Margins

The pages of a book have margins. This blog has wide margins. Margins not only frame what is written, in the sense of providing set boundaries; they make reading easier. And in the margins of a book (though not a blog) you can write little notes or marks that highlight something that speaks to you. No margins, no room for notes.

God intends for our lives to have margins. They are a gift of grace. He said to his ancient people, “Don’t harvest your fields to the very edge: leave a strip around the edge, for the widow and the orphan to gather a harvest.”

If we live without margins, we don’t leave space for others to be blessed through our lives – especially, the marginalised.

If we live without margins, we don’t leave space to hear God speak into our lives – not least, through the marginalised.

If we work all the hours we are given, we leave no margin.

If we have to be in another city on business, and travel there and back on that day or days, instead of the day before and after, we leave no margin. If it is worth going, make the necessary time; if you can’t give that time, it probably isn’t worth going.

If we don’t make space to have fun, we leave no margin. (Note: Tuesday 16 February is Shrove Tuesday, and it should involve getting together with other people to make and eat pancakes...)

Sometimes, the wider the margins and the fewer the words, the more significant the impact...

But we think that the way to maximise the potential of a page, or a life, is to minimise the margins.