We all know that forgiveness is essential for us as Christians. We are people who are forgiven as we come to the Lord in faith and repentance. Forgiveness is a blessing of the gospel. We need to extend the same kind of unconditional forgiveness also to others. Jesus made that abundantly clear in the parable that He told about the unforgiving servant. That servant had been forgiven a huge debt by his master. However this same servant was unwilling to forgive a fellow servant a trifling sum in comparison.

Forgiving others is essential... but forgiving others is not always easy. Over the years I have met church members who continue to hold resentments against other church members – or more commonly, against other family members. Forgiveness is necessary but it is difficult.

At a recent visit my brother reminded me of another good reason why we need to forgive and that is that our unwillingness or inability to forgive someone gives that other person control over our lives.

That needs some explaining. My brother was telling me about a man whom he had worked with and who had been guilty of embezzling his company.

Change is difficult for most of us.  That applies to individuals as well as to communities.

At a communal level there are those who want things to change and nothing ever changes quickly enough.  There are also those who are uncomfortable with change and who prefer to maintain the status quo.  When both sides in a community dig their heels in the fireworks are sure to start. In the church we have lived with that tension for a long time.  Some want the church “to move on” and they have their own agendas as to where it ought to move on to.  Others feel that there’s nothing wrong with the way we’ve always done things so they resist change.  The challenge for leaders is to manage change so that it happens without division – and (more importantly) so that it happens in faithfulness to Biblical principles.

This past week I joined with some other members of our church to have a look at some grave-plaques that had been recently installed. We went around the different plots to inspect the ‘artwork’ and to reminisce about life with our now-deceased partners. It was good to reflect on the past, face the reality of the present and look forward with hope to the future. We were able to join together in a time of thanksgiving before we headed back home or back to work.

In this same week I spent some time with one of our members to discuss what plans and preparations had been made for that inevitable moment when life ends. We talked about funeral arrangements and the thanksgiving service. Again it was good to conclude with a prayer of thanks for the knowledge that in life and in death we have this comfort that we belong to Jesus, body and soul.

It’s good when Christians be can be frank and open about death, even their own death. But that is not always the case. I still recall the elderly gentleman who had been diagnosed with cancer some weeks earlier and whose doctor had suggested he might only have about six-months to live.