What’s gone wrong with the world? Daffodils in December?! Floods happening in so many different places! Migrants on the march! Where will it all end?
The world at the moment does seem like a topsy-turvy kind of place and increasingly insecure – What’s to be done about it all?
It’s easy to blame our leaders – who’d be a politician with all the many and varied responsibilities and concerns they’ve got to juggle: Junior Doctors going on strike – Flood defences proving inadequate – Terrorist groups making everyone feel vulnerable. Some politicians get well paid but they haven’t got a magic wand and the tide is sometimes too strong. So what is to be done?
Well, let’s pray! It’s a good place to start: …
Let’s pray for our leaders – that David Cameron and his government and all those in power and authority will make wise decisions about immigration, climate change, the EU and so on. But let’s also pray for the leaders of big corporations who are arguably as powerful as the politicians.
Let’s pray for those most vulnerable – there are always casualties of war and climate change and humankind’s inhumanity. Can we put ourselves into their shoes? E.g.What’s it like to be homeless? What’s it like to loose all your possessions? What it like to be in a country where you know no-one and no-one wants to know you! In our own country, what’s it like to have to brush the flood waters out of your living room? Or put your prize possessions into a skip? it’s good to see people rallying round those afflicted by the floods but it’s a great loss. We who have must always remember those experiencing disaster.
And let’s pray for ourselves – How can we help? Can we support an organisation bringing help to Asylum Seekers? (like “Sanctus” at St Mark’s Shelton) Can we give money to those who run refugee camps in far away places? Can we support medical charities that are the only hope for people caught up in terrible situations?
God so loved the world that He gave … He gave Himself… to help people turn their lives around. Jesus had a wonderful healing ministry; Jesus had an amazing way of helping social outcasts to find a new start; Jesus had a fantastic ability to respond to someone in crisis.
As Jesus gave Himself to help the likes of you and me, so we too, with the help of His Holy Spirit can do the same – or will we just sit around and moan about the problems of the world?!
Peter Chantry
