[This reflection by Chris Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 11/Aug/2024]
How good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity.
Psalm 133 v1
It suddenly occurred to me the other day when I was playing table-tennis with my grandson what a similarity there was between playing tennis and our relationship with Jesus. (We hit the ball and he hits it back to us). Quite a lively situation really!
I knew a mature man of God, full of wisdom. He was staying in a hotel, relaxed and ready to watch TV. When he turned on the TV it was Wimbledon, as he saw the players batting the ball to each other, he realised how his communication with Jesus was lacking something. Suddenly he burst out crying, the spirit of God fell on him and he repented of his lukewarm attitude towards His Lord and Saviour.
Unless we really communicate with God how can we expect to receive anything back, it should be a ‘give and take’ situation. It’s like that with people we meet, unless we give ourselves to them they won’t give themselves to us. Whether we are talking about the weather, our children or our lives, it should be an exchange of ideas, feelings and emotions.
In Court Lodge, where we live, there are many beautiful people who love to chat and share their hearts with each other. We can’t play tennis with them but we can choose to love them and in return find out that a game of ‘give and take’ is starting to happen. Unless we give ourselves to each other we’ll remain isolated, and so will the other folk around us,
Try taking up the challenge, it could be fun and lead to a new way forward.
Every Blessing, Chris Ginter
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Last week’s reflection: Finding Strength in Gratitude by Dazz Jones
Contributed by Chris Ginter; © Chris Ginter