Reflection for the month - February

 “Follow me…”
Many people nowadays probably find it hard to understand how the Galilean fishermen Andrew and his brother Simon (Peter) simply walked away from their boat and nets and their homes to follow Jesus. What did they know of Him? Well, Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist, and John had pointed Jesus out to him, saying, “Look! The Lamb of God”.  Andrew lost no time in telling his brother of this so that when Jesus invited them to follow Him they did, and the rest is history.

Believing in Jesus, following Him, is just as much a mystery to many today as it was two thousand years ago, yet, if we are to credit the statistics Christianity remains the most widely practised religion across the whole world with around 2.4 billion followers. Numbers are not everything however and what really counts is down to each and every one of us and how we respond to Jesus’ call to follow Him, day by day throughout our lives. His message of love, justice, mercy and grace which are for us free, wonderful and wholly undeserved gifts from God are our security in an insecure world. They are the gifts we can share caringly with one another. We may find that saying the words of faith comes easily, but the deepest understanding and appreciation of Jesus comes only by living our faith.                                 David Peacock