The living is easy?

In the last couple of weeks, we have had the usual mix of weather that goes to make up an English summer. Some days have seen blazing hot sunshine. On others, a whole lot of rain has fallen in a single day.
 
Wimbledon is now past for another year and the Ashes won back from some kind of scratch team from the southern hemisphere.

Days are full of the familiar summer scents of newly-mown grass and barbecue smoke. The jingle of the ice-cream van is heard on every street corner and which of us cannot remember the excitement we felt as school children in those long, lazy days of summer? In summertime, the living really does seem easy.

Yet, day by day, I meet people who – despite the glorious summer sunshine – face real pressures in their lives. Illness, bereavement, relationship issues, rises in the cost of living, sanctions and the bedroom tax. For those in jobs, there are long hours and ever-increasing demands by their employers.

If we carry a picture in our minds that the life that God invites us to lead is only made up of sunshine and roses, the chances are that our faith will be dented by hard times. Yet Jesus warned his followers that they should expect troubles; they should not think that they are protected from all the hardships of life. The bible asks (and then answers!) an interesting question:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship….No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  

The writer goes on to say that in all creation there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God found in Jesus. Because of him, we can know that God loves us. Knowing this, we can face – with renewed hope - all that life may throw at us.

So, whether right now the sun is shining for you or the days seem dark, live today in the knowledge that God loves you. That before anyone had first thought of you or spoken your name, you were loved and always will be. 

And, if you get the chance, reach out and show that kind of love and acceptance to someone who is facing darker days.