Outside the City

Today is Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem and was welcomed with great rejoicing by the people. This same people, just 5 days later, called for his death.

 

The past is Jerusalem. The future is our hearts.

 

We have built cities in our hearts, where we feel safe. In the city is where Jesus was rejected. He died outside the city.

 

Jesus wants to destroy our cities, our security, and meet us outside where we die to our spiritual Jerusalems and put Jesus in his right place in our hearts.

 

[Based on a sermon]

Stroke Recovery: Learning to Walk

I have just had a stroke and am learning to walk again. This involves not just getting the muscles working but I have to learn to do consciously what I have done instinctively since I first walked as a baby. It’s a bit like when I learned to drive. I had to do different things with each foot, had to steer with one hand to change gear with the other, and had so many things to look out for, that I thought I would never get the hang of it. But as I practiced, things got better until some of them became automatic and I could devote more of my attention to other things.

We think that walking is just putting one foot in front of the other, but that is the least of it. Having got the foot forward, you have to straighten the leg carefully so as not to lock out the knee, then shift your weight onto it. Your weight must be transferred not just sideways but forward, so that you do not fall backwards. With a bit of luck, now you take a step. The balance also involves the position of your upper body and your hips, all of which you have to consciously monitor and adjust while especially paying attention to your leg, because if you take your attention off it for a second the tension will go and it will give way. And you thought walking was easy!

I expect that, like driving, it will get easier and my instinct will take over eventually, but I would not be surprised if I can never take it for granted again. And I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it would do us all good to walk at a slower pace and think about things more. Maybe it would do us all good to go back to basics on other things too and look at how they really work and think about how we are doing.

Think about relationships for example. At the beginning they are new and frail and we have to pay them a lot of attention. Such little things can spoil them. You have to learn more about each other each day. You come to realise how precious the other one is to you and you nurture the relationship carefully. But how does it look further down the line? Different I hope. But have we come to take too much for granted? Think for a moment about how it was in the early days, and think WHY it was. If this is important are you taking the same care? It would be wise to take a look at yourself, even if you think the other person is at fault, before words are said that may spoil it forever. Maybe their behaviour is a reaction to a change in you. Maybe you don't even realise the change.

This can be applied to all relationships: our parents, our children, our friends, even our relationship with God. He will patiently forgive our neglect, but not forever. Is he still the most important thing in your life? Does it show? Let us learn to walk again with care and attention to detail, and make sure we are doing it right.

Thinking Thursday: Look Both Ways

I was flicking through a magazine recently when a title caught my eye in an advert for gospel leaflets. It was called “Look Both Ways”. I have no idea what the leaflet was about, but the title struck me as very appropriate for the message we bring. When we first begin to talk to people of other faiths (or no faith) it soon becomes apparent that arguing and telling them they are going to hell doesn’t work. No one can be forced to believe something, or stop believing in something. Being antagonistic does not persuade them to listen to us. We need a gentler approach. Peter told us to answer people “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet.3: 15b). The best way is not to try to dictate to people what they should believe, just to ask that before they make a decision, they ‘Look Both Ways’. The phrase I usually use is to ask them to make an informed decision.

People are usually much more receptive to this suggestion, believing that their faith will stand up under scrutiny. If we can keep their minds open, a bit of research will often open their eyes too.

When I began to think about God and religion in my teens, two smart young men knocked at my door and began to talk to me about the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. They began to teach me and my family, and with little or no religious background to compare it with, it all sounded really Christian. The result was that my whole family joined the Mormon Church.

Once in, we had no reason to look elsewhere because we believed we had found the truth. It was 18 years later that I was willing to read the book of Romans without any preconceptions – and I discovered grace. Like most other faiths, Mormonism teaches salvation by works. To discover the grace of God when I was already deeply concerned about my failure to keep all the commandments, all the time, was a shock. I began to ‘Look Both Ways’. And then I gradually discovered all the other things in the Bible that were different in Mormonism.

Yet during those 18 years I had had many arguments with Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I had always defended my faith. I was not prepared to believe that my faith, which was so precious to me, could be so wrong. I had to find it out for myself.

This is no longer a Christian country and people do not grow up with a grounding in Christian teaching or a knowledge of the Bible. A Jehovah’s Witness at my door the other day complained that their work is harder these days because people have no Bible and cannot discuss faith with them. When someone begins to consider spiritual things they are not equipped to make sound judgements. There is a great need for people who will show them the alternatives and teach them to investigate and weigh up before they commit themselves.

In the years since I became a Christian, I have found over and over again that Christianity is the only faith that stands up under scrutiny. Becoming a Christian is not an intellectual exercise, but it does make intellectual sense.

Once someone has recognised their hunger for God and begun to look in the wrong place, it is not necessary to bombard them with great arguments – and possibly drive them away. That way you can sometimes win the battle but lose the war. It is up to us as Christians to gain their trust and encourage them to investigate further. Then you can give them some appropriate information and ask them to ‘Look Both Ways’.

This provokes the question “What ‘appropriate information’ do we give them?” If we are going to ask people to ‘Look Both Ways’ we have to be able to present the alternative. It is a sad fact that many Christians, having looked to Christ for their salvation, never look any further. I am amazed at the number of ignorant Christians who can’t explain what they believe or why they believe it. Not only does study deepen our understanding, it deepens our faith and our relationship with God. And how can we proclaim the Good News if we don’t know what it is? “How can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Rom.10: 14) Many Christians don’t share their faith because they are afraid they won’t be able to answer questions. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Pet.3: 15)

Another part of that preparation can be learning to look at things from their perspective. Find out what they believe and why. Find out what concerns them and what sort of questions they would ask. Then prepare yourself so you know how to answer them and address their concerns from the Bible. In my work over the years as a Christian trying to reach out to Mormons I have been amazed at the development of my own faith as I have sought answers to their questions. ‘Look Both Ways’ benefits us as well.