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Season of Creation: Adaptation to mature into the image of Christ

The gentle rain has been a reminder that spring is here and soon our world will be full of flowers and new life. The cold and wet is a reminder that nothing good comes without a little discomfort.

 Last night I spoke of hardship as a way of life that we are not willing to accept. We have taken dominion over the environment to prevent our discomfort wherever we could. In Jesus Christ we see that God does not follow that way of thinking at all. Born in a manger in a stable, exiled to Egypt, living on the fringes of society, no stranger to hunger and thirst and lack, Jesus lived a very different life to what we preach about the Christian faith being all about today. Suffering is not a word that we like to use in our day and age, and so when it comes, we have this huge gap in our theology which aims art avoiding all discomfort.  But nature teaches us that there is more to life and living than the path we would normally choose. But nature also teaches us that life must fight against suffering. In Nature everything strives to overcome death and demise. Life fights for life! When hardship comes nature always works together to overcome. Many varieties of trees when stressed produce more fruit, when trees grow in harsh climates they grow slower and stronger. The normal stresses and strains of drought and flood cause animals to migrate and interact with others of their species and therefore improve hybrid vigour preventing a shrinking gene pool. Adversity is the major driver of adaptation that enables species to survive.   

In our spiritual lives we must recognise adversity, seasonal change and the need to adapt. Adaptation does not make us what we are not, it makes us more fully, who we are! Adaptation is the means to be what God wants us to be, its growth, it brings maturity. Therefore, our prayer lives must involve seeking from God the wisdom and courage to embrace life. Our prayer lives must not be about asking God to change the environment but should be about asking God to guide us to “take dominion” be responsible, take action to use the situation to restore and repair and reorder life through the power of forgiveness, love and self sacrifice.

Thought for the day: What adversity are you facing and what message are you hearing in it? Read the sign of the times, listen to God’s voice in the world around you and return to the Lord your God and take your rightful place in his Creation as a worker in His Vineyard.

Let us pray.

Holy and loving God, you have created us to participate with you in shaping the world that you are constantly at work in. Help us to hear you voice and respond in prayer and action, that we may fulfil our task as earth keepers. Teach us to adapt and to mature so that we more fully carry the image of Christ in our thought word and deed.

Amen.    

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