The Thin Place

‘Heaven and Earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller’
                                                                                                                    (Celtic saying)

"The Thin Place" in this quote is referring to places and moments in time whenthe distance between Heaven and Earth is smaller. Where the veil separating Heaven and Earth is lifted and one is able to catch a glimpse of the glory of God. It’s a glimpse that takes your breath away, it overwhelms and yet sustains your very soul.

Where are your thin places? Have you found them yet?

I don’t know about you, but I find it all too easy to focus my attention solely on the negative elements of our World. My eyes and ears are filled every day by atrocities happening all over planet Earth. Humanity destroying itself through war and hatred. Men and women destroying our planet and its creatures because of greed and selfishness. Natural disasters killing people in their thousands, leaving broken homes and lost family members. Illness and disease taking more and more victims every day, causing pain and anguish to the people it affects.

These events are heart breaking and I cannot understand why they happen. I try to convert my heart-rendered questions into prayers for those affected. To cry out to God for peace and restoration to the nations and families that need Him so much. I encourage you to do the same. In times like this, the distance between Heaven and Earth can seem huge. When parts of humanity walk in the valleys of darkness, the situation can feel suffocating and hopeless. 

The Bible promises that there will come a time when our world is restored and all suffering will come to an end (Isaiah 65:17). But what about now? How do we cope when people around us are suffering such sadness?

I encourage you to actively search for the thin places in our world and in our lives. The places and moments where God's love and light shine through brightly.  Why? Because it’s in our experience of the thin places that we snatch a glimpse of God and His deepest desires for us. Our eyes are opened to the glory of God around us... We see the good people who far outweigh the bad; the beauty that far outweighs the ugliness; the light which conquers the darkness. There will come a time when our world is restored and all suffering comes to an end. In the meantime, I implore you to search for the thin places on Earth right now:

The stunning view over green countryside that takes your breath away.

Sharing precious time and laughter with close friends.

The birth of a most longed-for baby.

The love shared between two people, grown stronger over decades.

A sunset at the end of a long day.

                                                                                                   

When you seek God, you will find Him. 

The thin places are all around us... Are you prepared to search for them?

Easter

With a toasted hot cross bun and a steaming cup of tea at my fingertips, I have a chance to think ahead to the next few days. As significant and important as this time of year is to me and many others, I recognise that, for some, it passes without real acknowledgement. Apart from providing a legitimate reason to eat chocolate without feeling guilty, an extra day off work and perhaps the chance to become reacquainted with a few far flung relatives, Easter is regarded by many as being unimportant. In fact, even more than that, it seems to have been branded by our society as the understated, boring and somewhat introverted relation to Christmas. 

Despite this secular attitude to the season, I feel very differently about Easter; along with millions of Christians around the world. For me, it sums up the awesome, indescribable and breath-taking love of a Heavenly Father God for his children. It’s a love that is not remotely selective or prejudiced, but extended to every single person on planet Earth. It builds up in times of discouragement; carries in times of despair; gives hope to the hopeless; strength to the weak and peace to the troubled. By sending His Son to die on a cross, God bridges the gap between Himself and humanity. Our sins are made clean through the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross and a relationship with our Creator is made possible. In my opinion, there is nothing understated, boring or introverted about that! 

It is impossible to describe God’s limitless love for every one of us. It surpasses understanding that the same God that flung stars into space and shaped the Earth in the palm of His hands, chose me and formed me and, because of this, loves me with an everlasting love. And yet the Bible tells me so:

“For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:37-39)

I don’t know what you think about Easter - whether you think about it at all in fact. However, I really hope that this blog has helped you to understand what I think about it. I believe the message of Easter is good news… the best! I want to share it because I truly believe you should know how much you are loved.And so, this Easter, I pray that you may ‘have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is’ (Ephesians 3:18).