I am writing this on the night before England play South Africa at cricket. It is supposed to be the day that is ‘the final statement on England’s winter — a day that sums up all they have achieved’. The press were never likely to underplay the game but is it really that crucial. England will have other opportunities to perform well.
There was one crucial day which can never be repeated — Good Friday is the day in question when Jesus died to take away sin. There was not another chance — our whole lives are bound up with this day. Our past is dealt with, our present life is full of hope and our future is secure in the hands of the man of Calvary. As a day, Good Friday has got a little lost — it is no more than a ‘day off’ for most people. But it is the day which secures us and gives us the answer to the basic human problem of sin. Now, most of you know all of this, so why bring it up?
Rescue
What are we telling our young people? We may well say that God loves them — and that’s true and it’s reassuring. We may well say that they can ‘connect with God — he’s on our wavelength’ and that’s true as well. He understands us and listens to us when we pray in faith. But, if I am drowning, I do not want to hear that the water is nice and warm and that it is usually quite easy to float. I desperately want to hear about the rescue attempt that is swinging into action in order that I will be saved. I need a big bloke coming down out of a helicopter to pluck me out of the water — a Saviour.
