Shocked & Sad

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Some time ago I happened to watch part of the television programme, “Who Do You Think You Are?”.  It is a programme that looks into a person’s family history and often there are surprises concerning an ancestor.  Sometimes there are smiles of delight and at other times tears of sadness of what an ancestor may have experienced.  On this particular programme the actor Ralf Little, who has appeared on television programmes such as ‘Death in Paradise’, was finding out about his forefathers.

He had grown up with a rumour that a part-time footballer on his mother’s side had been an international player.  He was delighted to find out that his mother’s grandfather, Albert Lockley, had played for Wales. It was a match against Ireland in 1898.  Ralf was really pleased to find out that the rumour or family legend was actually true.  He went to the club where his great grandfather had played and sat in the stand as he spoke with a local historian. Then he heard some new information about the footballer that seemed to devastate him.  He made it clear how shocked and sad he was to hear that information. 

The pain of death

 

Over the past few weeks, two of my good friends have died, writes Bert Cargill of St Monans Gospel Hall, men in the same age group as myself, so it was sad to see them go. I’m sure that you will have had this experience too at some point. Many years of friendship and common interests had given us great opportunities to share and care in church-based events and everyday ones. That is finished now, but we have the great prospect of a reunion in heaven one day, a place where there is no death, no sorrow, no pain, no loss. As it says in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

What is the world's best selling book?

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When I wrote this piece, I was about to go to the airport to board a flight from Wellington, New Zealand, to the UK via Sydney, Australia. We were travelling home to Liverpool in the North West of England. Home is a wonderful place to be with your own ‘kith and kin’. It is never more appreciated than when you are away from them. Though we were not looking forward to the 30 hours of travelling, the anticipation of seeing our family and grandchildren again makes up for any minor discomfort.

Carole (my wife) and I had been away for about five weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the southern hemisphere. The plan was to visit some churches in Australia and New Zealand to speak at conferences and seminars on the world’s best-selling book, the Bible.

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It never fails to amaze me how timeless and cross-cultural the Bible is. It addresses the most profound issues that we as humans grapple with, such as:

Where do we come from - our origin?

Why do evil and suffering exist?

Why are we all mortal beings who eventually die?

Where do our consciousness, identity, creativity, and intelligence come from?

Why is there order and design?

Why are we all morally aware of right and wrong?

Why do we need help to do what is right?

Where did the universal concepts of love, hope and peace come from?

What if you could discover the true meaning of life?

All photos used courtesy of Unsplash

I want to ask you today the same question that the James (one of the writers of the New Testament in the Bible) asked nearly 2000 years ago - "What is your life?". What's it all about? Songs have been written about it; films have been produced about it.  For many, there is no greater question to be answered and yet most people believe that they probably will never ever find the true answer.