Delta is the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, equivalent to our letter D, and before you ask – no this series does not go on for another twenty days!
In our exam terms it signals a failure to meet the required standard. To any of us that have been so graded at any time it is a big disappointment. They don't even say "Hard luck, you did your best but not quite there. Have another go in a little while."
A delta can also be found at the mouth of some rivers. The Thames and the Severn both have estuaries, where the river widens as it enters the sea. The Nile, the Amazon, and the Ganges all have deltas. The delta at the mouth of the Ganges covers an area of almost 31,000 square miles. Now that is a large area and many deltas tend to expand if not controlled by man, and sometimes in spite of.
Perhaps we should be like those rivers and expand just as their delta does. Not that we should get any bigger – some of us would be happy to be a bit smaller in some ways – but we can create a form of a delta by spreading the good news about God by our actions and behaviour toward those we meet each day. So that as a delta helps to fertilise the land around we can do the same with people's knowledge and, perhaps, understanding of God.
I'm not sure that I have created much of a delta, but there may be one or two small overflows. How is your delta growing?
Jim Finch
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