Taking a guilt trip

Most of us feel guilty from time to time. I am sure that Mr & Mrs McCann, of Liverpool, UK,  are tormented at times with guilt as they wish that they could turn the clock back and that they had not left those lovely children alone for the short time that they did. I am not suggesting that they should feel guilty for most of us have done what they did. We left our children safely at a short distance from us and, thankfully, no harm came to them. As our children grow up we need to extend their freedom and we trust and pray that no harm comes to them or that we have not allowed them too much freedom too soon. If harm comes we blame ourselves and can always see what we should have done ‘in hindsight’.

The Tragedy of Human Existence

The Bible states that 'it is appointed unto men once to die'. This most obvious of facts is among the most distressing things that we human beings face. I have a friend who committed suicide just before Christmas last year - why I can guess but I do not really know. One my friends in Liverpool has just found that her partner's nephew has been found dead in his flat. Death comes to us all but why?

The Bible tells us why. It is because of sin.

Sensational News - Jesus is alive!

Titanic film director, James Cameron, claims to have discovered the burial casket of Jesus on a Jewish building site [time,bbc]. Furthermore, he also has caskets for Mary Magdelene and a supposed child of Jesus and Mary. This backs up the anti-Bible propaganda recently spread by the Da Vinci Code. As usual, Bible skeptics have jumped aboard the bandwagon, claiming that this archaeological find undermines the authority of the Biblical narrative entirely.

So what does Cameron have? A few boxes inscribed with common 1st century Jewish names. No bones, but supposedly small traces of DNA. An air of pseudo-academic integrity. Oh, and an eager-to-be-persuaded anti-Christian media circus.

Is this journalism? Certainly not the balanced, thought-provoking reporting that does justice to such a story. Is this commercialism? For sure, Cameron is used to making money from the box office. Is this sensationalism? Yes, a few half-strung-together observations construed to reach an unlikely conclusion. But sensational stories appeal to today's entertainment-saturated audiences...

So - take two. Here is a more sensational story than Cameron's... innocent folk-hero abused, harangued and executed by mob. Buried carefully and lovingly by heartbroken friends. Guarded by commando troops, who evacuate the burial ground due to seismic disturbance and extra-terrestrial activity. Tomb cracks open. Body missing. Jesus is alive!

For the full sensational story, check out the Gospel accounts. Try here or here for starters. For argument about the resurrection story, check out books like "Who moved the stone" (Frank Morrison) or "The Case for Christ" (Lee Strobel).

Keeping the Peace

President Bush is gradually discovering that it costs more to preserve peace than to wage war. The rest of the world seems to have woken up to this fact earlier. Thousands of extra US troops have been committed to Iraq [bbc]. And the British troops already there will not be withdrawn any time soon.

It seems wrong that lives must be lost to keep peace. Surely peacekeepers should beat swords into ploughshares, as the UN motto (and the Bible before it) says so eloquently?

Peace on earth is so elusive to win, so delicate to maintain. If this is true on an international scale, then how much more so on an individual scale? Personal peace is what we desperately crave, yet find so hard to attain.

God promises us the peace we want and need so much. We can know "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Christ is God's peace broker. He obtained that peace "through the blood of His cross." The recurring theme - peace comes at the highest cost - rings true for God's peace as for man's. But there the similarity ends. Unlike our fragility, God's peace is unbreakable and eternal.

How can we find this peace? At the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ ... like the woman in Mark 5, come to him with all your problems, reach out for his help, trust in him and hear his voice "Go in peace, your faith has made you better."