Devotion – This present life

When life is good, enjoy it. But when life is hard, remember: God gives good times and hard times, and no-one knows what tomorrow will bring (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

The Message version of Ecclesiastes 7:14 says this: ‘On a good day, enjoy yourself; on a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted’.

One person’s good day is another person’s fantastic day! One person’s hard time is another person’s tragedy. In one sense, it is like the half-full/half-empty cup dilemma. No matter what you think you have, the cup holds half liquid and half air. No matter what you think of your life, you have your life!

And, according to The Message translation: God arranges for both times. What do we make of this? What sort of God is revealed here? Perhaps we need to consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:45, ‘God makes the sun rise on the bad and on the good and causes rain to fall on the just and unjust’. The point is God practises universal, non-violent love. Through Jesus, grace, love and life are offered to all.

The good and bad, the just and unjust, those who look for it and those who don’t.

I don’t know where you sit along these continuums. I do know that Jesus says, ‘Come to me, all who are thirsty’. And each one of us is thirsty at times. Different times, different situations, different responses. God’s offer, through Jesus, still stands.

And for those of us who respond to that grace, love and life, we receive blessings. And we are called to offer similar grace, love and life to others. No matter our situation, we are blessed to be a

Blessing.

Thank you, Lord, for the variety of life experiences we have. Help us to hold onto your grace and love, no matter our situation. When we are able, encourage us in our endeavors to be a blessing to others.

Amen

Prayer Points

We ask God’s grace, wisdom and guidance as we strive to serve others

We give thanks for the opportunity to continue our learning during the lockdown and pray that we may return to onsite learning next term

We pray for a safe and relaxing holiday period

We pray for the Sang, Tandon and Thang Ngak families

Micah Award

To Paw Chai for showing courage to work independently and always striving for quality in her work.

To Emily for striving to do her best and producing quality work.