Thoughts for the Day

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Working at home I often have the television in the background, and am slowly being driven driven mad by the adverts for funerals. It's the soul-less ones, that offer a cremation with no service and more money to spend on a party, in particular that irritate me. Funeral services are extremely important - to offer words of comfort to the bereaved; to celebrate the life of a special person; and to allow people to reflect on their own mortality. For Christians they also offer the chance to commend the loved one to God and to trust that they have entered into eternal life.

The First Letter (or Epistle) of John was probably written by the Apostle of John (the "beloved disciple") who wrote the Gospel of John. He writes in Greek and is concerned with advising Christians on what to believe and how to live their life. There is a wonderful emphasis on God as love!

For John there is an absolute certainty that God loves us and wants the best for us, and that He offers us eternal life. Today, our faith may be dim, but we live in hope!

Lord Jesus Christ,
like millions of people before us
sometimes we walk a difficult path
between faith and doubt;
sometimes our faith is strong
and at other times it is so weak.
Give us the courage to hold fast
to John's words given so boldly in his Epsitle,
that we may life a life of conviction and hope.
Amen.