Youth Club Talk - a reflection on John 10:10 and how life doesn't have a pause button.
"Race Driver: Grid by Codemasters is easily the best thing we had this Christmas. It is beautiful, accurate, full of interactive and exciting gameplay... and I am completely rubbish at it.
I find ever more spectacular ways to end up in a crumpled heap, with bits of me falling off. Out of the race, at the back of the queue.
And yet, in this great game there is a special feature: the ability to pause, to look and examine your mistakes, to go back and to have another go.
I can take a corner more cautiously this time. I can spot the problem ahead. I can handle the situation differently.
How unlike life. What would happen if we really could go back and make things different? All those errors of judgement we made against our friends, lovers, authority and God; all those sinful acts and acts of omission. Replayed over and over again until we could get it just right.
We make mistakes. It's a part of being human, and you are no less a person for making mistakes. God does not despise you for making mistakes, does not disapprove of you but again does not want you to make mistakes that hurt others, hurt yourself, hurt the environment and hurt the special relationship between you and God.
He created you and loves you so much that he also gave you - as a gift - the freedom to mess it up.
Jesus said "I came that you may have life, life in all its fullness" (John 10:10)
There is no rewind button on life. You have to make the most of them, pick yourself up and carry on. St. Paul said that life was like a race, a race that required us to train hard, to work hard, to strive to take part in.
The prize is something far better than Lewis Hamilton could dream of... it is the prize of living a life fully in the love of God, as a loved, called, known child of God.
"Race Driver: Grid by Codemasters is easily the best thing we had this Christmas. It is beautiful, accurate, full of interactive and exciting gameplay... and I am completely rubbish at it. I find ever more spectacular ways to end up in a crumpled heap, with bits of me falling off. Out of the race, at the back of the queue. And yet, in this great game there is a special feature: the ability to pause, to look and examine your mistakes, to go back and to have another go. I can take a corner more cautiously this time. I can spot the problem ahead. I can handle the situation differently. How unlike life. What would happen if we really could go back and make things different? All those errors of judgement we made against our friends, lovers, authority and God; all those sinful acts and acts of omission. Replayed over and over again until we could get it just right. We make mistakes. It's a part of being human, and you are no less a person for making mistakes. God does not despise you for making mistakes, does not disapprove of you but again does not want you to make mistakes that hurt others, hurt yourself, hurt the environment and hurt the special relationship between you and God. He created you and loves you so much that he also gave you - as a gift - the freedom to mess it up. Jesus said "I came that you may have life, life in all its fullness" (John 10:10) There is no rewind button on life. You have to make the most of them, pick yourself up and carry on. St. Paul said that life was like a race, a race that required us to train hard, to work hard, to strive to take part in. The prize is something far better than Lewis Hamilton could dream of... it is the prize of living a life fully in the love of God, as a loved, called, known child of God.
