 Home Page
|
|
Who, When, Where
|
| Leaders |
| Groups |
| Music |
| Education |
| News & Events |
| Weddings |
| Baptisms |
| Links |
Minister's Corner: A Message from Rev. Steve Huntley
24 June 2010
I'd Rather Be Golfing!
Who wouldn't want to be doing things recreational in fair weather? We do, however, have other priorities in life! Living a full and satisfied life means attending to all areas of our lives, not only recreational, but work, physical activity and, of course, our spiritual life. When our lives seem out of equilibrium perhaps we have neglected some areas in favour of others, the spiritual is often one of them.It is to this balance that a golf illustration comes to mind. Recently I was watching a fellow golfer make a putt. I remarked just after he struck it that it was going in the hole. It did! The reason for such confidence lay in the fact that he did everything well to start the putt, the result was a foregone conclusion. If we begin a stroke well we usually have a happy ending. The same is true in all walks of life. If we begin well we usually end well.
Balancing the many demands in life is very challenging. Finances, parenting, family, work, school, church, to name a few, we do our best. It is my belief that a great many of the ills that attend our world result from ignoring the spiritual side of life. We are out of balance. If there is a physical side of life there is a spiritual side. (1 Corinthians 15:44) Into this equation is that we live in a culture in which spirituality is largely ignored.
If we start out well in life, or some project, we usually end up well. At Tansley we are focusing on increasing spiritual awareness through various practices, prayer, scripture, readings, worship and fellowship, to name a few. If we start off well by feeding our spirits we can end well.
But what happens if we don't start off well? Does the truth of that maxim tell the whole story? If we have not started well in life does it mean we have a poor ending to look forward to? No! There is something more in life which transcends our human experience, we call it grace.
In golf grace is experienced. We may be playing very badly when all of a sudden something happens that we can't describe. Despite our weak efforts something almost blessed occurs. Our swing is strengthened, new power is found, a slice is corrected and we find our shot on the centre of the green! We didn't start off well, but we ended well.
Grace is the undeserved favour of God. We may start off poorly; we may have made mistakes, errors in judgment that have cost us dearly in life. But thank God that God's grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9) In choosing God we have access to a well that never runs dry. It is not where we start in life that matters, it is where we end up. Thank God for the grace that attends each and every one of us.
Rev. Steve Huntley