The Calling

"Almost all the inane things Christians do to remain bound and religious ultimately funnel down to what they really believe about God. Many don't live free because they don't believe in a God who loves us enough to give us the gift of freedom".

A Scandalous Freedom - Steve Brown.

"Unless you turn and become like a child, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".

Jesus. Matthew 18:2-3.

The Oasis (or the mirage?).

Where, in the present context, do you find yourself 'free' to express your (redeemed) life - worship?, sure (if it is worship),  but what about in what was actually promised to you.... life in abundance? Certainly, that may include some of the goodness we evidence in our being together or in enjoying the bounty God gives in health or material sufficiency, but I would also want to include a fulness which frees us to engage with things the way the Lord clearly spelt out to our predecessors - to go out and be the creatures we were intended to be.

"Think back to when you were a child, your soul was free, your heart ran wild, each day was different, and life was a thrill, you knew tomorrow would be better still".

Larry Norman.

So, pondering what I stated in my last paragraph, let me jump back to my childhood. The 'big adventure' when I was between around five and nine years old was a trip a few times a year to the seaside - usually Ramsgate or Margate. This included a coach ride, time on the beach, the fun fair, and a traditional fish and chip meal. Now there were times when things didn't work out as expected - the coach broke down on one occasion, and I managed to have sand blow into my eyes on another, and then there were times when sunburn or 'funny tummy' played their part, but at the end of the day, all of this was part of the experience - it was part of the whole realm of growing up, and it certainly didn't prevent a great deal of fun and excitement.

Why do I raise this? Well, it occurred to me recently just how much of what was deemed 'normal' about those childhood trips would be unsafe in the modern mindset - even deck chairs are now considered dangerous!

Life has become almost entirely about having the right safety net.

So, where should that line be made?

Think about Sunday church services as an example. Is the right 'line' made now in approving of 'on-line' events only, or, if you actually gather, should attendance only be for those who are masked, fully vaccinated, and socially distanced, attending by invitation only? Perhaps even that isn't enough - checks for the correct papers at the entrance, perhaps, or what about actual tests before the meeting? 

What surety is to be imposed for 'christian' assembly to be acceptable?

When we reach the point where church policy is such that vaccines are deemed entirely viable (and necessary) because the 'authorities' (secular and spiritual) say so, we have already crossed a line, because a greater evil is condoned - that of accepting the use of methods (to validate health) at the expense of the murder of the unborn (the cell line essential to present MRNA products).

Society is rapidly underlining such 'wisdom'. A new poster went up on the door of a local supermarket near to me this week - showing a enormous mask, which read "let's keep everyone safe" - just over a month into 'freeing' people from this requirement! In Hamburg, the authorities are preparing to implement a "G2" policy. Businesses who sign up will be rewarded for excluding anyone not vaccinated by allowing 'free' mixing of vaccinated people so long as they're continually socially masked (!). Children in the UK are already being told they will be vaccinated next and that masks will be required in common areas when they return to school.

All of this is happening in the shadow of a major study from Japan this week that indicates that a 'Delta Plus' variant of the virus is on the way which will almost certainly prove entirely resistant to ALL the existing vaccines, including the new boosters (as evidenced in Israel this summer).

So, why the perpetual return to restriction?

Why continue an unfit structure of prohibition?

We have been here (social segregation) before... many times before - imprisoned in a society in free-fall to the grip of exhaustively debilitating fear - and it killed the world, unleashing horrors from the depths of untethered human depravity. That's the trajectory, and the NEED is for the freedom that only Christ brings! Sadly the church decided that the 'winning hand' of the Gospel wasn't enough, so it threw it's gifts aside, cashed in its chips to the 'science' consensus of the powers that be, and joined the prevailing snake oil show, instead of standing fast and saying NO!!!

It has cast aside its vital role.

Priesthood is, amongst many other qualities, about dirt and surplus. The tabernacle is a place where the filth of us meets with the over-sufficiency of God's unmerited mercies. We bring our sin, God provides 'Himself, A Lamb' to meet that burden, and then bestows, indeed showers, his goodness upon us. In the place of meeting, the priest's hands would often be full of the bread, the oil and the offering, displaying the richness of God's blessings.

Is that us? Are we coming with nothing, but leaving with so, so much to enjoy and to share?

What would the last 18 months have been like if we had been that manner of free people? Oh, they would have no doubt been 'troubled' at every point by the powers of the day, but they gave so much to those in need because, it is abundantly clear, they have so much joy and genuine goodness! Imagine that was now the testimony of the day, as it has been many times in the past regarding the Christian church.

As Chad Bird noted this week, there is in reality only ONE mandate to humanity, developed and underlined by Jesus when He expands the work of the Kingdom at His ascension, and it is to go and live, freely, as God's children. Dirt, disease, even death are God's perogative to end or use as He deems fit, for our lives must rest in His hands, not our own wisdom. If we fail at this initial point, if we seek refuge in the grasp of human illusions about being the ones in control (clearly the predominant view promoted in this crisis), then we will become crushed beneath the rock of God's sure authority, rather than being those broken (and then healed) upon it.

A minister this week spoke of how he recently visited a local pub with friends for the first time since last year, and it was an uplifting experience as people enjoyed each other's company 'normally' once again. A few days later, he found himself isolated in a church service as he was the only 'unmasked' attendee.

It tells you everything about where the 'seen' church is in respect to Christian freedom. The glory of our calling, our nature, has been exchanged for mess of pottage that the state tells us is 'safe'.

There is mercy for those who see they are in error and turn away from their folly of such miss-placed confidence, but the requirements of God-ordained freedom do not allow us the option of merely pushing our heads into the sand, or thinking that toeing the line (the flawed policy of the hour) is good enough. Godly freedom requires us to stand up in such moments and to be counted, so know that you have made a choice, either to life or to destruction - there is no middle ground.