Part 6 - The one thing 

When was the last time in your life that ONE THING coloured everything else?

When you first fell in love the sun shone every day, 24 hours a day. Maybe when someone close to you died, a terrible cloud descended so that it felt like all of life had died with them.

Now this virus refuses to step off the stage. Wherever we look, whatever we do, it is there, nagging, pushing, trying to control our lives.

Who is in control? Perhaps you tap BBC news on your phone every half hour, totting up the figures in Italy (glass half empty) or China (glass half full). The fear of death subtly and gently grows and grows in you. Or you could self-isolate and set yourself to watch every minute of Home and Away from Series 1, Episode 1. Then what would be in control? You would be living in a world where relationship crisis upon relationship crisis is normal life. The fear of your next relationship would probably bring you to your knees.

Who is in control? Chapter two of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of the fear of death as a kind of slavery (v15). I won’t explore the detail of these verses. But notice one thing: Christ has freed us from being slaves to the fear of death. He says, “I’m in control.” Tap into him every half hour. If you’re self-isolating, set yourself to get familiar with his world, with his mindset, with his character, with his wishes and desires. May he be the one thing that colours everything else.