CHRIS Mann led the service at Crediton Methodist Church on Sunday, May 18.

His theme was “barriers”.

Pam showed a photo of her fence with a gap at the bottom to allow wildlife access to her garden. She would have to block the gap soon to keep a puppy safe.

Another photo showed a closed level crossing as a train was passing, but which allows people to cross when it is safe.

There was a “road closed” sign to keep people safe during road works.

The barriers we looked at are the responsibility of someone else.

Chris asked what barriers might come into our lives as an obstacle between us and God? What about barriers we put up to protect ourselves or to keep others at arms’ length?

Chris put up barriers in his youth to keep people away. He recalls the words of the song “I am a Rock” – “If I had never loved, I would never have cried”. Most of the times when he cried it was because of extremes of love.

We know that Jesus wept when he heard of the death of his friend Lazarus. Jesus came not to help us to put up barriers but to help us to remove barriers because of love.

In Matthew 27 we read the curtain separating humans from God was permanently destroyed on Good Friday when Jesus died. From that moment there is no barrier that stands between us and our God. At least on God’s side.

Next Sunday is known as Aldersgate Sunday when in 1738 John Wesley, reading Martin Luther’s preface to Romans, felt his heart strangely warmed and the barrier between him and God was removed.

Wesley realised that he could not earn or achieve the state he was looking for. The only way he could achieve the completeness with God was by accepting God’s grace that was freely offered.

It is a barrier that we, like Wesley, have to remove between us and God.

When Wesley realised that, everything changed about his faith. Instead of being a faith based on good works and endeavour, it became a faith that was lived from his heart, soul and very being.

That is true for everyone of us who seek to follow Christ. What are the barriers we have put in place between us and God?

What will it take for us to recognise that and enable us to take them down so that we can really know that we rest constantly and securely in the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit and that we do this through the grace of God paid for at a high price but given freely.

Bronwyn Nott