Thought for the day – Wednesday 29th July 2020
In the latest Connexion magazine Rev. Peter Barnett reflects on St Paul’s shipwreck experience in
Acts 27:13 – 28:10 and how it relates to our experience in the current pandemic.
St Paul could see the sailors were physically and mentally exhausted having risked their lives to save the ship they were sailing in. The vessel meant a lot to them, having sailed many journeys in it and perhaps having an emotional attachment to it.
St Paul gives them hope, “But now I beg you, take courage! Not one of you will lose your life, only the ship will be lost.” I.e. Lives were more important than the vessel they were in.
Before the pandemic churches were facing challenges across the Methodist Connexion – reliance on a small number of people to run churches with no replacements, challenges of a Circuit plan with fewer local preachers, finances in decline as numbers decline making a struggle to pay assessments and repair buildings.
A storm has come with the pandemic and we have all had to “abandon ship”. All the vessels (church buildings) are currently empty. What will the vessel look like when we return to it? Will it be worth setting off in it again?
Like the sailors in St Paul’s experience we can try everything in our power to save our “vessel” having journeyed in it so long, becoming so attached to it that we strive to keep it afloat, expending so much time & energy to shore up one hole after another, that we miss the word that God is speaking to us – none of us who are following Christ will ever be lost from God’s eternal love or eternal presence. You are more important than the vessel. “Not one of you will lose your life.”
Let us cling to the anchor of our faith and acknowledge that not one of us will ever be lost to Him, now and always.
“We’re all in the same storm but we’re not all in the same boat.”