"Memories...You're talking about memories". Deckard - Blade Runner.
For most of us, Christianity was 'learned' as a religion of 'the book' - the things we do, say, and know were often determined by referring to scripture in a 'manufacturers handbook' fashion, but there's a problem with that. Most of us may have guides for all kinds of things in our homes, but real life often has a way of surprising us or circumventing 'the norm' to leave us somewhere totally unexpected (and believe me, I'm writing this on a day when I know this to be so very true).
The people that left Egypt and also those who met in the Upper Room (before and after the resurrection) were not able, in the manner we do, to 'go by the book' - they didn't really have one! What was imperative to their faith was the God who was nurturing them in the womb of fellowship which of necessity would be defined by a living faith in the richness of His care - scripture has always been meant to be an aid to that core reality. As they celebrated passover and then later, the Lord's Supper, it was God 'inhabiting' their communion because of His love that was the vital, reconciling event, and this also marks us, defines us, because it is His love, made evident amongst us, that makes us His - that is the true purpose behind creation and redemption.
It is all too easy to revert to 'procedural' mode when it comes to living the Christian life - prayer, study, church attendance, belief and practice - but God is calling us to something much more profound and, therefore, dangerous. The world we inhabit leaves us with numerous questions, but the reason this world has value is because the one in whom we live and breathe and have our being is also the 'lamb, slain before the foundation of the world' - it is that wonder, that astonishing truth, which lies behind all of our trials, joys and reflections, and truly defines what is of value, especially in our growth and inter-action with life and each other.
What truly matters, amidst all that goes on here, is that we truly see His work - His reconciling of the world to Himself through Jesus Christ. It is that 'holding' of all things, in heaven and on earth, in Christ's own person, that takes our thoughts here into a realm of true value and eternal weight.
"The Gospel never tells us something to do - it tells us of something that has been done". Michael Horton.
In a week when our prime minister has stated we live in a 'Christian' country that must affirm 'Christian' morality and 'Christian' tolerance (what?), here's a refreshing reminder, as we approach Christmas, of what Christianity really is and really is all about...
"The rulers take counsel together against the Lord, saying 'let us break His bonds, and throw off His cords from us". Psalm 2:2.
I sometimes wonder why, especially in times of crisis, some passages of scripture go almost entirely overlooked. This is particularly true of the second Psalm. It's a passage which makes me realise the significance of Jesus informing His disciples of days when 'the children of this world will be shrewder with their generation than the sons of light' (Luke 16:8). Why? Because when we live in a day when some clearly see the application of David's understanding in our age, and many of its ramifications - would that more who have the scriptures do, not in some contrived, futurist millennial fashion, but in the concrete world of our times and our generation.
The passage in the second verse couldn't be plainer. "Rulers" in the world will seek to revolt against God in the manner that they rule - in the very culture they seek to permeate within our society. Like a cult which seeks to imprison the very thoughts and actions of its members, such an elite seeks to bend the will of the world to the goal of self-determinism.
We might suggest there have always been 'some' who have given credence to such ends, but the 'real world' is too big, too diverse to be so driven isn't it? Think for a moment about what Paul teaches us in Romans 1-3 (especially 1:18-25). The reality is that we all share a propensity to that very dark goal, and, apart from God's grace, will all lean towards that miserable end and it's dire consequences. That is the sad tale told so many times in Biblical and more recent history, and it is most certainly the story of our own age.
The 'rulers' of our day are not simply Kings or Dictators bent upon megalomania, though we have our fair share of those - our rulers are the technocrats...the often faceless or obscured who play with the world's power for their own selfish ends, to the agony and suffering of millions of others. The reality of our times is that such conclaves have become masters of our broken realms, puppet masters of the nightmares of our reality.
There is, in all of these troubles, a place of surety and resolve. The Lord whom they scorn still reigns above them, His Son being the one they must surely encounter. He laughs at their frantic programmes to breathe without the air, to live without the one who grants their very breath, and He calls for sober reflection.... Come, recognize His true nature, His true gifting of creation, that genuine freedom can begin. That is where true shrewdness, true wisdom, will always lead.
"For as, by a man, came death, by another man has come resurrection from death.As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive" 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22.
I was recently on a beach in Cornwall, where I couldn't help but notice the multiple layers of strata in the cliffs, many of which were bent and twisted by, clearly, mammoth forces. It 'speaks' of a time of momentous change in our past, which is commonly defined today as part of the 'natural' ages of convulsion which have shaped and made our world since the beginning. The problem, of course, is if this is the whole picture, as naturalism claims, then Christianity really doesn't have anything to say. If such forces (entropy and decay especially) are what truly, comprehensively, define the nature of reality, then speaking about an answer to death - in fact, speaking about life of any kind having a real value - is truly a non-starter. Life becomes truly meaningless in the face of such comprehensive forces, so why should we even contemplate something other than something which is so overwhelming? The answer is actually equally all around us - it's just takes a little more thought to unpack. Numerous thinkers have noted that there's enough going on in just the material universe to tell us that as devastating as these forces are, they do not amount to the sum total of reality... something more is really going on.
In the passage referred to above, Paul is arguing for something far more extraordinary than the popular approaches to our current estate. Death, he argues, is not a natural condition - it is a 'futility' that we experience because humanity has broken it's true connection with God. There was a time, right at the start of our history, when there was more than pain and suffering, cruelty and death, and because of what one person in the midst of our history, Jesus Christ, has done, there is another real moment approaching when all that we now deem 'natural' or 'normal' under the realm of death and decay will end.
These are truly staggering claims, and they revolutionise the very nature of our existence. The ramifications of what the Apostle and others seek to declare about three particular moments in time and space are profound. All that we think we know, we presently encounter and understand is but a prelude, an overture, to a far more substantial physical reality. The aim of life now, then, is to see the mystery, to ponder the miracle of what is coming about, and to love the one who is here to rescue us from the darkness and, once again, make us free to live.
At its heart, Christianity is all about matters, which, even when they are plain before our eyes, remain so profound, they actually remain, at least to us, unexplained. Such realities seek to tell us that however hard we look, there are secrets at the heart of existence which we barely comprehend - marvels that are meant to lead us to a place of awe. As creatures intended to truly acknowledge and revel in such splendour, once perceived, we can then use our gifts and lives to magnify the profound nature of such truths.
The Apostle Paul certainly knew the height and depth of this in his own life. In his writings, he speaks of several of the deepest mysteries which surround and encompass all things. To mention a few -
The mystery of God's work of Redemption (Romans) The mystery of Life (Resurrection) after death (Corinthians) The mystery of God's goodness triumphing in a realm scarred by evil (Ephesians) The mystery of Christ's incarnation (1 Timothy)
Underpinning all of these, is the mystery of the nature of God Himself (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and the manner this is expressed to creation in love, especially in Jesus Christ. When we begin to reflect on the nature of such mystery in the manner Paul encourages us to do, we quickly move from our lack of comprehension to a position of sheer wonder, which no doubt will become the essential character of all actions and culture in the renewed creation.
To some people, talking about 'mystery' as an ultimate reality seems nonsensical... Life is all about 'sensible' things that we can define and measure and predict, but is it? How much of what you and I will do today which we consider 'natural' is actually predictable - do you really know what will occur in the next few minutes? - and how much larger does that ignorance become when we seek to open the essential nature of reality itself and peek inside? Looking hard at such things can be very sobering indeed!
What Christianity teaches is that through the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and on to the nativity itself, God has been at work amongst the nations of humanity to express and convey the profound 'weight' of the mystery we are engaged with, and when we stand in silence and contemplate it's greatness, we can no longer escape its pull or the richness of its embrace. Like one consumed, body and soul, in the passion of a lover, the tide of this everlasting ocean will have us, ravish us, in life, death, and resurrection. It is a truth, a love, that envelopes everyone and everything, which never ceases to call, to desire, to overwhelm, so may our twisted, broken lives not fear or hate such a calling, but become consumed by the deepest beauty.
God points us to the 'fixed point' of Jesus Christ to evidence the revelation of the wonder at the heart of all things. If we truly comprehend the mystery that He unlocks, all of life will be rich indeed.
"It's not on it's way.... it's already here". Twister
London last night.
Back on October 15th, 1987, around 10.30 at night, the United Kingdom was struck by the most powerful storm the country had witnessed in over three hundred years. With winds averaging 110 mph, a force four times greater than that of a hurricane, the country found itself ravaged and its landscape totally changed, a billion pounds worth of damage in just a few hours. The extraordinary thing about this entire event is no one saw it coming - the weathermen were clueless - the event only became real as it rushed upon the country - total, uncontrollable power.
I recall the next morning. We had escaped lightly at home with a few broken windows and lost roof tiles, but there was carnage everywhere, and when I visited the local woods the next day, I could not believe my eyes. Entire areas of ancient woodland had been uprooted from its place within the earth and thrown around like kindling. The air was heavy with the smell of sap from hundreds of acres of broken trees. I recently visited those same woods again - the old pleasant open broad leaf glades are gone, never to be replaced. Fifteen million trees were lost across Southern England that night (90% of forests), and London was shrouded in black as major power facilities were wrenched from the national grid, and every major road was blocked.
The storm, I felt, was a warning, an omen of change. I recall a vivid nightmare I had in the weeks following that event - standing on a beach before a rising wave, hundreds of feet high, rushing forward.
London was ablaze last night, not because of a natural occurrence, but due to rioting, violence and looting on her streets. Politicians speak, like the weathermen of 87, as if it was unexpected, but the storm is truly upon us. The economies of the Western world are in disarray, and the consequences are evident - for the very first time in my life, I see a wave of uncontrollable power rising, and our leaders have no possible means to avoid or control the changes which are coming. Like that night of the great storm, we are close to truly being overwhelmed.
It is at moments like this that my thoughts turn to Psalm 46, rightly known as the song of the Reformation. There is indeed only one help in such times of need, only one who, whether in life or in death, can truly be our refuge and our strength. I listen to the radio now and hear the storm rising. Only He is able, once more, to say "Peace, be still". Let us hope that such a moment comes soon.
"Consider the lilies of the field - they neither toil or spin,yet Solomon, in all of his glory, was not arrayed as these".Jesus.
I am not, in any way, shape, or form, a gardener, and yet, once every year, I get a very special pleasure from my property.... Along the front of my house are arranged five large pots, each one housing an azalea plant. I do very little for these residents - I've re-potted them once in the six years I've been here, and occasionally watered them if it's been especially dry - that's it, and yet, every Spring, these amazing plants burst into a splendid display of colour which equals anything coaxed and nurtured by many a patient gardener on my estate. For around the next six weeks, the locals can often be heard making comments on the beauty of the display, and then, for the next twelve months, the Azalea rests, looking a very plain and ordinary plant, and the front of my home goes back to being pretty much ignored.
I recently realised there's a real lesson here. God is a far better gardener - a furnisher of life - than I could ever be, and when He adorns something, it is truly beautiful. Now I'm not for one minute wanting to in any way put down those who truly enjoy gardening as a way of discovering that truth, any more than I would negate the joy for an artist who encounters true moments of inspiration, but creation is truly His work, not just when it comes to my pot plants, but even more when it comes to our redemption.
Much of the time, it probably appears to ourselves and others that not a great deal is going on - we go through our daily routines, seeking to move forward in the faith, but not really aware of much happening, because like with so many things, the real work goes on at a deep level, behind closed doors as it were, until the right time comes for something to be made evident. What really matters here is confidence in the work not of our hands, but of God's.
Jesus knew just how easy it was for us to concern ourselves with all manner of issues that can bury us beneath our anxiety. Imagine what results a gardener would achieve if he spent most of his time pulling plants out of the soil to check if there'd been any change! Worry, not only about earthly things, but often about spiritual matters as well, can amount to our doing something equally as foolish, because there is only one place of true comfort and surety, and that is within the grip of His amazing grace. Here, He grants us a rest, for the burden of being His is far easier than the strife and turmoil which any other "process' proscribes.
Take a look at the beauty that surrounds us, and consider these things...
A Christian with a passion for life,
and a desire to share truth.
Freelance photographer. Principal work in fine art images. Loves movies, music, creational theology, science fiction (big original series Star Trek fan), walks in the country and the coast - seeing new places and learning new things.
