A very happy New Year

As we enter a new decade (though, because there is no year zero, 2010 is actually finishing off a decade!) I wish you a fulfilling good New Year.  I was struck by some reflections by the theologian Karl Barth on Ps. 31:15 My time is secure in your hands (German trans.)

There is a point where....the question of God's hands becomes quite literally serious - that is where all the deeds, works, and words of God have their beginning, middle and end...these are the hands of our Saviour Jesus Christ. These are the hands which he held out stretched when he called; 'Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' They are the hands with which he blessed the children. They are the hands with which he touched the sick and healed them. They are the hands with which he broke the bread and shared it out to the five thousand in the desert place and then again to his disciples before his death. Finally, and above all, they are his hands nailed to the cross, so that we might be reconciled to God. These my brothers and sisters, these are the hands of God:the strong hands of a father, the good soft gentle hands of a mother, the faithful helping hands of a friend, the gracious hands of God , in which our time is secure, in which we ourselves are secure.

That's a great promise for the New Year, isn't it?