Richard Dawson, 21 October 2014

Sunday for most Kiwis means something other than church in the morning and empty space in the afternoon. For most Kiwis it means a day when I don’t have to work so I can do something enjoyable or at least important like having a BBQ or going
surfing or even doing the garden. But for we who desire to have a relationship with God we persist in coming at least semi-regularly to church and frankly sometimes it’s not easy. We’d rather be doing something else if we’re honest. So why persist against a cultural tide which is reaching storm proportions? Wouldn’t it be easier and, in some ways, more honest just to join the rest, and bag church? Can’t we still believe in God and not be so tied to a congregation? Well, frankly, no… You see as soon as we start down this line of thinking we are saying something about belief which is not true for our faith. We are saying that belief is largely a personal thing which belongs to me and me only and which does not owe anyone else anything. It’s a personal possession. This is, however, to forget that belief isn’t the result of a simple personal choice. Rather it is the fruit of an interaction with the God of the universe. Belief is the evidence of God at work, not the ticket we produce to get into heaven. You believe because already the Holy Spirit has been at work in your heart helping you to know God and to know that God is totally committed to you and God has shown this through the Cross by which everything that once stood between God and You was removed. That love comes before belief and it’s what leads us to God… to believe!