[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during May 2020]
Recently I saw a cartoon which made a big impact on me. It went ‘viral’ so maybe you have seen it too. I regret that I cannot remember the artist and so cannot give an appropriate credit.
Our viewpoint is that of looking through the window of a house; we can see a young boy, well dressed and sitting in a comfortable chair in front of a desk where he has plenty of stationery, a printer and a laptop on which he is participating in his on-line lessons.
By contrast, outside we see a boy of a similar age, barefoot, poorly dressed and with unkempt hair, standing on an upturned box. He is looking through the window and in his hand he has a pencil and a scrap of paper on which he is writing what he can see of the lessons.
The efficacy of this cartoon is that it conveys in one picture what a thousand words could not. It is a valid representation of the situation in many places throughout the world, not least in the area where I live. In my local kindergarten, out of 13 pupils, only one has access to the facilities necessary to join in with online lessons, and that one case is only due to the sacrifices made by his mother. When resources are limited, food and health take priority over new clothes, and the prospect of having to repeat a school year becomes an inevitable part of the price to be paid.
The Israelites were promised a land flowing with milk and honey but the Old Testament records with depressing frequency the occasions when they were facing poverty, famine or distress of some form. In most cases, the account makes it clear that these events have been allowed to happen because the nation turned away from God. Does it not exacerbate the present crisis that few, if any, of our public leaders seem willing to make a similar link?
In 2 Kings chapter 7 we read how God turned one such situation around overnight. The king had wanted to blame God for their problems but He provided for His people in abundance whilst those who were sceptical about His promise were left unable to enjoy the benefits.
God has our circumstances under control – but do you believe it?
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
