Streams of Living Water

John 6:26-29

We live in a world of aims. In our business lives we are confronted by projects with aims. In our personal lives, we set aims for ourselves – we will get fit, we will lose weight, we will this, we will that. My question tonight is basic: what is to be our over-arching aim in life? What are we to live for? And in particular, whether in ‘full-time’ service or otherwise, why should we give up our lives and serve God? We look around us and we see our neighbours with their beautiful houses, beautiful jobs, beautiful kids and beautiful holidays – they aren’t being tempted, or persecuted, or going through the kinds of trials we have to as Christians. So why do we bother? I have spent a lot of time thinking that question through recently, what with the problems I have had to face in the ministry, and the greater problems some of my ministerial colleagues in the presbytery have had to face. Faced with a lifetime of disappointment and pain, why should we bother serving God in this way?
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