A word to the wise.
So, back to the thinking deeply part of this blog. I'd like to insert a note of caution to the lovers of theology out there, to those amongst us who work in the weird world of 'Christian' work (insert your own jargon tribal phrase for what the official title might be, eg 'paid full time gospel ministry';-). A note of caution on two fronts, which have been niggling at my brain and life for the last few days so you can share in them... if I'm going to be hassled to change, I don't see why others shouldn't share in that too. :-)
1. We have to live this stuff out.
Sometimes I want to know less than I know. Because if I am not loving, if my character is not growing, if I am not cutting out sin in my life, living and breathing the reality of all I say to others, then what am I doing? It is easy to be a whitewashed tomb. Someone who says and does all the right stuff on the outside and yet has no love, no grace, no hope for anyone struggling along the way, no tenderness, no compassion, no humility. There has to be reality to our lives, depth, understanding of what walking as Jesus did really means. And maybe that will require less reading and more living. Knowing things in our head should deeply, deeply transform the way we live.
2. We are not all armpits.
You might say, yes Kath, I know I'm not an armpit. Bear with me. We are not all armpits. We are a body together made up of unique bits that aren't made like other bits. I'm slowly (being a bear of little brain) coming to understand that I'm not a one man band.
I'm not even close. I'm Kath and I am good at some things and appalling at others. And that's ok. Because there are other Christians out there who are better at other things than I am. We're all different. It's ok that I don't have every gift out there, that when someone asks me why I am a Christian my mind goes blank and I wonder what the answer is, and it's ok that I have some gifts, that I can tell people that God uses the weak and foolish things of this world and see their eyes light up because that means God can use them. But can we get on with appreciating that in each other? To spend more time working together and rejoicing in each others different gifts and personalities, rather than comparing with others, wishing we were someone else, being jealous, envious and proud.
Instead, we can get on with building each other up, delighting in the way God has made us all so brilliantly different. I might be an armpit, but you are a left toe, a right nostril, a small bone in the ear. Lets help each other in not just banging on about how great it is to be an armpit, so all the unarmpit like people feel small and rubbish, but to recognise the brilliance of being a left elbow. (ahem, clearly this body illustration is about to fall apart, but you get my drift). I need to stop wishing I was someone else and get on with being who I am where God has put me to be me. How hard it is to sing 'If I were a butterfly' with deep conviction, am I really thankful to Him for making me me?
1. We have to live this stuff out.
Sometimes I want to know less than I know. Because if I am not loving, if my character is not growing, if I am not cutting out sin in my life, living and breathing the reality of all I say to others, then what am I doing? It is easy to be a whitewashed tomb. Someone who says and does all the right stuff on the outside and yet has no love, no grace, no hope for anyone struggling along the way, no tenderness, no compassion, no humility. There has to be reality to our lives, depth, understanding of what walking as Jesus did really means. And maybe that will require less reading and more living. Knowing things in our head should deeply, deeply transform the way we live.
2. We are not all armpits.
You might say, yes Kath, I know I'm not an armpit. Bear with me. We are not all armpits. We are a body together made up of unique bits that aren't made like other bits. I'm slowly (being a bear of little brain) coming to understand that I'm not a one man band.
I'm not even close. I'm Kath and I am good at some things and appalling at others. And that's ok. Because there are other Christians out there who are better at other things than I am. We're all different. It's ok that I don't have every gift out there, that when someone asks me why I am a Christian my mind goes blank and I wonder what the answer is, and it's ok that I have some gifts, that I can tell people that God uses the weak and foolish things of this world and see their eyes light up because that means God can use them. But can we get on with appreciating that in each other? To spend more time working together and rejoicing in each others different gifts and personalities, rather than comparing with others, wishing we were someone else, being jealous, envious and proud.
Instead, we can get on with building each other up, delighting in the way God has made us all so brilliantly different. I might be an armpit, but you are a left toe, a right nostril, a small bone in the ear. Lets help each other in not just banging on about how great it is to be an armpit, so all the unarmpit like people feel small and rubbish, but to recognise the brilliance of being a left elbow. (ahem, clearly this body illustration is about to fall apart, but you get my drift). I need to stop wishing I was someone else and get on with being who I am where God has put me to be me. How hard it is to sing 'If I were a butterfly' with deep conviction, am I really thankful to Him for making me me?
posted by Kath at 6:31 pm
2 Comments:
There's my seminar prep, I wondered where it was hiding..
We were looking at 1 Cor 12 in my homegroup last night and assigning body parts to each other. I was told I was a cheek (I had just been a bit sarky... whoops)
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