Christian comment with Isabel Stanley of Randwick Church Local Ministry Team

ERNIE - Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment.

Did you know that it is 60 years since the first Premium bond draw?

June 1 was the anniversary of the very first Premium Bond prize draw and the first ERNIE took ten minutes to spit out the top winning number!

There were fifty million bonds in the draw, all of which had been bought at least six months earlier because at that time you had to wait six months to qualify for a prize.

Then it was possible to buy a single £1 bond and I remember winning my very first one in a raffle.

I was really excited - but it has never won!

The promise of something for (almost) nothing still draws us now, though the stakes are usually higher and we cannot guarantee getting our money back!

In our everyday lives we often hope for a great return for very little effort.

In monetary terms we often hope for a big return, thinking too often of how much we can get for very little outlay.

Yet we know in our hearts that the more we put in, the more we get more out of life.

What about our spiritual life?

If we go to church what do we expect to get?

Is it a good singsong, or a bit of spiritual uplift, the chance to learn more about Jesus and his love and concern for everyone, to recognise his sacrifice for us, or is it just the chance to meet some friends afterwards for a coffee.

Do we think about what we should be investing in our spiritual life?

Do we put our whole selves into what we are hearing, what we are learning, what we are offering and what it could do for other people?

And if we don’t think church is for us does that mean there is nothing spiritual about our lives?

What are our inner thoughts?

What should be our purpose in life?

At the very least do we think about helping others, about developing our gifts for the benefit of others, about living our lives to the full, using those skills and gifts we have in order to make the world a better place?

And what about our new government?

We pray that they may work for the good of ALL.