Lent Six "Get up and Walk"

 

"The Acorn and the Pumpkin" by Sebastien-Lepage.
Art Institute Chicago.

A man cannot become an atheist merely by wishing it.  

Napoleon, Maxims, early 19th century.

Perhaps we forget that we do not live in a vacuum.  Our lives are full of beliefs and assumptions.  We are fish in the goldfish bowl examining the nature of water, and wondering if it really exists.  Just as we imagine ourselves to be self-supporting.  We are all as dependent on the systems around us as much as people living on state benefits.  We do not realise how much our beliefs are subconscious.  We are free, but we must take up our freedom and apply it.

Acts Chapter Twelve

At this time the Jewish king Herod used his troops to persecute the followers of Jesus. He had James beheaded, and when he saw how pleased this made the Jewish leaders, he had Peter arrested. It was the festival time so the courts were closed. Peter was put in prison with a very strong guard. Peter’s friends were very worried for him and stayed up through the night seeking the Creator’s help. In the night, with guards physically chained to him, a messenger from the Creator appeared in the cell. The messenger woke Peter saying ”get dressed, time to go”. The chains fell from his wrists as the guards slept. They walked straight out of the prison past guard posts, and out through the main gates. When it was safe, the messenger disappeared. Peter was amazed and knew that the Creator has authority over everything. He ran through the dark streets to when his friends had gathered. He knocked as quietly as he could. A young girl called Rhoda came to the door. Instead of opening it she was so over joyed she raced back upstairs to tell the others. The others assumed she had gone delirious because they knew the Peter was not going to get out of that prison. Peter was forced to knock harder, and eventually he was let in. He explained everything that had happened to him. Meanwhile as dawn broke, there was chaos in the prison. Herod was furious and many innocent guards’ lives were forfeited that day. Herod was so disgusted he left the city and went to the Roman port of Kingston. There he decided to extend his kingdom into Tyre and Sidon. This he did with careful pressure. On the day he marched into the cities as the new ruler, he became ill, and died a painful death. He, like the other rulers, was not a follower of the Creator. 

PRAYER: May I be conscious of my choice to live life to the full every day.