinners in the sight of God. What grounds have we to ‘wear big boots’? Why are we programmed to be so self-centred, I wonder? Often we want to talk about ourselves and what we’ve been up to. Our highest achievement is but dust.In a conversation we can have a tendency to dominate. We live in a ‘me, me, me world,’ but we don’t have to go that way.

The world doesn’t centre round us, it centres round God. Our thoughts should be of Him and not ourselves. Other people matter to Him and should matter to us. I believe that by thinking about others above ourselve, we will have a better life. I have a friend who died a few months ago, sadly she only thought about herself, everything had to revolve round her. She had no interest in anyone else. Her inward look at life didn’t bring her any happiness. She felt the world always owed her. Dying too young, she never found happiness.

Our complete model of humility is Jesus. In spite of being the creator of the whole world, He didn’t have a special birth, or riches or comforts or even a home of His own. His love for us sent Him to die for us, though so unworthy we may be.