Thought for the week

I CAN remember as a teenager despairing at my grandmother’s failure to understand how an automatic electric kettle would turn itself off when the water had boiled – she would still always stand in front of it to make sure it did in fact switch off.

I see the same exasperation in youngsters who can’t understand my failure to grasp the latest tablet or mobile phone technology.

One of the things you learn as you grow older is how much we all build on what our forebears did.

In fact progress is only possible by knowledge and skills passed on between the generations.

And this is true, I would suggest also, of our Christian faith which is not static and lifeless but living and vibrant.

The biblical scholars who reexamine the ancient texts and offer insights into their meaning help to keep that faith relevant.

Our faith is both ancient and modern, rooted in the past yet offering a valid way of life for today and tomorrow.

My prayer for the young people of today is that they may realise the richness of life which is there for the taking.

Jesus gave us a message about love which could make all the difference in a world full of division and discord.

Jesus didn’t put any limit on how much or who we should care about.

He said love one another. But make no mistake, that is a very hard commandment to follow.

It took Him to the Cross because on it he stretched out his arms to embrace us all in each and every generation. Jane Allen