Reflection

I appreciate so much the bits in the bible where Gods is seen reflecting, deciding, wieghing things up and making decisions, especially in Genesis where God is chatting to himself within the trinity about how to make man, and what he thinks of each bit of his creational work.
Talk may be cheap but reflection is free and if as the bible says we are made in His image, then part of that image is the ability to reflect, to hold an internal discussion with ones thoughts and memories, reflecting on our experiences, drawing conclusions and making plans.
My reflections this summer have drawn me to a stronger conviction of his love, his faithfulness, and of his strong desire to bless me in a new season of grace.
Why me? Why should God want to bless me? (I asked it before you did) Who am I that he should be mindful of me? Its not that I feel more saintly or less prone to weakness, or more spiritual than I did last month, its simply that whenever I take time (and it does) to hear his voice among the rattle and hum of my own inner voices, I discover he is making plans for me. And when I start to listen to those plans I start to realise afresh that, rather than being the architect of obstacle courses for the sake of his amusement, he is actually intent on my blessing. Not just me of course; its a case of ‘blessed to be a blessing’. Always God draws us out of introspection into the much bigger picture, and the way we experience that blessing is by knowing we have been commissioned to a task. It may be an old task or it may be a new one, but like Isaiah in the temple, we feel the coals on our lips and a new warmth in our hearts.
Our reflections and our enquires with God usually take us on a journey. Three years ago we started a new journey with our church; The Well, Camberwell. As we reflected and prayed as a team, we felt God clearly lead us to moved the church into three large ‘missional communities’ that would release peoples gifts more. These have served us well and prepared people in many areas. Folks are coming forward with fresh ideas and creative initiatives. We have only just begun the journey that God is take us on, but its clearly a new season; one of listening, reflecting, shaping, celebrating and listening again..