Daily miracles

Huw Williams | 22:07, Thursday 21 February 2013 | Turin, Italy

It was good to welcome friends here from the UK last week. Emyr, Elaine and the family, were here to see Torino in the snow, before Lianne visited in the second part of the week.

There is always something so refreshing about seeing friends from home again. Of course they bring news of where our lives used to be - people, churches and general goings-on. But it's more than that, it's a little dose of home to chat and speak of mutually-loved friends and places. But it's even more than that again, there's something intangible but substantial that makes the like-mindedness of old friendships so reviving. It is the blessing of relationship - that daily miracle most of us take for granted, but which you miss sorely when they are taken away.

Relationships are at the heart of who we are. And this is no surprise, since we are made in the image of God and relationship is at the heart of who God is - Father, Son and Spirit in perfect, loving relationship. As I write these words I am preparing a sermon on Luke 5:33-6:11 where Jesus confronts head-on the religious leaders of his day who promote religious orthodoxy over humanity, strict obedience to man-made laws over love, and ritual over relationship. It seems to be a perennial problem, our sinful hearts have this bias away from relying on God in loving relationship, choosing instead to turn to exhausting law-keeping, even though the only true rest to be found is freely available in the Lord of the Sabbath. And all this in spite of God's word, and in spite of every daily reminder of the power and importance of relationship.