Papamoa Panorama
I just preached on the biblical assertion that nothing can separate us from the love of God..."For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation." (Romans 8: 38-9) Sometimes it doesn't feel that way if we are honest with ourselves. Nothing is a word that can chill us. We've got nothing to give, nothing to offer.....we feel nothing.
Advent reminds us of the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Luke chapter 1 as she is getting her head around the idea that her elderly cousin Elizabeth is about to give birth to John the Baptist and Mary herself is about to become mother to God's Emmanuel, Jesus.
"For nothing will be impossible with God", the angel says to her. Have you had a day when everything seemed impossible? Plenty, I'll bet. Yet we have this thread running through scripture where God is alive and able to act, and God's primary inclination is to love humankind. The most visible and understandable focus of this scripture truth is God made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
Positive thinking may get us through, other days nothing seems to cut through the challenges we face. We need to be honest about that. Suffering and grief are real. However, this Advent season, let us remember Jesus, God with us, the love of the almighty creator of the universe in our midst. He knows your pain and your frailty, and He is with you.