What a Super Market!

It's now many years since I was first invited into Lynda's kitchen.  Hers was the sort of home where conversation normally followed her around the house, and as often as not gravitated to the kitchen.  Without knowing anything about the town where she lived, it was apparent that Sainsbury’s wasn’t far away.  At least seven out every ten items bore that familiar name.  Clearly, she trusted their quality and wasn’t afraid to show it on her shelves.

I once heard that the expression “eternal life” in our Bibles could be translated as “the life of eternity”, indicating that we don't have to wait until death for it to begin. 

 

Substitute "Sainsbury’s” for "eternity", and revisit my friend’s kitchen.  She certainly lived “the life of Sainsbury’s”, and did so daily in her own home.  Her lifestyle illustrates the same point.  She didn’t have to be at the store to live the life – she only went there to replenish her supplies.

Now think again about eternal life.  We don’t have to wait for heaven in order to experience it.  It can start for us here and now.  All we have to do is believe.  Jesus said, “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24).  What about replenishing our supplies?  We certainly don’t have to go to heaven for that.  We can read our Bibles and be in touch with God in prayer right in our homes, and the teaching that can really bring that Word to life is available (as they say in the adverts for the famous Alpha Course), “at a church near you.” 

 

In some churches the last Sunday in October is celebrated as ‘Bible Sunday’; if you don’t already have a daily practice of Bible reading, what better time to begin?  If you are uncertain about what in particular to read, or how to find a way in - it is a big book after all; in fact it's a whole library in one volume - there are many daily guides available, or can be found online too.  You could do worse than look here for starters.