As we age, things slow down. Things such as our healing processes. When I cut myself preparing food, my finger takes so much longer repairing itself. We also face a decline in strength, mobility and energy levels. Within, however, I confess to feeling a lot more like Caleb. I retain enthusiasm for fresh challenges. True, I don’t always calculate the odds of my achieving such ideas born of enthusiasm, but gradually God has taught me two things.

Clive Calver once wrote a book entitled, With a Church Like This, Who Needs Satan? A hard hitting, perhaps slightly unfair title, but one that captures the shock many of us feel when discovering how much criticism there is within the Church. This is not just aimed at those who might practise the historic Christian faith with some differences to our own preference, but also refers to the criticism existing between members of the same church.

Elephants travel in groups, their pace set by that of the slowest. This is a principle we might embrace as God’s Church. Perhaps it’s the equivalent of the US marines slogan, ‘Leave no one behind’. As disciples we have a responsibility to ensure we are vigilant in caring for our own.

Recently, on a retreat looking at God and chronic illness (a long- term condition for which there is no cure), I discovered people’s tremendous courage and God’s inexhaustible grace.

It’s difficult separating news from views. Every piece of personal news analysis carries within it ‘unrealised persuaders’. These are the result of our culture, upbringing and inherent prejudices, amongst other factors. What appears objective has already been through our inbuilt bias filters.

Over the past few weeks, it might seem there are a lot of responsibilities resting upon our shoulders. We are disciples, following Jesus and seeking to do God’s will in our world. The great news is that it remains God’s will, and we are channels allowing God to reveal His way through our lives.

The Gospel Coalition, an American movement committed to renewing Christian faith, reported in 2020 on the ‘scandal of biblical illiteracy’. It revealed only 36% of committed Christians regularly attend church and personally read the Bible every day. A crisis of ‘Bible neglect’.

Scripture presents questions. Widely, and critically, analysed throughout history, today few place complete confidence in rationality’s ability to answer and resolve them all. Scripture’s authority is queried. In an age when fewer people read, many Christians learn more on social media and – from pulpit explanations than from reading the Bible themselves.

The Spirit divides soul and spirit, as we read yesterday. Simply put, the soul is understood as human reason, consciousness and perception. The spirit is the breath, or life, of God within us. It is the spirit that we are invited to follow, for the spirit will always point us in God’s direction. Our soul, however, is inclined to serve our human interests rather than God’s plans for us.

The Bible is unique. Unlike any other book, its words do not create a momentary impact but have the capacity to bring about lasting change within us. It is how God speaks and develops each of us. God’s Word, like a seed, takes root within us and germinates, with the potential for producing a fruitful harvest in our lives. The reason we follow Jesus and read God’s Word is so we can become fruitful, and, working with others, serve our communities through the church.