Is God complicated?
This question popped into my head as I sat down to write this newsletter!
I think my answer must be both yes and no!
God is God, God is so much more than our human minds can really contemplate, so in that sense we could say that God is complicated.  How can we begin to understand the mind of God who has created the world in all its intricate, complex,
amazing beauty and power?
Yet Jesus said that unless we come to God with faith like a small child then we
cannot enter God’s Kingdom.  There is something about a childlike faith which
intuitively cuts through complication and just trusts.  Such faith in God is really very simple, not complicated at all.
So, I suppose my answer is still yes and no.  God is complicated.  It is the work of a lifetime for us to grow in knowing more about God as we study the Scriptures and all that God has revealed of himself.  We stretch our human capacity to understand more of the nature of God and of God’s working in the world.  It is right for us to put our mental energy into pursuing that study.  I think God expects us to do that.
At the same time, I think we are to not let go of the simplicity of simply knowing God.  That simple trust that is childlike in its acceptance of God.  If, in our desire to understand God, we lose that simplicity of faith, then we have made God more
complicated than he intends.
The most basic truth is that God is God, and we are his.

Yours in Christ,
Philip

Today we continue our exploration of Paul’s Letter to the Romans as we read in Chapter 5 some of the benefits or results of faith in Christ.
What this passage reveals is that it is as we accept and respond to the saving work of Christ that we then become open to also receive so much more of the work of God in our lives.  These verses list these benefits as a sense of being at peace with God, hope in the glory of God, and the pouring of God’s love into us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  As we trust Jesus to open the way for us into the presence of God, then we can receive all that God wants to work in us.  What this especially shows is that the Gospel is not just about a ticket to eternal life, it is about the quality of our lives now; a quality of life only available through our faith in Christ.

Next Sunday one of our music groups will provide the music for the 9.15am service for a special service with a Celtic musical flavour.  All other services will be happening on that Sunday as usual, but this service will provide a particular opportunity for all those who will appreciate a liturgical service with this distinctive musical input.  I encourage you to join in this rich worship experience.

Yours in Christ,

Philip