grace, truth and the cross of Christ

Another full and busy day.

Some lengthy meetings with different folk, some varied preparation on a load of different fronts, and some fruitful conversations with a range of different people through the day.

A day with worship at its centre, where the lunch-time service had us focus on Judah's pleading before Joseph in Egypt and saw us challenged to evidence in our lives as well that lovely combination of both grace and truth which is seen so supremely in Jesus.

A timely word for myself as the General Assembly begins tomorrow morning. Grace and truth. The need to hold the two of them together.

And a day which had at its end a funeral visit. A family from the village here whom I know through the school more than anything else. And who've not had their troubles to seek.

The funeral's on Friday morning. So I'll have to find some time to do the preparation needed for that too.

Maybe the visit was sort of a sign from the Lord as well. Here is a family mixed up in all sorts of ways. The grace of God is all about renewal, disentangling all the complicated knots there are and setting us free to live.

The family of God's got itself in a mess as well. There's a lot of disentangling now to do.

And maybe it takes a death in some way to secure it.

A cross is symbol we use, after all.

Death is what renewal cost.