Go to all nations in my Christian ghetto

In today's WordLive we see Paul talking about the relationship between Christians and non-Christians. And this activity asks us to think about our close relationships. In essence, which of these relationships may cause an issue in our relationship with Jesus.

This made me think of another seeming paradox in our faith journey. We should only be close friends, or work closely, with other believers. And yet we know that one of the most effective forms of telling others about Jesus is to come alongside them, befriend them and show them God's love.

So, how do we apply these verses in our lives today? And yes, I'm asking you, and being deliberately provocative too :)

• How do we avoid working and living in a Christian ghetto?
• Should we leave our jobs if there are non-Christians working there?
• How friendly can we be with non-Christians?

Those are my questions, but what about you? Do you have any good or bad experiences that could shed some light on what Paul says? Leave a comment and let's begin the conversation.

Darren

God's guidance; clear as mud?

How often have you heard, or used, something like the phrase, 'I'm pushing some doors to see if they open,' with regard to God's will and guidance in life? I can answer 'quite often' to both.

But after reading today's WordLive and thinking about the picture there, I'm becoming less than sure of using it again. Pushing doors to see if they open is more about finding a way through a maze than being guided by the Divine. After all, in a maze we can end up going down many cul-de-sacs. Jonah pushed a door and ended up going the complete opposite way to God's will for a time.

I wonder if the problem is that we see guidance as a means to an end. 'God guide me to where I need to be'! When there is no clear answer, we feel God hasn't responded.

However, what if the destination isn't as important as the journey? Then, the way we travel, the words we say, the things we do can become God's will and be guided. Perhaps we are never meant to 'arrive' but always 'travel', seeking God every step of the way.

Darren

Straight talking?

Straight answers aren’t common just now. Even Buckingham Palace struggled to know how to respond to reports that the Queen let slip that she supports West Ham. A spokesman said, ‘Which team she supports is not something we would know"’.

Meanwhile the ‘Lockerbie bomber’ story just isn’t going away. In the Scottish Parliament, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill again defended his decision to release the bomber. But it wasn’t enough to stop the SNP government being defeated over its handling of the case.

South of the border the repercussions continue too. Maybe the apparent lack of straight answers is a factor. A government minister seems to have accepted that trade was after all a factor in discussions in 2007.

As if that weren’t enough, the issue of compensations for victims of IRA bombs made from Libyan supplied explosives has emerged again. Does the government support it or not? Perhaps the simplicity of Paul’s (and more importantly God’s) answer ‘Yes’ (2 Cor 1:18,19), would be a good example for all contemporary politicians and leaders.

On a lighter note (so to speak), the essence of England has been captured in a perfume called By George!. It was produced for VisitEngland, to promote the country during the Ashes series.

Those who smell it are apparently being taken on ‘a journey through an English seaside garden with salty sea air notes mingling with damp earth, garden mint, carrots and beetroots and freshly cut grass’. All of this is wrapped up in the ‘subtle exhaust fumes of the lawnmower’. Perhaps.

Paul said that Christians bear the ‘aroma of Christ’ (2 Cor. 2:15,16). I wonder how he would have described that particular perfume?

Emlyn Williams

Cute and fluffy. Blood, guts and gore

You could hear the collective ‘ahs’ from around the cyberverse as yesterday’s WordLive image was viewed. It isn’t every day that we are greeted with a super cute collection of new born cygnets.

This was an opposite response to the image that greeted us all here. Gone were the feathers and cute overload, replaced with stark reality of death and slaughter.

Yet both were on WordLive and both were related to the themes in our Bible reading for the day.

Contradictions?

Have you heard people say they don’t believe what the Bible says because it is full of contradictions? Well I suppose that is one way of looking at it. The other way is to say it is full of extremes and expanses; different colours that paint a picture.

• Sin - forgiveness
• Almighty God - baby Jesus
• Victory - the cross
• Heaven - earth
• Death - resurrection

Although the picture can never be complete, the sketch it gives is enough for us to catch a glimpse of the divine.

But you can’t contain God in a book, or even a library.

Living the paradox?

From a personal point of view I enjoy the extremes. I wallow in the breadth of my faith. The Bible is full of seeming opposites that I hold onto. As such my relationship with God grows. It is dynamic. Not always moving in the ‘right’ direction. But a relationship spiral is better than a stagnated relationship.

Yesterday gave us a lovely image to hold onto. Previously some images have been a little harder to deal with. Tomorrow? Who knows what our relationship with God will bring.

Darren