Wednesday the 18th December

Unless you are a member of the Salvation Army you may be unfamiliar with these words by John Gowans*, but you will, as a Christian, know the truth of them:

I believe that God the Father

Can be seen in God the Son,

In the gentleness of Jesus

Love for all the world is shown.

Though men crucify their Saviour,

And his tenderness rebuff,

God is love, the cross is saying,

Calvary is proof enough.

I believe in transformation,

God can change the hearts of men,

And refine the evil nature

Till it glows with grace again.

Others may reject the weakling,

I believe he can be strong,

To the family of Jesus

All God's children may belong.

In a world of shifting values,

There are standards that remain,

I believe that holy living

By God's grace we may attain.

All would hear the Holy Spirit

If they listen to his voice,

Every Christian may be Christlike

And in liberty rejoice.

All the promises of Jesus

Are unchanged in every way,

In my yesterdays I proved them,

I believe them for today.

Still God gives his willing servant

Full equipment for the task;

Power is found by those who seek it,

Grace is given to those who ask.

[John Gowans (13 November 1934 – 8 December 2012) was a Scottish clergyman, who was the 16th General of The Salvation Army from 1999 to 2002. He is also notable for pairing with General John Larsson in the composition of many songs and musicals. ( wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gowans)]

 

Have you ever looked at a young member of your family and thought ‘He is so like his Dad.’? I have included this song ( which uses the tune Bethany) because of those first two lines, which of course remind us that in Jesus Christ we can see our heavenly father.  

Whichever version of the Bible you use it is very clear in Colossians 2 v 9 that ‘For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.’ It is a difficult concept to explain. How could all the power of God, all his wisdom and knowledge be contained in one young man?  Yet we are told it is so [because this one young man is the Son of God]. 

Our best response perhaps is to pray a prayer like this one,  by Timothy Jones, included in his ‘Workaday Prayers’:

O God, whom scripture says is alone immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, keep us from thinking we can manage you or too neatly define you. Give us an adventuresome awe and a delighted sense of wonder that we do not forget how great and beyond knowing you are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Margaret Watson Reverend  (retired)

Former Salvation Army Officer, UK