I was thinking about the name of this blog, and I love it because it came from a picture that God gave me one day quite some time ago. And yet, as I pondered the life we are called to as followers of Jesus, I realized how often we are called to do exactly the opposite. Instead of ascending, we must descend. Perhaps this blog should be entitled “Invitations to Descend” – instead of an upward trajectory, ours is downwards.
Continue reading “How to Ascend in the Kingdom of God”Lessons from birds: the invitation to live free from anxiety
If I had to describe the dominant emotion of this year, I’d call it anxious. This year has been marked by bouts of intense collective uncertainty and rapid change as we’ve faced the initial, and then further, outbreaks of Covid-19. Between those bouts, the persistent hum of heightened tension about the pandemic locally and globally has become our soundtrack.
Here in New Zealand we have been in the enviable position of being Covid-free for long stretches. Though we’re currently in a state close to normal (albeit a normality awash with sanitiser, tracer apps and daily Ministry of Health updates), we are undeniably still living under a cloud. We know our world could change at any time.
Continue reading “Lessons from birds: the invitation to live free from anxiety”To begin to comprehend the incomprehensible
Who is God? How are we even to begin to think about him? Is there somewhere, somehow, to unravel the vastness of the seemingly incomprehensible? God can so easily seem distant, severe, austere and disapproving. But where do we begin if we really have no idea what or who this God, followed by millions for millennia, is?
Continue reading “To begin to comprehend the incomprehensible”May I never miss when you are speaking
As those of you who have followed this blog for some time will know, I have been making my way, albeit slowly, through the book of John this year. But now I find myself nearing the end. And so as I was reading, John chapter 20, this week the following passage leapt out at me.
Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).
John 20: 11-16
Belonging part 3 – fractured, fragmented and ineffective?
This morning I was reading Jesus’ prayer for his disciples in John chapter 17. It has taken me a long time to read this chapter. I have been here for weeks. It has been strange for nothing has genuinely struck me and yet I have felt unable to go on. Perhaps that is because I would prefer not to read what happens next? But I suspect that more has been at play.
As the third post in this series on belonging; I hope to bring something further to what we have previously discussed. In the first post, we discussed the yearning to belong, the need to truly meet with others and to prioritise the other in social situations. And Marion so beautifully developed this further here when she wrote about the need to recognise the truth that we do belong – to God, and to others because we belong to him.
Continue reading “Belonging part 3 – fractured, fragmented and ineffective?”The dance of the trinity
I have always found the concept of the trinity hard to understand. Who is our God? How is He three and yet also one? Do I relate to God as Father? Or as Jesus, the Son? Or as the Holy Spirit? How do I interact with all three? Should I do so all at once or one at a time? And if I do, am I then understanding them as three rather than one? But then if I focus on the oneness do I then lose the three-ness? Above all, what does this mean in practice? And how does it affect me as a follower of this God?
Continue reading “The dance of the trinity”The choices set before us
When we are very young, it seems that the world is before us with endless opportunities and possibilities. We can be anything we want. In theory at least. Though it must be acknowledged that so often in practice this is not the case. We are not to be constrained by gender, race, age or belief. All we must do is dream, strive, and it will be attained. I wonder if this is a gift for the young, for it is what drives them out and forward. And this is both necessary and essential.
As we move beyond this and grow at least a little older (and I am claiming no great age here, as I am fully aware that many of my readers are older than I). It becomes evident that we cannot do everything. We cannot fulfil every dream and follow every whim, for our choices are not endless. We become constrained, responsible, restricted. But could this also, somehow, be a gift?
Continue reading “The choices set before us”Worry or Trust – which will I choose?
Fear, worry, anxiety – these are common feeding grounds for many of us. This is where we spend much of our time and much of our mental capacities. But as a follower of Christ, we know that we should be different. If you have followed Jesus for any length of time, I am sure you have heard something to the effect, “don’t worry, you just need to trust God”. But, in my experience, that “just” is far easier to say than to do.
The Bible is full of verses about fear, anxiety and worry. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, we hear the call to not be afraid. This is both comforting and confronting. We can find solace in the fact that worry, fear and anxiety are not new to us, not problems rooted in our day. Instead, they are as old as time itself, or at least as old as the first humans that walked on this planet. It seems that human beings have always walked in fear. But, the resounding cry of the Bible is that the people of God are to be different. That we are a people set apart and marked by peace and trust.
Continue reading “Worry or Trust – which will I choose?”Tell me about Jesus
I’m not really a fan of small talk. I know my personality type has a lot to answer for here, but as an INFJ, I would rather just skip the small talk, and talk instead about what really matters. Don’t get me wrong, I can talk about the weather just like anyone who has lived for any length of time in this southern city at the bottom of the world. I know that social norms dictate small talk as a safe and comfortable place to converse, I get that many would much rather stay there than delve into meaning and depth of connection.
But if I had a choice, and if I thought anyone would respond with even a little enthusiasm, this would be the question I would ask: Tell me about Jesus, please? Not just about what you know of him or what you have read about him, but tell me about him. What does he say to you, and how does he say it? What does he look like? Can you describe him for me? How have you found him?
Perhaps, you know nothing of this Jesus and these questions strike you as being profoundly odd, if so please continue reading, I hope what follows brings you a little clarity, perhaps you might also like to read this.
Continue reading “Tell me about Jesus”The call of the cross
Perhaps your heart echoes mine; you too long to live your life speaking to God face to face, as a friend, like Moses (see the previous post). And yet maybe you feel overwhelmed and do not know where to begin. Take heart, we are not left to stumble in the dark. We do not have a God who lets his children loose on the world and then watches them from afar in some sort of macabre comedy, to which the only ending is death. In contrast, we have a God who entered and enters in. Who is not far away, but rather is closer than our breath.
Continue reading “The call of the cross”