A leper came to Jesus once – quite against the law which required him to live as an outcast to avoid spreading infection – and asked for cleansing. In his request, he said, ‘if you are willing.’ (Mark 1:40) It was a big risk he took, but he was a desperate man.

Jesus was indeed willing, and not only that, He was able to cleanse him. Often we doubt God’s willingness more than His ability. We know God can do marvellous and miraculous things, but we are not always so confident that He is willing to do them for us. We doubt He will be bothered with the minutiae of our everyday lives.

Jesus showed HIs willingness (‘I am willing.’ Mark 1:41) and His power, stretching out His hand to touch the leper (thus breaking another taboo, for to touch a leper was to risk infection.) The purity of Jesus could not be contaminated by the defilement on the skin disease. Instead, His holiness and power cleansed the leper. (Mark 1:42)

Jesus’ willingness to be involved in our lives doesn’t change. He’s still willing to come into our situations with power and authority and He is still doing amazing things.

Our willingness can also at times be called into question. Are we willing? Will we do what Jesus asks us to? Will we obey Him when we don’t understand?

A little willingness goes a long way…

We had another October birthday to celebrate today!

J-P spoke tonight from Lamentations 3:1-22. Lamentations (the ‘complaining song’ in Afrikaans) is not a happy book: written at the time of Israel’s exile, it deals with many questions which are still very relevant to us today. Such questions include ‘how can I still believe in a good God when all around me is doom and gloom?’, ‘how can I keep hoping when everything seems to be lost?‘ and ‘what do I have to live for?’ There is a sense of helplessness and hopelessness in the book which many relate to in our current political climate.

Israel, God’s chosen people, were in exile, removed from their promised land by Nebuchadnezzar’s war machine. They were being punished for their sin and disobedience, but for many, this exile seemed relentless and endless. When life throws us curveballs, we can blame God and lose hope; darkness surrounds us and can often seep within us. Nonetheless, despite the litany of distress and confusion the writer feels, there is still hope. We don’t have to be chained to the past; we can still look up and look ahead to the future.

God’s compassions are new every morning. God’s love carries us through the dark times and give us perspective. Instead of dwelling on a dark past, we can look to a bright future. In a moment of clarity, the writer glimpses life and light; he saw tomorrow and was willing to give God a chance again.

God is always there for us – in the past, in the present and in the future. We need the perspective Lamentations gives us. Yes, we can lament and complain, but we can also have hope. As Ps 30:5 says, ‘weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.’

Our perception of God the Father can be hugely influenced – in both positive and negative ways, depending on our experiences – by our relationship with our earthly father. Those who never knew an earthly father often feel floundering and bereft when it comes to this subject; those who suffered abuse or neglect from an earthly father can find it exceedingly difficult to trust God’s Father-heart.

Whatever our experience of earthly fathers, however, God has made it possible for us to know Him as that perfect Father who gives good gifts to His children (see James 1:17, Ps 68:5). Moreover, even those who have known the security and provision of a good earthly father realise they have flaws and failings too. God, on the other hand, is all-powerful (so there is no limit to His provision and care for us), all-knowing (so He sees our hearts and loves us, despite all our failures), and good (Ps 119:68).

Our connection to God the Father comes through new birth and through adoption (see Rom 8:5). As we dwell on the revelation of God as Father in the Bible and believe the promises He has made, we can grow into our identity as God’s dearly beloved children. He has chosen us to be holy and blameless in His sight (Eph 1:4).

In our series ‘Connections’, looking at our relationships with God and with each other, today we looked at God the Father. God is one (Deut 6:4) but exists in Three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we are to know spiritual maturity, then we must relate to each Person in the Trinity and not focus on one to the exclusion of the others. An imbalanced relationship with God will leave us lopsided,but God’s aim is that we are conformed to the image of His Son and become like Him.

The word ‘father’ cannot exist in isolation; to be a father, you must have a child. Many take fatherhood lightly nowadays; some men do not even know they have fathered children and some have no contact with their children. This inevitably has an impact on our understanding of fatherhood and can make it difficult for us to relate to God as our Father. But our core identity is as children of God (see John 1:12-13) and Jesus taught us much about the connection we can have to God as Father, including praying to ‘our Father in heaven.’ (Matt 6:9)

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), we learn much about a father’s heart. The father was snubbed by his younger son who wanted his inheritance to spend as he saw fit even before his father’s death and was treated as a tyrant by his older son, but he cared for both sons and showed compassion and kindness to his younger son on his return. His welcome home teaches us much about grace and forgiveness and about the lavish love of God (see 1 John 3:1), showing us God’s joy when anyone repents and returns home.

Often, the Father is perceived as wrathful, the God who judges and punishes, but the Bible makes it clear that discipline and judgment arise from God’s love (see Prov 3:11-12, Heb 12:5-11). We can have a relationship with God the Father based on security and trust, not fear and trembling. God can be trusted (see Matt 6:32, Luke 11:11-13); if we doubt this, we only have to look at His sacrificial love in giving Jesus for our sins (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9).

Because God is our Father, we can have confidence, hope, security and assurance. We have an inheritance to look forward to (we are heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ – Rom 8:17) and a relationship of connection with the Almighty God. Best of all, like Jesus, we can address God as ‘our Father’, ‘Abba, Father’, an intimate, secure, loving relationship with a gracious, loving and forgiving God. Who are we? We are children of God – that’s who we are!

Part of our support for overseas work is for Fredrick and Reeba in Bangalore. We gave money to help build the baptismal tank in their new church and Fredrick has recently written of their first baptismal services there, celebrating Hindus coming to know Jesus as their Saviour.

Reeba has recently written about the tailoring programme we sponsor. There are now 54 women on the current 6-month programme in two different locations and they hope to graduate in January. Please pray for the financial provision for the sewing machines which are given to each woman at the end of the programme to enable them to use their new skills to earn their own living. Since each machine costs about £100, they will need £5,400 to provide these machines.

In addition, Reeba asks for prayer for two women in particular: Nirmala and Anitha (NIrmala is on the left of the photo).

Nirmala is a 22 year old woman who married at 17 years of age and was widowed just three months after her marriage. She was pregnant when her husband died and she and her daughter lived with her parents until her father’s death in 2019. Both she and her mother have worked hard at menial jobs, but got into debt trying to pay for his medical and funeral costs. They live in a small room just 9 feet by 5 feet in what Reeba describes as ‘very pathetic conditions.’ Please pray for Nirmala to be able to pay off debts of £2500 and educate her child.

Anitha is 24 years old and was abandoned by her husband when she was 5 months pregnant, aged only 18. She lives with her son and widowed mother and is the sole bread winner of her family. She too has many debts (health care and schooling are not free in India) and works as a hotel maid, but her dream is to have a tailoring shop or boutique of her own. “If I learn tailoring skills I can someday be a boss of my own tailoring shop,” she says. Fredrick and Reeba long to help her fulfil this dream (to set up such a shop after her graduation would cost about £1500.)

Such stories remind us of the privileges we often take for granted in the UK and should also stir us to prayer and action.