In last week’s questions I was asked what I would say to someone who wanted to wait till the ‘eleventh hour’ to follow Jesus.

This question follows up the story Jesus told about a landowner who recruited different people throughout the day to work on his farm, and then he decided to pay everyone a full-day’s pay, even those who only did an hour’s work at the end of the day… the ‘eleventh hour’

And this question asks why people wouldn’t want to wait until the last minute to follow Jesus, rather than having to do it all through your life.

Well, firstly, you don’t know when you’re going to die, do you?

Hearing the news about Shane Warne’s passing was a bit confronting for me.

After all, he was only a year older than me… and now he’s suddenly dead… well before anyone thought his life would come to a close.

If someone my age thought they could just wait till they’re 70 to become a Christian, then they might die when they’re 50… and then wouldn’t that be foolish for them?

So if you are planning on waiting till you’re older, how do you know you won’t die earlier?

Secondly, why wouldn’t you want to become friends with Jesus straight away?

Becoming a Christian will be tough at times, but being friends with Jesus is the best thing anyone can do.

Why wouldn’t you want to rush in right now and stop being enemies with God and enjoy the peace that passes all understanding?

Becoming friends with Jesus isn’t a chore… it’s a blessing… so don’t put it off… even if you could be sure you had time to wait.

And if you’re not sure if you’re truly saved and forgiven by Jesus, then what are you waiting for?

JODIE McNEILL

(photo credit: John Voo via flickr.com)

I remember our AGM in 2020, which was only days before things changed forever in the life of our world and our church as the pandemic started to spread across the globe.

Within weeks we were watching church through livestream, and learning how to do ‘social distancing,’ wear a mask without fogging up glasses, and to scan in ‘QR’ codes… and suddenly toilet paper became worth its weight in gold!

Now it’s almost two years, and as the NSW Premier declares a change to an ‘endemic’, we’re finally allowed to come together with no, actual ‘restrictions’ on our gatherings.

This weekend, we can welcome an unlimited number of people into our church building, without masks, singing with joy and gusto.

As we reflect on the past two years, some will say that the hardest thing has been the prohibition of singing, or the capacity limits, or even the requirement of wearing masks.

But the hardest thing of all has been missing the physical attendance of our dear brothers and sisters who have continued to attend each week online, but not in person.

I know you have been with us week by week, but it will be so lovely when I, as your preacher and pastor, can see your face as you sit under the wonderful word of God.

Now that the booster shot has had time to do its work, I would love to see all our members return in person to church as soon as possible, when you can.

Nonetheless, we’re going to keep our livestream ministry going, and we look forward to welcoming people through screens into the future.

In fact, it’s turned out to be a great way of reaching out to our village, valley, region… and even to the world!

But as they say of footy, “it’s never the same unless you’re there at the game”… and that’s certainly true of the joyful times spent eating dinner or brunch together after church.

So, if you can make it along this weekend in person, then it would be such a great blessing to me and to us all.

JODIE McNEILL

(Photo credit: Prachatai via Flickr.com)