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Good morning

Here in the UK we’ve experienced a dry and warm late spring and early summer.  After a cold and wet start to the year, farmers worried about delayed planting; now they worry about drought.  Around the world, harvest projections are down..

The Bible talks of the rain falling on the just and the unjust alike.  But what about when no rain falls for those who have all the characteristics of an upright life?  They plan, they save, they toil, they hope, but the rain doesn’t come as expected, seeds don’t germinate harvests are reduced; or the rain comes late and torrentially, washing away seeds and topsoil, flooding homes and communities.  Either way families go hungry, futures are destroyed.

it’s the age-old conundrum of why do ‘bad things happen to good people’. While the theological jury is still out on why a merciful God allows suffering in our world; that same God calls upon us to be good stewards of the world he created. In the Old Testament the prophet Micah  says: ‘… And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’   I believe we do this when we ensure the last, the least and the lost in our world are shown love and mercy, so that none go hungry and lives are lived to the full.

Lord, give us the courage to face the reality of the world we live in. Fill us with compassion for those struggling for life. Amen