John writes: Bob spoke this morning about Matthew, the social outcast in the story who found himself welcomed, loved, invited by Jesus. In the course of his sermon, Bob spoke about our sorry tendency as humans to divide people into groups: those who are ‘in’ and those whom we regard as ‘out; those who are ‘us’ and those whom we regard as ‘them’. But, Bob reminded us, every human being has been made ‘in the image of God’, and is enormously loved by God.

Bob called us not to follow those who try to get us to ‘other’ certain groups of people, but rather to really get to know those we meet, and share with them God’s inclusive love for them.

Bob also pointed out that when Jesus said ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ he was referring to a divine comment recorded in Hosea 6:6. The Jewish leaders were punctilious about the minutiae of religious observance, but they neglected something far more important in God’s eyes – cultivating love in their hearts towards God and towards others.

Bob quoted Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

We may be very ‘religious’, but what God looks for in our lives is justice, mercy, and humility.

Challenging stuff! Bob contrasted the partial ways we may ‘see’ others, with the all-seeing insight of God into human hearts.

Bob sent us out into our week with the challenge of expressing the love of God for others in our words, our attitudes and our actions.

One thing Bob didn’t touch on was the importance of how we see ourselves. It is one thing to be told that we are loved deeply by God, and important to God, but if we have a very negative view of ourselves that may block our ability to feel in our hearts God’s love for us.

Yet many of us, because of our upbringing, or things that have happened in our lives, or the kind of religious teaching we have had, have come to view ourselves in a very negative light. Some of us have come to believe a lie about ourselves – that we are failures, that we are rubbish, that we count for nothing.

There is often no quick cure for this. The love of other people for us, reflection on the Bible’s expressions of the love of God for us, time with a counsellor may help us. These are all means through which God’s love can reach us.

But the fundamental truth to remind ourselves of always is that ‘I am loved by God’. What a wonderful picture at the start of our Bible passage today.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)

Can you picture Matthew, sitting there at his tax collector’s table, comparatively well-off perhaps, but a pariah, a social outcast. He’s seen Jesus about and heard about those who’ve been called to be his disciples. Has he perhaps felt an aching longing to leave his compromised work and go with Jesus?

But no one likes him, he thinks. ‘I’m probably the very last person this Jesus would want to have anything to do with.’

But then a voice breaks into his reverie, strong, assured, gentle.

‘Follow me’.

And Matthew’s response is immediate in word and accompanying action. I could imagine him saying 'Yes! I'm in' and scurrying after the man in the sandals. (Though he would learn that ‘I’m in’ wasn’t quite the right expression, for this Jesus was the rabbi come to end division, the rabbi who was God’s son, the rabbi through whom ‘in’ and ‘out’ would eventually be abolished for ever).

May Jesus help us to take time see him better, to see one another better, and to see ourselves through his eyes of love.

Sometimes we agonise over negative stuff in our lives, and let that colour our thinking. Out in the garden recently I’ve been looking at the flowers, the robin, the tiny birds around the bird feeder. God is delighted with them – simply because they are being all they were meant to be.

If we have the idea of God as a perpetual judge, a perpetual nit-picker we can forget that God doesn’t just love us, he likes us. When we are our authentic selves in the sense of being what God made us to, and choosing to live with love and light and justice and mercy, how delighted God is in us and with us! ... See MoreSee Less

Here's a wee 74th birthday reflection from John in today's print edition of the Inverness Courier.

‘You’ve a lot going on,’ the doc said to my friend who is receiving treatment for cancer. ‘Who is supporting you?’ My friend mentioned his wife, family and close friends, and added that his ultimate support was faith in God.

He told the doctor, who it transpired was also a Christian, of a sermon he’d heard about the last verse of Psalm 23 – ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.’ The preacher spoke of the divine love which follows us, pursues us, never lets us go. This is not the unwanted pursuit of a malignant stalker, but the welcome concern of an unfailing friend.

I’d another birthday recently – I’m now 74. For me it’s both a cause for celebration, and for recognising that my body is more, well…. creaky than it used to be. And I’m still prone to sadness and anxiety, unwelcome stalkers both.

Three things have encouraged me. The first was my friend’s reminder of the unfailing love of God, underlined by a musical setting of a Bible verse which came to mind: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.’ It’s a love I believe is forever with me, even in dark unfathomable days when God seems absent.

The second lesson I learned while reflecting that in future I might not be able to achieve as many ‘big things’ as I do now. The thought came: ‘Small things matter’.

All the little actions and interactions of someone’s day – sweeping floors, washing dishes, litter-picking, saying a kind word, sharing a meal – can be done as acts of prayer, expressions of love and gratitude to God. Everything so done helps fulfil our Christian calling to be agents of light and love.

And the third lesson, prompted by a story on the internet which drew me in, is this: ‘Choose brave, not safe.’ In fact, sometimes ‘safe’ is the right choice. Sometimes we face situations where we have no choice but to be brave.

But I’m glad that throughout my life I have often chosen to be brave, facing challenges, taking daunting steps. However, I could have been braver. Sometimes I have chosen ‘safe’ and then regretted it.

At 74, I resolve to be brave, entrusting myself to that unfailing love of God, the bedrock on which rests my life, as does my friend’s. It is the knowledge of this love which brings meaning and purpose to the small things, and gives me confidence to choose ‘brave’.

Through the darkness of doubt, anxiety, wavering emotions, questions and uncertainties, ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.’ Bring on my 75th year! ... See MoreSee Less