Winds of Change

The 'not quite united' leaders of the three main Westminster parties are off to Scotland, to beg the Scots to stay connected with the Westminster parliament. Their attempts may well backfire, as respect for Westminster politicians is Scotland (as elsewhere) is very low. In the face of possible defeat for the 'No' campaign, commentators are wondering what might be the next stage in unravelling that we experience.

It was Harold Macmillan, whose 'Winds of Change' speech given to the South African Parliament in 1960, who saw that change will take place, in one way or another. Watching this present chapter develop is leading many to be fearful. Where will it all end?

Jesus spoke of a different wind of change, in his discussions with the respected Jewish leader, Nicodemus. 'The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” (John 3.8)

Poor old Nicodemus didn't understand what Jesus was talking about! 

In order to help him, Jesus then referred back to a famous event in Jewish history. ' And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.' (John 3.14-17)

Connecting all this together, we can see that people are 'born of the Spirit' when they put their trust in Jesus, the Son of Man, whose death on the cross would provide the means by which we may receive eternal life. And it is God's Spirit who blows into people's lives to bring about that transformation. 

I was talking with someone yesterday, as we were in a group studying the story from the Gospels, and it was clear that God's Spirit was blowing gently and firmly into this person's life. 

God-directed change will come for all of us, as we entrust ourselves into the hands of the God who loved us so much that He sent Jesus for us. And there is no safer place to be.

Best wishes,

Richard