27 May 2020
Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9
Key verse: 1 Peter 1:6 ‘In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials:’
As I look out of my window today all I can see is a sky thick with cloud, grey and pressing in – I am reminded that this is sometimes how I feel. Is it because I have been wronged, my faith challenged, turned away from God and his promises or even just sad? I can honestly say all of these have occurred at some time but what counts is how I react to each and every situation.
When the church was first formed after Christ’s resurrection and the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit touched all who came to know Christ’s saving grace, it was a church under persecution those Christians suffered for their faith. We may consider ourselves to be lucky, that in the country we live in this does not happen, but there are still many countries in the world where persecution is a daily thing. It does not mean however that we will not be tested as we grow with God.
I am reminded of an Open University lecture about the great masters and their artwork. The commentator was stressing that all the masterpieces of art contain both light and shadow for the painting to become alive. A life living with Christ is not one that is filled only with sunshine, but one which has both light and shadow to produce a thing of beauty. We are called to be faithful, trusting, penitent, loving, forgiving and so much more, so we should not be surprised that our heavenly Father wants the same for us. Children when growing up have to be led, challenged and sometimes allowed to make mistakes, and we are children of God.
These dark times can become a blessing because the way we react forms the backbone of our Christian life by bringing us closer to God. Paul and Silas sang their song of praise at midnight in a rat-infested jail in Philippi, their feet in stocks, their backs whipped raw. But their patience in suffering and persecution led to the conversion of the heathen prison warden and his family. Stephen the first martyr was watched over by a man who carried the cloaks of those who threw the stones; Paul – look at what became of him. Some of our greatest hymns have come from those who have faced trials; for example Fanny Crosby, her spirit aglow with faith in Christ, saw more with her sightless eyes than most of us do with normal vision, writing over two thousand hymns.
A dear friend in the Lord told me once that when he feels low, worried, lost or far away from God he stops (as he says) looking at his feet. His next step is to thank God because he realises that he has stopped looking up. When we take our eyes away from the Lord the only thing that happens is that we fail. There is no test, trial or temptation that we experience that the Lord has not already provided everything we need, a way to defeat the problem and a way of praising Him for all of our dark times. Remember before gold is transformed from the nugget to the beautiful thing we know, it has to pass through fire and be purified. So, as the hymn tells us – “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.” Remember even though there are clouds all around there is always a blue sky behind, there is a need for sunshine and shadow in our lives to help us grow in Christ.