Just reading about David making preparations for the temple: a temple his son Solomon would build, not him himself.

It is a good thing to be always creating a legacy in God that someone else can build upon, rather than leaving behind only a monument of your completed work and ministry. Was very conscious in each parish I ministered in that I was building on the work of others and was conscious I was there to do my bit and then hand things on. I treasure a comment from one of my elders at Holy Trinity, “You have left a legacy that others can build upon.” May that be said of each of us. You may have the most wonderful ministry, but if it all dies with you, it was no more than a firework that went up, shone, and died. What are we passing on?

Oh by the way, we need to pass things on fully, not keep a controlling hand that speaks of fear rather than faith. Succession planning is one thing: Succession Control quite another. I wanted, prayed, hoped my successor in Holy Trinity would be as it has turned out, praise God. It hasn’t always worked out that way in other parishes or other aspects of ministry. Somehow though, God has a way of restoring things to their right course picking up a thread that has been lost or tangled. I can look and see that now as I look back. It brings me peace and hope for the wider scene here in Scotland. What is of God is never lost, yet it is a serious thing when someone destroys a building God has been building. Fortunately the foundation God sets in place the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross stands,  ready for a new person of peace to kneel upon with reverence and then rise to build upon, or build upon  again with living stones.

This was a good weekend for Scottish Rugby – sometimes they can be a long time in coming along! Receiving and passing on are necessary skills, whether in a game like rugby or in the Kingdom of God. How well we receive and how well we pass on what is placed into our hands  is part of the story of the  tiny seed planted by Jesus, the Seed of the Kingdom, that grows into a bush, a tree  whose branches are strong enough, leafy enough, fruitful enough to attract birds of the air seeking refuge.

God bless

Kenny