Feeling some pain in my knees and other joints today so I went for a walk instead along one of my running routes along a stream with my son. I stopped at a small island and made a reflection online. How different a route looks at a slower pace, sounds can be heard better and you notice more. Green trees and grass, fallen trees which sprout more life. Mostly everyone was conscientious of keeping a safe distance, but a couple of young children on bikes didn’t seem to get the importance, blocking the way without standing to the side.

It made me think back to when I was a young teenager, I know that’s in the Stone Age my son would say, but I felt like I could do anything. We would climb up cliffs without rope, balance along bridge handrails without any fear of falling off and just do crazy stuff that really risked our lives. I think that attitude crept into even my early twenties.

John 7:51
⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

It seems that many have made their mind up without ever hearing the evidence. Jesus was condemned by the Jewish authorities long before they dragged him into the Sanhedrin on a late evening before Good Friday. Likewise many young people have come to the conclusion that they are invulnerable and they don’t realise the danger to others they pose.

I have also encountered this attitude with trying to convince people about faith. They have made their mind up already.

But there is hope, because we have Jesus. He went into these jewish leaders, and faced the Roman punishment, the worst punishment they could throw at Him, and he took it all. The bit that makes me smile is that Pilate says to the guards “go and make the tomb as secure as you know how.” (Matthew 27:65,66). This is Jesus, the Messiah who has calmed storms and raised the dead. A stone is not going to stop him from rising from the dead, He created rock and matter and He is the source of Life. Nor is any virus going to stop faith from travelling all over the world.

Dear Lord, help us to feel your hope and make opportunities so we can carry on your kingdom by passing on the Gospel. In Jesus name, Amen.