We have decisions to make every day. Some are very important – they will change lives. Others are more mundane.

Dad, can I have another ______? (insert food, toy, experience, as appropriate).

Mum, can I play with ______? (insert toy, power tool, technology, as appropriate).

Big sister, can you show me how to ______? (insert personal grooming technique, use of tech, behaviour the parents would not like, as appropriate).

Big brother, can you show me how to ______? (insert physical skill, homework concept, facial expression(!), as appropriate).

Will you ______ marry me ______? (insert the lovers' names).

Will you let me into your school? (for every school family reading this newsletter, there’s been a ‘yes’).

Jesus, can you do something for my friends – their wedding has run out of wine? (said Mary to her son, at the party of their Canaanite friends).

Jesus, will you heal me? (said countless men and women, by word or deed, as they encountered Jesus during his earthly ministry).

Jesus, I need your help to/with ______? (insert resource, success, time, relationship as appropriate).

When Jesus taught on the Sermon on the Mount, He reshaped much of how the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were representing the Torah and the writings of the prophets. God’s commandments were not given to push people away, they were given to His people to invite them into a richer and deeper relationship with each other. They were so much more than rules for living – they were that, but their intent was to shape the hearts and minds of God’s people.

God wants us to be hope-filled and expansively considering all His possibilities. He wants us to trust Him to mend all that is broken, often calling us to be His agents to make that happen. Many times, a simple ‘yes’ kick-starts that process.

Yes hopes … invites ... opens doors.

Yes is a word of acceptance.

Yes welcomes … considers the future where there will be more that can be good.

Yes can build relationship. Yes can heal.

Yes presents opportunities … presents challenges … invites collaboration.

Yes affirms.

Yes creates an environment where it is safe to try, fail, learn and innovate. Yes empowers.

Yes is a transfer of the power dynamic … acts in mercy … is an act of humility.

Yes is a statement of trust.

Principally Thinking

'Act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God'

Issue 14 · 12 Oct 2023

In this issue