Wednesday 30th September

During these Covid-19 days we have had the privilege of caring for our grandchildren while their mother was at work. On two occasions, before church re-opened, this happened to be on a Sunday. What did Thomas, Anna and Matthew want to do? To have church.
 
This they did. They made a plan, an order of service; they did the prayers and reading, and sang songs. Grandad had to do the talk and there was even tea and biscuits afterwards.
 
The talk was from Daniel 2...we were there yesterday...with the “rock cut out, but not by human hands.” We noticed how small the rock was but learned that sometimes small things produce very big results - like the coronavirus. We can’t even see it but look at what it has done to us.
 
Then again there was Jesus. Who would ever have thought that a wandering preacher who died on a cross could change the world forever? The passage encouraged us to remember that with God our weakness becomes the opportunity for His power to be made perfect (2 Cor.12:9). Less is more with God. This goes against the grain of our empire-building society and the children of Believers need to be taught this early in life.
 
Jesus is the Rock and as Jesus is the Gospel we all need to realise that the Gospel, though seemingly powerless, will achieve that for which God intends it (ie. salvation and the building of His kingdom) and will not return to Him without results (Is.55:11).
 
My greatest and most humbling encouragement from those Covid-19 Sundays was that my grandchildren wanted to do church. That the time and energy put into bringing them the Gospel at home, in church and Sunday School and as “you talk about them [the gospel] when you sit at home and when you walk along the road” (Deut.6:7) was not being wasted but was already bringing spiritual results despite difficult circumstances in their family.
 
Maybe you have the responsibility of sharing the Rock with your children or grandchildren or some other group of young people. Maybe you have not seen any results yet. Perhaps you sometimes feel that this little Gospel thing just isn’t working. Don’t despair. Remember that this Rock smashes through the kingdom of this world and is filling the whole earth. Remember Daniel and look around you today. Remember what Paul said to Timothy about the Rock: “...how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ” (2 Tim.3:15). Who taught Timothy?  His mum and granny (2 Tim.1:5).