joy in the kindly comfort of God

We watched Kandahar last night. What an evocative statement of the harshness of that life. One good effect of seeing such a movie might be to recognize how soft our own lives seem in comparison, but, in reality, we all reel at every experience of harshness. Harsh is a word I have used a lot lately, about the situations friends have endured, or about my perceptions of the attitudes of certain Christians or ministries. Sometimes the spirit underneath can remind us of Jane Eyre's experience at Lowood School. (That was another movie we watched this week! It might sound as if I watch a lot of movies, but I don't. We don't have T.V. - just the occasional movie watched on a laptop usually.) I can find harshness in my own spirit in a discussion with my daughter or husband. I suppose I react out of my own vulnerability, as we all do. We all look for comfort and safety, in God, and in others. How precious that we are reminded of that in our Lord's words - that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, read today at church. I have just looked up the truest translation from the Greek of the word for "easy" and it is "kindly". What a lovely word, evoking so much more, and certainly cancelling out the harshness. When we are yoked with this kindly God, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, then we can endure the harshness of life and the world because He keeps us safe and comforted.