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

Hope in suffering

Iraq and Afghanistan are rarely out of the news. This week they’ve featured even more prominently.

First there were bombings in Baghdad and then the threat of violence amidst elections in Afghanistan. These countries have faced serious suffering, as did those to whom Peter was writing in this week’s readings.

But Peter points his readers to the eternal perspective in the context of suffering. Because of Christ, they have hope. Suffering for doing good is commended – it’s the example of Christ.

In Iraq and Afghanistan many have suffered in their attempts to do good, yet they persist. Why? Probably because they hope for better things. They are looking to the bigger picture.

In Afghanistan, people are willing to risk violent attacks to vote. Hope is a powerful motivator throughout suffering.

The need to focus on the bigger picture may also prove necessary for A Level students this week. Many are expected not to get clearance places at university.

No doubt there will be many disappointed students. Focusing on the bigger picture may just help them to find the positives in these situations.

Finally, debate this week has centred on the release of the Lockerbie bomber and his Libyan identity: is he just being released to improve relations with Libya? Peter is concerned about identity and reminds his readers that in Christ they have a new identity.

It can be easy to forget that our primary identity needs to be in Christ. But it’s this identity that gives us hope – hope that sustains us through whatever trials and sufferings we may face and calls us to live lives that testify to God, no matter what.

Susannah Clark

No Thunderbirds on a Sunday!

There was one problem with visiting my Grandparents on a Sunday, no TV. This meant, at the time, no Thunderbirds. For a young boy of about 10, this was a big deal.

My Grandparents weren't overly poor or technophobes; they did have a TV. But it would not be turned on during Sunday, the day of rest, the Christian take on the Sabbath from today's WordLive.

Today's passage got me thinking about those Sunday's years ago.

For a young boy the no TV rule seemed very legalistic. As an older boy the memory seems quite strange. TV, back then, was one of the few things available on a Sunday. Now, in a western world where everything is open, Sunday is pretty much like any other day and there is plenty to do.

There is one nagging thought though about those Sunday's past. The day was anything but a day of rest. It was one thing after another...

1. Wake up
2. Large breakfast
3. Morning service at church
4. Large Sunday lunch - extended family invited
5. A moment to chat
6. Large Sunday tea - extended, extended family invited
7. Evening service at Church
8. After church Bible study
9. Tea and cakes back at my Grandparents
10. Go to bed

My Grandparents and most of the family would work from the moment they got up to the moment they went to bed. Preparing food, eating food, cleaning up, going to church.

As I look back, I can't help thinking I have lost something in my 'day of rest'. As I think about what the Sabbath means to me, I may need to look back at what my Grandparents had. For them the day was a day of sharing love with others and worshipping God.

Perhaps that is what the Sabbath really is?

Darren

Facing the law

Understanding the relevance of Leviticus for today can be hard. Yet the laws God laid down were for the people’s own good. Many of the news stories this week show the damage that is done when people don’t obey them.

I don’t think anyone thought the robbery of £40 million worth of jewellery was acceptable – it was stealing. And the possible release of the Lockerbie bomber and the publication of the name of Baby P’s mother remind us of crimes that show profoundly the abuse that happens when we fail to love our neighbour, when we oppress and murder.

Our concern to see justice done for crimes such as these demonstrates that we recognise God’s laws are a good thing.

Meanwhile the recession is now affecting nearly 1 million under-25s who are facing unemployment. Isn’t this largely the result of economic greed and injustice, something else we read about this week?

And in Burma we’ve witnessed the injustice of the further detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, which prompted international outrage.

For all of us, though, this week’s readings highlight that no matter how hard we try, we can never perfectly keep God’s laws. And the sacrifices the people offered were never going to be sufficient to pay for their sins.

This week’s news stories highlight horrific crimes and horrendous injustice. We may not carry out such acts, but we all need the atoning blood of Jesus to make us right before God. None of us can reach his standard on our own.

Let’s remember, too, why he gives his commands: for our good and for the benefit of society, because he loves us.

Susannah Clark