In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1- 5)
The other morning, I said to Viv, ‘I feel like my mind is exploding.’
He said, ‘Do you mean ‘expanding’?’
I said, ‘Yes – expanding and exploding!’
I guess it is not entirely comfortable, but I’d rather a mind that feels challenged to see new things, see new ways, and want to learn more.
This is how I think God is working in my life, and it has happened through ‘Living’.
I just love the beginning of John’s gospel. It tells us that what came into existence was ‘Life’, and I think God wants to help us venture into ‘Life’.
In the series ‘Call the Midwife’, it starts with Jenny (the midwife’s) reflection that by living in Poplar, East London (a very earthy and needy community) that she was ‘entering into ‘Life’’, and she surely was!
In John’s gospel it says that this deep entering into ‘Life’ is also ‘Light’ to live by. I like that there is the promise of ‘Light’ as one enters into ‘Life’, with all of its contradictions, challenges and needs. We will need ‘Light’ to face the darkness that we will surely see. I like it too, so much, that this ‘Light’ cannot be quenched by darkness.
I think that knowing God is ‘Life’ and entering into ‘Life’ is fully entwined. This is a ‘Life’ that I want to be a part of and live. I think we are being renewed constantly as we enter into ‘Life’, and an exploding and expanding mind is part of that. Ω
Reflect: What are some ways your mind has been expanded, even exploded, by faith? Has this growth been painful, fun, challenging, liberating? Talk with God about this.
What is this? Lent is the 40 days, excluding Sundays, before Easter. Traditionally it is a time of intense reflection and pilgrimage. To help you on this journey, Sanctuary has put together 40 stories from people both within and beyond the congregation, with associated questions for reflection and prayer. A reading will be uploaded every day of Lent.
#Lent2021. Real People, Real Stories: 40 Readings for Lent, Sanctuary, 2021. Image credit: Rachel Coyne on Unsplash.
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