Whilst walking along a beach promenade, we noticed an amusement carousel. I haven’t seen one of these for ages. Small horses moved up and down in a circle. Children sat atop them, enjoying the motion and the tinny music. But after a while, the amusement wears off. The same motion. The same circle. Life can feel like this too. It has its ups and downs, which add some variety, but eventually we realise we’re living in loops. Weeks and months repeat. Work and play repeat. Pain and pleasure repeat. Solomon commented on this thousands of years ago. He saw the same cycle: “Everything is meaningless… The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles” (Ecclesiastes 1:2–5). Life does feel like a carousel, spinning through predictable cycles of joy and sorrow, effort and fatigue. But Jesus steps into that pattern and offers more than survival. He offers rest, renewal, and full life. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The carousel may still turn, but in Jesus, we are no longer going in circles—we are being lifted up and led somewhere new. Open Bible – https://bit.ly/ecc1v2-3, https://bit.ly/joh10v10 (Craig B)
