A Life of Leisure?
By anyone's standards Suffolk is a wonderful county in which to live. People come to Suffolk because it offers a high quality of life: quiet , rural, low-crime, clean and beautiful. There are so many things to do and places to visit: theme parks, museums, working farms and wildlife parks, as well as charming seaside towns and villages. But what are we really looking for in life? Are we relying on the leisure industry to make our lives worthwhile? In our fun-loving society too many people spend their lives simply surviving to the next weekend or holiday.
Isn't there more to life than this?
Eternal Life
Harvest marks the end of the long farming year when the farmer reaps the crop he has sown many months before. Everything depends on the results of the harvest
In the same way we reap what we have sown when we reach the end of our lives. The Bible says we must all die and after death face God's judgment. If we have left God out of our lives and lived only for ourselves and for now, we will reap a harvest of eternal hell. But if we have turned back to God and received his offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus, he promises us eternal life with him in heaven.
It is the starkest of choices. There is no better day to decide about the future than today. God's offer to us is new life in Jesus. Choose life!
The Meaning of Life
The beautiful Suffolk countryside clearly tells us that we are not alone in the universe. God is real, and has shown his beauty, wisdom and power in the world he has made.
Sizewell nuclear power station is a local symbol of tremendous power, producing enough electricity to light over 30 million light bulbs, one for almost every adult in Britain, but even this does not compare with the power of God. He created a power source (the sun) which is able to light and heat the whole world. He made this vast universe out of nothing simply by commanding it into existence.
It is God who gave us life, but we can enjoy it to the full only when we know him personally. When God is at the center of our lives, only then do we find life's true meaning and fulfillment.
Life On The Edge
Such was the beauty and richness of life when man was first created, but something went drastically wrong. The first man chose to disobey God and live life his own way. Ever since, we have all gone the same way- we are rebels against our creator.
Dunwich was once a thriving port and the tenth most important town in England, boasting two members of Parliament, but now all that is left is a small village steadily falling into the sea. Like Dunwich, we have fallen from our former splendour. By rejecting God we have brought hatred, cruelty, conflict and disaster into our world. We have become greedy, proud and selfish. Sadness and pain have entered life, work has become drudgery and we search in vain for something else to give our lives meaning. Worst of all, we are left without hope for the future, because we have brought on ourselves death and the judgment of God.
The Bridge To Life
So is there any hope? The spectacular Orwell Bridge illustrates how seemingly impossible chasms can be spanned. God has provided a bridge between himself and us, a way back to Him. That bridge is his son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus came down to earth from heaven, being born as a baby in Bethlehem. Having lived a sinless life, he suffered the cruel death of crucifixion. HE died in the place of sinful men and women, taking the punishment they deserved, and after three days rose again in triumph over death. All who turn from their rebellious ways and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are promised free forgiveness and will be welcomed into God's family. Jesus Said "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned: he has crossed over from death to life." (The Bible. John 5 verse 24).
Start A New Life
If we have been reconciled to God by the death of Jesus, then we have begun a new life of peace with God. The Bible says "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5 verse 1). Jesus offers us a new beginning, a wonderful new life in friendship with God, living the way he intended us to live.
Ipswich Town Football Club has achieved much success over the years, but that can happen only if each player gives his full commitment on the pitch. In the same way, coming to faith in Jesus Christ involves complete commitment to him as our Lord.
Our old way of life must be put away and now we must follow and serve our Saviour with our whole heart. Living as a Christian is not easy, but we are glad to follow him when we think of how much he has loved us. God also gives us the power to change, to become the people that he wants us to be, and the strength to keep going when life gets tough.
Eternal Life
Harvest marks the end of the long farming year when the farmer reaps the crop he has sown many months before. Everything depends on the results of the harvest
In the same way we reap what we have sown when we reach the end of our lives. The Bible says we must all die and after death face God's judgment. If we have left God out of our lives and lived only for ourselves and for now, we will reap a harvest of eternal hell. But if we have turned back to God and received his offer of forgiveness and new life in Jesus, he promises us eternal life with him in heaven.
It is the starkest of choices. There is no better day to decide about the future than today. God's offer to us is new life in Jesus. Choose life!
ASSOCIATION OF GRACE BAPTIST CHURCHES (EAST ANGLIA)
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