Unearned blessings

More than two decades ago when I was at university in South Africa, a friend and I were discussing the ethics of owning a luxury car.

“As soon as I can afford the repayments,” he said, “I am going to buy a fancy BMW.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“By then my hard work will have earned me the right to enjoy a little luxury,” was the reply.

At the time, I can remember wondering whether he had earned the right to be born into a privileged race and a family that had the means to send him to university. How would his life have differed if he had been the son of an HIV positive, single mother living in Soweto? 

So many of the things we take for granted were neither earned nor deserved. Most good things are granted to us as a gift. We don’t earn them.

A few years ago, we were driving though a tiny Zimbabwean village called Bromley. Suddenly, my eye was drawn to a dog that was running towards the road. I braked and hooted.

“It’s a good thing you hooted when you did,” said Gail, “or that child would have run across the road.”

I hadn’t seen the child. In fact, if I had been on my own, I would have been totally unaware of the catastrophe which had been so narrowly averted.

But let’s not even think about behind-the-scenes-providence. What about the fact that your new-born baby is healthy and normal or that you have never been the victim of violent crime or that your father wasn’t a drunk or that you weren’t born in Homs, Syria?

Who does one thank for such blessings? And will we be called to account one day for the way we played the cards we were dealt in life?

Cheers for now - Ian

God's Presence

It is just not the coolest thing when one’s car overheats three days before a 2200km road trip.

“But at least it happened on the Borrowdale Road rather than the Biet Bridge one”, said Gail.

She had a point there! My wife always has a great perspective on things.

God had been gracious once again, protecting us from a breakdown on some remote, dangerous stretch of road in the middle of nowhere.
So having been warned by my Heavenly Dad, my earthly one towed us home, and we rushed to get to a wedding I was conducting.

On Monday morning, my good friend Mike from (you guessed it) Mike’s Radiators found a large hole in the radiator which he was able to weld shut. But the same evening, having taken Katherine to sing in a school musical, we discovered that coolant was gushing from the bottom of the car... hmmmm.

“Bring the car in tomorrow morning sometime”, instructed Mike, “and I’ll have another look at it”.

I got up early on Tuesday morning, anxious to get the car to Mike’s workshop first thing. Then a conversation struck up inside my head:

“What is your justification for taking the car early instead of having your usual devotions first?” 
“Erm... I want to be first in the queue”.
“But when you arrive, Mike will move you to the front of the queue. He knows about your holiday. Besides, the traffic will be lighter after eight. Perhaps God has something for you if only you will stop and listen...”

Reader, it was a struggle, but in the end I sat down at my desk when every part of me was screaming “do something to fix your problem” even if my efforts were going to be illogical and motivated by anxiety.

I am currently reading through the Bible in a year and wondered what encouragement I would find in the OT reading which was from Genesis 33. This chapter deals with Moses’ intercession on behalf of Israel after the incident of the Golden Calf. Because of Israel’s sin, God said that He would allow Moses to lead the people into the Promised Land, but God’s presence would not go with him. Moses was devastated.  So he pleaded with God, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here”. 

God’s response resonated powerfully with my spirit:

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest”.

It is hard to explain the effect these words had on me. But I knew that they were God’s promise for our holiday. Actually, this is a promise for life. God’s rest is founded on a sense of peace that transcends understanding because it comes from the settled conviction that God is in control and we are walking in His will, care and provision.

Moses was to go through some tough times. And so will I. But God says: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” I would not trade God presence and rest for anything in the universe. And here I am overlooking the lagoon, rejoicing in the presence of God and the rest he is giving my family.

Cheers for now - Ian