Friday 28 May 2010

Boldness and bubbling over

A Bible study guide I use contained this challenge yesterday: "Thank God that the electronic media have opened the floodgates for the good news of Jesus to travel ‘to the ends of the earth.'  What could you do, say or write today?"  I figured that it was about time for another post here.

Last Sunday was Pentecost, the 'birthday' of the church, the celebration of the Holy Spirit.  So that's been the topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. It's also something I think many people, inside the church as well as outside, struggle to understand.  For a long while I did, and even now I don't understand everything.  But when my cell group this week were asked to describe their experirnces of the Spirit the word which cropped up again and again was 'gentle' and that made me think.

Because people often don't understand the Spirit, and often only see the more 'showy' aspects of his work, (such as people falling over when prayed for, or speaking in tongues, or giving prophecies), those- like me- who aren't used to this kind of thing can be a bit scared or disturbed by what's going on.  But what I found most helpful was when, a couple of years ago, someone said something about God only taking you as far as he knows you can go.  It reminded me of how God knows and loves each of us utterly.  He wants to challenge us to grow with him, but he doesn't want to hurt us or scare us. 

Those things are outward signs of what the Spirit is doing inside us, moving in and helping us become the people God longs for us to be.  Not everyone has the 'showy' gifts, but every Christian has God's Spirit in them, part of their life, as guider and counsellor, as someone who comes along side to help and encourage us. 

One of the things he does is to encourage us to put our faith first and to speak out about it.  I've been reading about the healing of a lame man by the disciples Peter and John.  They got into trouble for it with the same high priest and council who had put Jesus to death a few weeks before.  Told they could go as long as they stopped talking about Jesus, they refused.  They knew the danger they were in, but they couldn't stop.  What they were talking about mattered more to them than their own lives.

I wish I had that enthusiasm, that 'bubbling over' with excitement.  Sometimes it can misdirected and lead to insensitivity, but you often find that it's newer Christians, who still have that excitement, who bring new people in to the church.  I hope I do have the same attitude as the disciples, to an extent, - I can't separate my faith from my life, if I had to stop living my faith- which includes sharing it- it would be to take away what makes me who I am.  But I know I could use more boldness.  And that's one of the things the Spirit is there for.

Tuesday 18 May 2010

A hopeless generation?

Our parents were told they could have it better than past generations.  And they did.  Technology and standards of living have increased dramatically in the last century, even the last sixty years.  The effects on society have been enormous, and some more positive than others.

But in the last thirty or so years things were moving so fast that we borrowed to get more and more, both as a country and as individuals.  Now we're left in a country that's deep in debt, but just as seriously a country with a high level of personal debt- huge mortgages, credit cards, loans, even student loans, with all problems, financial and stress related, this causes.

Even for those who've avoided debt as much as possible the dream of life continually improving seems unlikely.  I know so many people who've graduated in the last few years and struggle to get even a low skilled job, let alone one requiring a degree.  Perhaps the picture is skewed because of where I live, but youth unemployment is a rising political issue.  As is the older generation who will need-and expect- increasing levels of expensive care, which my generation will have to pay for.  Will we have it better than past generations?  I doubt it.

And yet on TV we see people endlessly having fun, doing exciting things.  Is it any wonder if we want to escape our dull, hopeless lives, to win fame, celebrity, and that we'll often go to extreme lengths such as humiliating ourselves in front of millions on X factor or Big Brother to get it?  But even that is shallow.

The future used to seem shiny and exciting, a world of robot servants and hovercars and interstellar travel.  Now we bitterly consider what a mess we've made of our own planet rather than thinking about colonising others.  The future doesn't seem to contain much hope now.  Certainly not the immediate future of cash-strapped Britain.  Perhaps that's what we were hoping our politicians will deliver in this election- a reason to hope in the future.  Perhaps it's too early to say whether that hope was entirely in vain.


So where are we to find our hope for the future?  At this point I should go all Christian and give the answer; "in Christ."  And it's true, of course.  I do believe it.  But that's not to disown responsibility for the future of planet Earth and its inhabitants.  That hope in Christ has got to affect what we do on Earth, not just what will happen to us after death.  Because of that hope, it's up to us, the people of Christ, to look at the world around us and work out how we can make it a better place, a place of hope.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

The modern day lion's den

Well, we have a new government.  Actually, unlike many people I don't think it's taken all that long since the election, I know that in some other countries it can take much longer.  And again unlike many people I think that since the election all the party leaders have acted properly, and come to a reasonable conclusion.  Whether or not the system that got them there is fair is another matter, but at the moment it's the one we've got to use.  While I would like to see a different system looked at, in this case I'm not sure it would have made a vast difference to the end result.  While there aspects of this government's policy that I really don't like, I can see that it could have been much worse.

But for now we have a government that under the current system can claim legitimacy.  Perhaps we don't like its' leaders, or its' policies.  But there is one thing that we can and should do, whether we like the government or not, and that is pray.  Pray that the politicians will have the best interests of the country at heart and will act for that motive, not for their own aggrandisement or enrichment.

Pray for Gordon Brown, stepping back from a difficult job and for his family, as they adjust to life outside number 10. 
Pray for David Cameron, taking on the responsibilities of leading the country, and  for his family, as they get used to living inside the goldfish bowl of 10 Downing Street.  Pray for the new cabinet members and government ministers as they settle in to their new roles.  Pray for Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems who probably weren't expecting as much to be taking their places round the cabinet table! 

Pray that the parties can work together for the good of the people of this country and beyond.  Pray for greater fairness of opportunity, in healthcare, in education, in employment.   Pray for those who influence the media.  Pray that the country will not get so caught up in fear of the future that they are unable to do anything in the present. 

Searching biblegateway.com for references to government, the passage that struck me was from Daniel, where Daniel's opponents tried to find anything to use to smear him, but were unable to.  Daniel 6 shows a court that's scarily reminiscent of modern politics.  "Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." (Daniel 6 verse 5).  Wouldn't it be great if we could say the same about our leaders?  You'll call me naive, I'm sure, but let's pray that our politicians are more like Daniel, and less like the jealous satraps.

Thursday 6 May 2010

Election fever

Finally, it's polling day.  It does seem to have taken a long time to get here, especially when you consider how little we have actually learnt in the last couple of weeks.  There haven't been any really radical changes since the first debate when everyone suddenly realised that the Lib Dems had a leader and that perhaps they should pay some attention to him.  Since them nothing much seems to have changed.  We've known pretty much what all the parties were going to say for some time (apart perhaps from Cameron's 'Big society' but even that is just giving a name to things we've heard about before.  Even Bigotgate hasn't really told us anything we don't know.

But somehow today's still a bit special.  An election is An Event.  A national event.  It's rather twee to say that it brings the nation together, but in a way it does.  Pretty much everyone you speak to, in shops, in the street, at work, has something to say on the subject.  We British are experts at grumbling, so often it's to complain about this or that or all parties or politicians.  But at least it's engagement with the political process.

I went to vote about midday, and was glad to see that the polling station was busier by far at the same time of day than it was last year for the European elections or for the local elections a year or two before.  Perhaps because it's looking close, the turnout for this election will be higher than in recent years, higher than the last couple of general elections.  That perhaps is something positive to take away from this election, whoever wins; that people have been more, even if only a bit more, engaged with politics this time round.  Cynics might say this is all down to the 'X-factor'  TV debates, and I don't doubt they have had an effect.  But even if people are only voting because they think Leader A looks more friendly than Leader B, they're voting, they're taking part, taking responsibility for the givernment of their country.  Of course I'd much, much rather they listened to what the leaders were saying, looked at their policies and considered their values.  But I'd rather they took some responsibility for their future than none at all, even if I disagree with their choice.  That's democracy.  Those who can't be bothered to vote* don't have the right to complain for the next five years!

So if you haven't yet and you can, go and vote.  For whoever (although please, not the far right!) you think will be best for the country.  A century ago I wouldn't have been able to vote- I hope I'd have been chaining myself to railings outside as a protest!  Two centuries ago even a lot of men wouldn't have been able to vote due to property qualifications.  In many countries people are still denied a say in the government that runs their lives and in others the elections are no more than a sham (think of conflict in Zimbabwe and Kenya over the last few years).  However bad and corrupt you may think our politicians are, really we are very very fortunate.  Let's show that we don't take it for granted! 



*I don't include those who for a reason that's not their fault can't vote.  Failing to bother to check you're registered probably is your own fault, though, it's not as if you haven't had enough warning!