Pause for Thought - Easter 2015

Spring seems to have arrived at last! After the cold and barren-ness of winter, new life is springing up all around us as the days are getting longer and the cold hard ground is bring forth life. The crocuses are out, the birds are returning, and the weather is warming up a little. I even replaced the snow tyres on my car yesterday with the ordinary ones, although guess what happened as I was swapping them? Yes – it started to hail! 

In Church we’re thinking about new life too as we’re getting ready for Easter. A time when we remember that Jesus died and was buried on that first Good Friday, but then that he rose to new life on that first Easter morning – he was alive, and he could talk and eat with his friends, the disciples, again. 

In the same way that Jesus started a new life at Easter, we believe that he can give us a new life too – a new life in heaven when we die, but also new life now. Inviting Jesus into your life and putting your trust in him gives a new perspective, a new purpose to life, and he can wash away worries and cares of the past, giving us a fresh start with him. This has been the experience of Christians throughout the world, and several folk from St Luke’s have written down their stories of faith for you to read in the Church magazine which those of you in Lodge Moor have received through your letterbox this week.  They’re well worth reading – real life stories of how God has made himself known to people, and how he has helped them in particular situations. My own story is in the magazine too! 

So as you enjoy the flowers and birds – the life that you see in your garden or around you in the coming weeks, think about the new life that God gives, and if you want to, like the folk in the magazine, you can invite God into your life and enjoy a new start with him.