A QUESTION OF FAITH
With Peter Bolton Pastor at Hope Community Church in Hinckley IT is interesting how often people quote the Bible without realising it. Take for example, ‘he goes the extra mile’ - we use this to speak of someone who goes beyond what is expected of them and it is nice to know is this troubled culture in which we live some do go the extra mile. Where did it come from? Jesus encouraged the Jewish people not to revolve against their Roman masters, but if asked to carry a soldier’s gear one mile, carry it two miles.
‘Red sky at night shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning sailor’s warning’ - red sky at night means the weather will be favourable tomorrow, but red sky in the morning meets bad weather all day. Words from Jesus in Mark’s Gospel though not relating to shepherds and sailors.
“I’m at my wits’ end!’ How often have we heard this being said? Probably said it ourselves when we have tried and we don’t seem to have got anywhere. In the book of Psalms God’s people found themselves in the middle of a storm, they tried all they could they ‘had to the end of their wisdom’ their wits’ end.
‘He’s a man after my own heart’ - we see something special in a person that pleases us. But where did this come from? In the Old Testament God was going to give his people a new king, after king Saul. This king was to be David, God was pleased with him not because he was perfect, but was obedient to God.
A person can sometimes be called a thorn in the flesh. There are times when a person really irritates us and we say they are a thorn in the flesh. The Apostle Paul had a medical condition which he asked God to heal him from. But for whatever reason God didn’t, one of the reasons was to prevent him from getting too proud, God knew what was best for him. There are many others we could look at but finally...
‘Pride comes before a fall’, often said of people who have a high view of themselves and their abilities. This comes from the book of Proverbs in the Bible, where the Proverb speaks of the fact that an individual pays little attention to the way God leads people to live, believing they can do it their own way, but sadly it doesn’t work out well. The Book of Proverbs gives many wise sayings, the greatest is concerning being wise. We all could do with more wisdom. But where do we begin? Proverbs 3:7 says ‘Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge’, fear, in the sense of honouring God.