a thought for Sunday

i needed to fill my mind with some inspiring thoughts today. i read rutledge's sermon 'the bottomless glass' and it just seemed to give me what i needed.

Whenever you find yourself asking, "is that all there is?" remember: no, it is not all. There is the promise of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and that is everything. And please understand this: the promise of Jesus does not refer only to some far-off future day. He gives his life to us now, not a life of partying and drinking and conspicuous consumption ending in emptiness, but a life of service to others and to God's suffering world, a life that is built not on chasing dreams and fantasies, but being built by the Holy Spirit into a fellowship of love that gathers even now at the Lord's table. He, the only-begotten, the Messiah of Israel, is the One, the only One who is able to give purification, the only One who is able to wipe away regret forever, the only One in whose name we find ourselves redeemed and restored and brought into an eternal future where there will be no need to search for dreams, because the dream of all humanity is summed up in the Cross and in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He goes to prepare a place for us at his own unending banquet. May he confirm this truth in your hearts, today and for ever.

Amen.



from 'The Bottomless Glass' in The Bible and the New York Times by Fleming Rutledge [William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, Michigan, p73]