What now?

The Downton Abbey series is over, for the time being. 

What will happen next, not only in that much watched series, but in real life?

Some will buy the DVDs of the last series, and start watching their favourite episodes again.

Some may book onto a P&O Cruise, as they will have watched those appealing advertisements and taken the bait.

Others will have that holiday romance afterglow, when something wonderful disappears when normal service is resumed.

But in the real world, UK & US politics has plenty to keep us glued to news channels.

And then there is our own lives.

How will we live in these next days? Where will we find our direction and destiny?

The prophet Jeremiah, not known for bringing good news, tells his audience of the most amazing 'what now?' scenario imaginable. 

'“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbours, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Jeremiah 31.33-34)

This ancient prophecy, given as the Babylonian armies were massing against the tiny nation of Judah, and its strikingly beautiful capital, Jerusalem, is astonishing. Since the time of Moses, 700 years previously, Jewish people had been aware of their ancient covenant with the LORD, their God. The religious rituals and moral life had been shaped by this relationship.

But Jeremiah, and the other prophets had showed that their lives had been barely affected at a deep level. Sadly, too much of their relationship with God was cosmetic and only skin deep. But now, a new depth and reality is promised, where lives are changed from the inside out.

And that is what those who have come to know God's mercy in and through Jesus know in their own experience.

We have a personal knowledge and experience of the LORD God Almighty, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses, David and the prophets, because the Spirit of Jesus brings the life of God into our own lives. And we know real life-cleansing forgiveness, through the death of Jesus, rather than the ritual cleansing provided by regular Temple sacrifice.

All of this gives us a new direction, and promises us a secure and eternal destiny.

That is truly God News, that we may wish to share today!!

Best wishes,

Richard