Minister’s June 2019 Message
Dear Friends,
In these weeks after Easter we remember the question Jesus asked Peter after his resurrection, ‘Do you love me?’ Three times Peter answered, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you” and Jesus final words to Peter were: “Follow me” [John 21 15-21]. Peter’s affirmative response meant that he had to turn himself from a focus on the past and commit himself to a way of living that made his love for Jesus the central and guiding principle of not only his own life but also the central and guiding principle of the church that was to come.
For the last few years, as I have represented Glasgow Presbytery by visiting various churches, I have discovered that every congregation, although very different, is doing interesting and worthwhile work. I also discovered that most of those churches contained furnishings and features that people loved and clearly sanctified, so much so that it sometimes seemed that their love for those things was more important than their love for Jesus. In many churches I had conversations with people about their love for their stained glass windows, pews, organisations and their grand history but, apart from one time, I never had a conversation with anyone about what their love for Jesus meant to them.
I wonder if there is anything in Greenbank church that you love more than Jesus? The message to Peter was very clear: if we say we love Jesus and say “Yes” to His invitation to follow him, we must selflessly turn our heads away from the past and the things of life that do not last and do everything that we can to play our part in making our love for Jesus the focus of our lives and our church.
“Do you love me?” As we enter the summer season, it is perhaps fitting that we take the time to reflect on Jesus’ question and the consequences of what it might mean for our own lives and for our church in everything that the future holds for us.
May you have a blessed summer filled with faith, hope and, most of all, love for Jesus.
Yours,
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