If you were born in the 1600s, you might have had a fair chance of understanding the 17th-century English poet John Milton – if not, there’s only a slim chance unless you studied English Literature at university! ‘Paradise Lost’ was his masterpiece containing over 10,000 lines of blank verse arranged into 12 books – it […]
Some people are born into families where there is no shortage of money and the advantages that it can bring – housing in a ‘nice’ area, lifestyle and educational opportunities. Others are born into poverty or war-torn countries, perhaps with physical disabilities that make life even harder. It seems an injustice that some have an easy life full of advantages whereas others have few or none.
Today we speak of the ‘legacy footprint’ that every person leaves. You could see this as a thing of ecology or of theology. If you plant an acorn, you can reasonably expect an oak sapling! If you plant an apple seed, it would be ridiculous to be waiting for lemons! The DNA of each seed predetermines the fruit that will come in time, given the right conditions. We are all fruit-bearers during our lives and God our Father is described as ‘the gardener’ watching for the fruit of our lives:
Imagine yourself walking through a dark dense wood – you cannot see a path, the way ahead is blocked by branches, the light is poor and you start wondering if you’re going ‘to make it’. This experience of feeling boxed in is claustrophobic, debilitating and can be frightening. People find themselves trapped to the left and the right by many things – guilt, sorrow, shame, besetting sin, lack of self-worth, pain and circumstances. This is neither how the child of God should live now nor will it be in the future for our inheritance is freedom from the land of shadows. To discover the way into the spacious places with God is true breakthrough.
