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A
thousand ages in thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
O
God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
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Our
hymn writer reminds us that although the love of
Christ has endured in this world for two thousand
years, this is only a moment in God’s eternity. Yet
that moment contains the stories of millions of people
who have devoted their lives to telling others about
Jesus.
As the Millennium approaches
why not pause for a while to give thanks for those
people who, through a life of prayer, have built up
our faith and the faith of others.
The words of St. Paul found
in 1 Corinthians 13 – Faith, Hope, Charity
describe three essential Christian values. Faith and
Charity are harder to hold onto today. There are many
competing faiths, which we need to respect and avoid
offending. The intellectual challenges to faith have
not lessened. Charity, nowadays, is caught up with the
demands of the large ‘Not for profit organizations.
Multiple mailing, and free pens are all designed to
attract our attention to the great needs that exist in
society. Yet there is the feeling that professional
fund raisers are damaging our belief in charity.
Perhaps it is easier to have hope. However humanity
must be careful, this is an age where it is unwise to
put our hope in material safety and comfort.
The everlasting hope that God
offers us, is based on his providential love. We trust
this providential love and concentrate on sharing His
Word with the world.
Bruce Crerar |
