Way to go

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies." 1 Corinthians 6. 19-20

Emerging from the pandemic in a time of climate change will require creativity and sustainability. We need to learn to tread far more lightly upon the earth, we need to help and to heal those people and creatures, ecosystems and environments, which have been damaged by our former profligate ways and so we need to learn how to do more with less. This might sound gloomy but it's not. It is what might finally awaken the God-reflecting glory within each of us. There is even a word for it: resourcefulness.

Who hasn't marvelled at the techniques of Ray Mears or Bear Grylls for lighting fires, building shelters and sourcing food in the most unlikely and inclement circumstances? Do they not unleash the adventurer within us all? We are so locked into the treadmill of our daily routines that we rarely make time to develop these skills for ourselves. Most of us use just a fraction of the gifts that we possess. Indeed many people have simply never had, or taken, the time to discover their natural abilities, never mind the hard work of developing them.

Maybe it's time to take stock, get off that treadmill and reconsider. Where do I fit into God's vision to re-create the world? What talents and opportunities are at my disposal? Whose cause can I champion? In your imagining the most helpful advice I can offer is: get off the throne of your life and give God the place he deserves; and prioritise the needs of others over your own. That may sound counter-intuitive but it is the Jesus way and it is the only way to faithful living.