Found this and thought we'd share.
Something to include in your notices this Sunday perhaps?
I saw an old friend recently, someone who played a big part in encouraging me to consider Christianity when I was younger. I don’t know every detail of her life, but from what I do know, this is what I perceive…
She was full of belief, commitment and conviction throughout school and university, when she started work in the city she had many Christian friends and belonged to a big church with a strong Bible-teaching ministry. She was involved, she went to meetings, she read her Bible, she prayed.
Then she met a young man, they hit it off, they started dating. He wasn’t a believer but she hoped, she prayed, she invited. Gradually he started going along to church with her, he did a course and at some point he professed faith in Jesus. They got engaged, they had a Christian wedding, they settled in a suburb and joined a good local church, they had children.
Once again, she was involved: she attended church on Sundays, the children went to Sunday School, she was at the prayer meeting, she helped out at church events. Her husband came on Sundays, if he wasn’t away with work; and if they couldn’t find a babysitter, he would stay at home to look after the children so that she could go to the prayer meeting or housegroup.
Then they moved away to an area where she didn’t know many people, and where the church situation was a little more ‘complicated’.
Living the good life of the gospel is always a challenge when we live in a wider culture that defines the good life in other ways. It is particularly hard in a culture where newspapers cannot be trusted and politicians are corrupt; a harsh, selfish, racist culture in which there is a fear of crime; a culture where people are reluctant to do manual work, which is therefore left to migrant workers; a culture in which people routinely overeat.
And that was the culture of first-century Crete, where Titus led the church and to whom Paul wrote: “One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: ‘Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons,’” (Titus 1:12). The quote is from a Cretan philosopher, Epimenides. Epimenides was held in high honour by Cretans—so they could not readily ignore or deny his verdict. And yet, of course, this description of first-century Crete could just as easily be a description of twenty-first century western culture. How do we live as Christians in a dishonest, harsh, selfish culture? How can we survive without adopting those attitudes? How can we live the good life in this situation? These are the questions the letter of Titus addresses, and these are the questions we need help with each day as we seek to live a gospel-changed life in a society that seeks change and finds truth in many places, but so rarely in the gospel.... continue reading
Two takes on Acts 2:42-47:
I devoted myself to personal Bible reading and study, to church attendance and private prayer. I was really impressed when I saw the obvious signs of God's work in other people when my home group leader invited people to speak. I gave what was convenient whenever the pastor asked for cash. I sometimes gave to other people if there was a whip-round after the service. I turned up to most meetings and took communion regularly. I had pleasant meals with fellow Christians fairly often, talking about all kinds of safe, interesting topics. I quite liked seeing new people thinking about Christianity every now and then.
Or... continue reading
So, how can those of us who tend towards independence change to the healthily inter-dependent people that God is calling us to be?
Remember - God is generous. He has lavished us with all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). So, in calling us to community, he is not asking us to do anything that we aren't equipped to do. It may be scary - especially if we have been hurt in the past - but it is possible. This is part of his good will, he does not make mistakes and he is calling you to a more faithful life not asking you to endure pointless pain. Becoming someone who ever more shares their life with others is something that will make us all more like Jesus.... continue reading
It's an exciting yet, at times, uncomfortable truth: God didn't save us to be a bunch of individuals each following him in the way that seems best to us, he called us to be a community, passionate about sharing our lives with one another.
We are called to:
And we can't do any of those things alone ... We need to know people deeply and love them sincerely by spending quality time with them regularly if these things are to be possible. There's no getting away from it, when we are truly authentic in our walk with the Lord, our lives are healthily enmeshed with our brothers and sisters in Christ.... continue reading
No-one is born with an overwhelming desire for independence. Every new baby, no matter what their personality, has the ability to scream and scream and scream … and to keep on screaming until someone comes to give them the sustenance or comfort they desire. But by the time we reach adulthood, often the barriers have gone up and our lives display very different priorities. So what’s so attractive about independent living?
It’s safer
There’s no point denying it, sometimes life hurts and it has done ever since the fall of Genesis 3. To put it bluntly, sometimes people are real pains! It’s not something I dwell on much – I have better things to do with my time – but, if you pushed me, I could come up with quite a catalogue of ways in which I have been wounded. I’m sure you can too. People hurt us - physically, emotionally, spiritually – and, to state the blindingly obvious, that doesn’t feel good, especially with the added dimension now of arguments spilling over into social media and the world’s uncompassionate eyes. Distancing ourselves from others makes it less likely we will feel pain again. Of course, it makes it less likely we will feel love again too …... continue reading
No man is an island, they say – and I guess that’s true - but I’ve noticed more and more in recent months that plenty of men (and women) often try to be just that. Whether it’s culture’s call to individualism or a personal drive for autonomy, many of us like to live as loners.
I’m not suggesting we aspire to be the modern day equivalent of hermits, holed away in some dark crevice. No - that wouldn’t work at all - crevices don’t have wifi! But within the hustle and bustle of the modern world, where hundreds of people pass us in the street or online each day, there can be a drive to live our lives deliberately distancing ourselves from those we are designed to hold dear.
I remember vividly the first time I was called a strong, independent woman. It was something that brought a smile to my face. You see, I like the idea of being superwoman, speeding through life invincibly - able to help others but being invulnerable myself. Of course, that’s not actually what I’m like at all but it’s an attractive aim. Needing others seems so, well, needy! And there’s a voice deep inside many of us that whispers “don’t go there - don’t admit you have to depend on anyone at all”.
So this week on The Good Book Blog we are going to look a little at the tendency towards independence that lies within and ask ourselves the question – is this really the life that Jesus calls us to enjoy?
My son has just turned two. His vocabulary now stretches to: “Thank you Daddy for… [insert cars/blueberries/lion]”. So I’m confident that, come Sunday, to mark Father’s Day he will thank me for… well, cars, his sister, blueberries, and his teddy lion.
To be honest, I’m hoping that in twenty years, he’s not thanking me primarily for those things when he takes me out for lunch on Father’s Day (note, son: lunch, not just a card). On Mother's Day, I blogged on what I hoped he would thank his mother for in 20 years. But for Father's Day, I'm thinking: apart from his cars, blueberries and lion, what else should I be hoping he doesn’t most thank me for when he’s 22?... continue reading
I just loved being a dad to my young children. I was silly Dad - always making jokes and doing funny things. I was knowledgable Dad - who knew lots of cool things about how things worked. I was fun dad - they were quite happy to bring their friends over to bask in the warm glowing presence of their amazing "Super-Dad". I was happy to bask in the warm glow of their appreciation.
How quickly things change…
Almost overnight it seemed the mood swung completely. As the teenage years took hold, silly Dad became embarrassing Dad , knowledgable Dad became stoo-pid Dad, and fun Dad became painfully awkward Dad. I found it just as tough as they did - especially when, one by one, they entered radio silence, and spent more time relating to their phones than they did to me.
I had to keep remembering how completely normal this all is. The fundamental job of a parent is to raise a happy, healthy, independent and mature human being, ready to take their place in the wider world. So it is quite, quite normal that many teenagers retract into themselves and their peer group, rather like a bug turning chrysalis before it emerges as a beautiful adult. It is their way of finding the space to discover and be themselves in their own right, rather than as an offshoot from mum and dad.
I've found the words of Ephesians 6 v 4 important to remember:
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Some men mourn the loss of their adoring, dependent children, and "over-compensate" - with the danger of driving them even further away. Paul's God-breathed advice is that we should focus on the important stuff. Pray for them, share the good news of the gospel, and show them what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
The greatest earthly gift you can give them is the space and encouragement to be mature and independent in the world. But the greater gift you can give them is the encouragement to a mature faith that is dependent of Jesus, not on you.
And as they emerge from the chrysalis, all glowing with colour and gorgeous, you begin to forge a new, grown-up relationship with the joyful gift that God gave you to care for.
