Happy ever after ...

When my children were small they loved to hear fairy tales, I am sure you know the ones - Snow White, the princess and the pea, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella ..., every culture has them.

One of the key things, for me, about a good fairy tale is that it has a happy ending. Just think what it would be like if the Prince never found Cinderella, or the piece of apple was not sucked out of Snow Whites' mouth (some kind of kiss that was eh?). The wolf chomping up Red Riding Hood just wouldn't seem right somehow.

As we grow up we hear other stories, which seem just as made up as fairy stories and often its hard to know the difference between what is true and what is false. Many take the view that the Bible is a bit like a clever fairy tale, nice ideas but can't be true and even for many Christians believing the whole lot is too much and so its easier to pick what suits and ignore the rest. I wonder sometimes if what most want is a pick-and-mix Bible so that they can select the bits they like.

Can we have the happy ending, eternal life in heaven, without the rest? Jesus says that we are to be disciples - those who do as he has commanded and since he and God are one that includes what God has commanded. God's promise to us is eternal life with him if we choose to be Christ's disciples - accepting him as Lord and Saviour. You don't say no to a Lord so we are called to do as he has asked.


Is life as a Christian going to be a fairy tale ending? Well I don't think so; Paul, one of the writers of the Bible gave up everything - position, respect, home etc. to follow Christ as did the first disciples. God's promise it not for material happiness now, we won't have all we want and often won't have what we need but God promises to be with us in each and every situation, if we will let him. He seals the deal with the his Holy Spirit so that we will know his commands and direction for us and to be a strength when we need strength and a comfort when we need comfort.

The life of faith is not a fairy tale, its real life; sometimes its blood, sweat and tears, other times is laughter, joy and fun. He is with us whatever a strong tower, a comfort, a healer, a friend and a Saviour.

A Note out of Tune

 The Christian in the west is often filled with the desire to go to the popular Christian festivals, to follow the latest trends in music, in church operation, in how to lead our lives, in reading the right books or believing the latest theories - in short being up to date and switched on.

I wonder though if this is what Jesus really meant when he said we would be in the world but not of the world? Is the gospel message really all about having the biggest church, the latest sounds, the trendiest message or going to the most popular festivals? I think not; but don't get me wrong this is not a rant about these things. The problem seems to me to be that as Christians it is so hard not to adopt or include the ways of the world in our thinking, behaviour and culture.

Are we justified in spending out on the latest CD's, DVD's, books and such - often spending considerable amounts, when we then find it so hard to buy a big issue magazine from a homeless person (for example) or give more than a token amount to help relieve the dire situations in Pakistan or West Africa (to name a few)?

A month or so ago I went to a North London Church to preach and lead and they asked if we could use a song (by Tim Hughes) that they were learning and which I did not know. I fitted it in and was surprised at the feeling it brought in me. I heard it again this weekend when I visited the church my son goes to when he is at University. In the middle of the song it has these words "Stepping forward keep us from just singing. Move us into action".

The gospel is a note out of tune with the ways of this world; we are called to live it out and it needs us to act upon what we sing, what we hear at conferences and what we learn from reading, otherwise these things are a waste of the precious resources God has given us. We should not need to continually top up with more if we live out the gospel in the power of Christ, giving all that we are to him and letting him use us as he directs.

Then the gospel others hear will be a tune they understand as it results in action that brings, comfort, water, food, medicine, justice and shelter as we give up to give to them.



The full lyrics of Tim Hughes song

God of Justice, Saviour to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus, You have called us
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go

To act justly everyday
Loving mercy in everyway
Walking humbly before You God

You have shown us, what You require
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give


Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out
Fill us up and send us out Lord

A destructive word

A basic rule that I have tried to apply to any job or position that I have held is that when people criticise something or someone I tell them "If you can't offer a positive alternative then don't criticise!". Sometimes people have looked aghast, others have stomped off and some, the majority, have re-thought their comments and attitudes as they look for a positive approach. Usually it results in a constructive solution with practical, positive alternatives to help the person being criticised.
   
Criticism is cheap, it is the easiest thing to do and is often a result of things other than the fact the person, activity or plan is wrong. It can be that we simply don't like it or the person giving the idea or talk or whatever. Read the critics on theatre, food, books in the national press - many fear their comments because they can make or break a work and yet each work has merit but may not fit the pattern a particular critic likes to see. Their comments are often destructive.

Don't misunderstand when something or someone is wrong, it needs to be corrected or put right. But the method that we use to do that correcting makes a huge difference as does the attitude from which we do it. The aim of correction is not to break but to reconstruct, to provide a better way, an alternative or possibility that is accepted and acted upon. This does not happen if the person, who is the object of our correction feels destroyed, stamped on and discredited.
           
Recently I started reading through the Exodus story, one thing stood out - the number of times God produced the goods for the people - freedom from slavery, saved from Pharaohs army, given water, food, a new life, protected from roving Amalekites, shoes and clothes that don't wear out. How does it fit with critisicm?
 
Well every time the people were not happy the complained to Moses about the way he was leading, what God was not doing for them and the result eventually was that Moses was so cross with them that he wacks a rock instead of speaking to it to bring water out of and disobeys God's direction - he does not make it into the promised land because of this (Num 20:8-13). I notice that the people never offered an alternative except to return to Egypt!
                  
Criticism is destructive unless it is done constructively, criticising Gods people and leaders is almost a way of life with some. But ask yourself, could I do better and if I could why am I not? God often chooses the weak, broken and useless things (1Cor 1:27-28) -  (people) and transforms them and because they are who they are they follow him completely without questioning every direction and opportunity that he gives. They honour their call, so when we think they have got it wrong or we disagree with them, find a positive and affirming way to talk with them.

It works both ways of course and church leaders need to follow the same guidelines and avoid cutting people down because they disagree or have an alternative opinion. None of us are right all of the time and most of us are right only some of the time.

Don't destroy with words and cover it with the euphemism "of course I only tell you this in love!". Love first and think before talking and criticising.

When I'm sixty four ...

The other evening I was watching a T.V. documentary about bride stealing in Chechnya, the practice of grabbing a girl, then negotiating with her family to marry her. Often the girl hardly knows the man but more often than not the marriage takes place. One girl was asked, what about love, do you think you will love him? She replied that she hoped that in time she would. Many of us would put love as a major condition to want to marry someone - these girls get no choice. So it got me thinking.

In looking for a marriage partner we often put a high value on what the other person looks like, how they dress or what our emotional or sexual connection with them is and wrap it up by describing it as love. Of course these all play a part in our attraction but we should not forget that people change, wear different clothes, look different as they grow older then we might feel attracted to someone else as our partner changes. Perhaps the Beatles summed it up nicely in their song 'When I'm Sixty four' - "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty four?"

Do we expect relationships to last or are they just as disposable as last years "latest" mobile phone or i-pod version or last years fashions? Do we fall in and out of love with each other or is it really a choice we make to love someone else or to continue loving that same one person?

Well I know that other women catch my attention, as well they might, theres nothing wrong with admiring; I know that just as I mess up so does my wife and I am certain that I am at least as irritating and annoying as she is. Thirty plus years of marriage have taught me that whatever the initial attraction, love comes at a price, love hurts. A price that means loving through all things, in all situations, that one person who becomes a true soul-mate, a companion it says in Genesis as God decided to create woman and for all time men and women will leave their parents and be joined as one, for life. It means not following up on attraction to someone else, which often is just our greed being let loose; it also means gaining the reward of a relationship that grows and blossoms and matures in all of its beauty.

When I think about love as the Bible talks about it, 1 Corinthians 13 comes to mind - but then that has to be seen in the context of the Church before trying to apply it relationships. It tells us that love will overcome all if we are able to put the other first and seek to share with them, look out for them, understand their needs and above all continue to choose to love them in spite of how they change, how they meet up to our expectations or not and any other distractions that draw our eyes.



Ultimately our model is God, who loves each of us so deeply that he came himself, Jesus, to put right what we manage to repeatedly mess up. He offers relationship that is eternal, based on his love for us and his desire to know us and for us to know him. He will love us when we reach sixty four and beyond, he will love us in the great times and the hard times; he will never let us down. Choose that love for yourself and love the God who loves you enough to have been there, done it and got the T-shirt long before you.

 
This is the God who will not walk away from you when you are not all that he wanted you to be, this is the God whose love for you is so deep that he hurt - suffered for you.

Model your relationship with your partner on that kind of love and it will work out no matter how tough it might get at times.

Hearers and Doers

The recent Haitian disaster generated many hours of media coverage, pictures of buildings flattened, streets destroyed, people scattered and many killed, maimed or made homeless. We saw and heard of the disaster and its aftermath, but like much of what we hear these days, it becomes more static in the airwaves after a short time. We emotionally engage for a while, maybe toss some money to a charity as result and then move on to the next thing. The moment has passed and our interest fades as we look for the next thing to draw our attention, like the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

This generates a culture that listens or hears but resists engaging or doing something about it, leaving to others or to those closer to the situation. We are told that attention spans for learning are falling as more and more young people look to the remote T.V. controller to help them satisfy a growing demand for different viewing, new things, something to interest or absorb even if only for a short while.

I was thinking about all of this the other day  related to food (something I enjoy) and recipes. When we get excited over a great recipe, listening to one of the many food programs on the T.V., what happens if we hear but then do nothing about it? Well just that, nothing! We and others around us will never experience the aromas, textures, flavours, colours and sheer enjoyment of that food if we never actually buy the ingredients, prepare it, cook it and serve it. We will never experience the pure joy of all of this because we heard about it but did nothing ourselves about it.

How does this fit with Christian faith? Well James tells us to be not only hearers (listeners) but doers of the word of God, we are to act on what we hear - through sermons, through teaching, through reading the word of God. Hearing or reading it is not the end only the beginning, we are to put it into action in our lives. We are not to be a sound bite people who hear but then move on to the next sound bite for further stimulation and entertainment. The best sermon in the word has no impact if those who hear do not act upon it. This is James' point :

 
Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

The word of God, however it is listened to, is dry and dusty and of no use if we don't put it into action in our lives. It is meant to change us but can only do that if we take it to heart, put it into practice, in effect live it out. Then it becomes living and active in and through us

The Bible is full of examples of living out what people had heard. Peter and John for example had no money to give the lame beggar outside of the temple, but they did have something to put into action - faith in Jesus Christ; Result the man was able to walk.

If faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, imagine what God's church could manage if it puts its faith in him into action. Let the word of God become living and active in you, be hearers and doers of the word of God.