Loving God. Loving People.

Fences

Over the summer I had the privilege of reading the ‘The boy in the Striped Pyjamas’.  The author, John Boyne, does not give a description of the book on cover but rather states “If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn’t a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence…Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to cross such a fence.”

As I read this comment I was hit with an uncomfortable realisation,  that I…and dare I say we, can all live with fences…fences that act as a divide between us and others…fences that cause us to judge others to see them on the wrong side of the fence…fences that cause us judge ourselves and deem ourselves to be on the wrong side of the fence.

John Boyne is right that fences do exist all around the world I guess what has made me uncomfortable is the thought that maybe they exist more than I would like in my world.

I guess I have been left thinking it is time to see some fences removed…but how?

Maybe the fences we put up point to an ultimate fence, that in dealing with that we can then see the others removed.

At the heart of the Christian faith is the reality that an ultimate fence is there between us and God, a fence that causes us to be unable to know God, to know His love, acceptance and peace.  The tragedy is we can do nothing to remove this fence, however God out of His love for us sent Jesus to the earth to live, die and be resurrected to destroy the fence in order that we can know God’s love, acceptance and peace.

Jesus has removed the ultimate fence in order that we can live without fences…in order that we can show others the acceptance, love and peace that we have found and point them to it.

The question is do we know that this ultimate fence has been removed? If yes, are we then ensuring that we are not still living with fences for ourselves or others?

I know for me I am enjoying living more and more fence free!

mirror

The mirror never lies…

…but maybe it does not always show what we see.

What do we see when we look in the mirror?

Do we see what has been said or done to us.

Do we see what we have done.

Is this how it is always meant to be?

After Jesus’ resurrection he appeared for the first time to a larger group of His friends. Addressing them for the first time he said a profound statement, a statement that summarised all that he had accomplished through His death on the cross and resurrection. Jesus simply said ‘peace be with you’.

Jesus’ statement said it all, he was and is able to offer peace…wholeness.

A peace, wholeness in how we relate to God, one another but also to ourselves…so that we can know peace…so that we can be whole.

Jesus’ offer of peace means we can know…

…acceptance not rejection

…forgiveness not condemnation

…freedom not shame

…security not insecurity

…value not worthlessness

…hope not hopelessness

Maybe it is time to see ourselves differently when we look in the mirror.

Maybe it is time to investigate this peace Jesus offers.

Maybe it is time to speak to someone to help you enjoy the peace that Jesus offers.

Seize today

Seize the day…seize today.

There can be a danger that we live either for the future (which I know I can do) or continuously in our past that we forget today. That today is to be lived, enjoyed and to be thankful for.

There is a need to stop….

…to breath…

…to think we will never have this day again…to seize today!

This is an attitude that Paul one of the writer’s in the Bible commends when he states ‘make the most of every opportunity’.  But how?

Seize today…

…to forgive

…to be forgiven

…to show kindness

…to be thankful for what you have

…to know hope. Robin William’s character states that we are destined to die but that that is it. The faith I know in Jesus promises something different a hope for the future and for the now. A hope that gives security, peace, value and love. May be for some of us we need to remind ourselves of this, maybe for others of us we need to seize today to discover whether we could know this hope and love.

Seize today…

hope…

I recently attended a centenary celebration of a local school founded by George Cadbury. One of the lasting impacts of this celebration was a photo of George Cadbury’s funeral…the street’s were filled with crowds. As I stood looking at the photo and the scores of people at the time who had been impacted by his life, I realised here I was 100 years on continuing to be impacted by his life.

George Cadbury realised that his faith in God meant he was here to make a difference which he did through housing, employing, feeding and educating…he brought hope!

A hope that I still get to enjoy and be challenged by.

I know that faith in Jesus changes anyone, as it gives us a true sense of security, value, peace and hope…but the deal is is it doesn’t end there as it then causes me and others to then reveal, point to and cause others to know the same.

I am left wondering what Birmingham would like if I and others became a lot more like George Cadbury and allowed our faith to impact the city?

I am left wondering where the entrepreneurs like George Cadbury are? (and am I doing enough to encourage them)

On a day when the Birmingham Post warns there are a predicted 13,000 jobs to be lost in Birmingham I am left thinking surely if there was ever a time to reveal security, value, peace and hope…it is now!

t-shirt

This Sunday we get to join in with the Edgbaston Cricket Ground funday and the 100 or so volunteers from Oasis will be wearing our loudest ever (colour wise) t-shirts to identify ourselves within the crowds. However, seeing the t-shirts reminded me of the impact wearing the Oasis t-shirt had on me last year at the funday as I wore it to, from and at the fun day.

But it’s just a T-shirt, right?

As I wore the T-shirt blazened with Oasis church, I found that I was noticeable and that I stood out as someone who was representing Oasis church and therefore the one the church is all about, God…there was no hiding!

I found myself thinking more about how I was acting and speaking not beacuse I had to but because I wanted to give people a postive experience of church and therefore God who I was representing. The problem was as I thought more about the impact of wearing the t-shirt was having I was left with this uncomfortable question…

…do I always act and speak the same with others when I am not wearing the t-shirt?

You see wearing the T-shirt revealed an identity I wanted to live up to but when I don’t wear the t-shirt do I still?

The unfortunate answer was as I thought about it I realised the answer was no, I don’t always.

Therefore since last year I have given myself to living sub-consciously as though I am wearing an Oasis t-shirt that reveals my identity as a follower of Jesus part of His church and the freedom, hope, love, joy and life that that brings…it has made the world of difference in my every day existence in the way I speak and act towards others.

That’s me but how about you?

Sub-consciously we can wear t-shirts that are labeled in so many ways how about discovering afresh or for the first time wearing one that causes you to live from a place of freedom, hope, love, joy and life?

I hope you enjoy wearing orange.

But it’s just a t-shirt, isn’t it?

broken

I returned off holiday this last weekend to discover that one of the windows in my garage had broken and needed to be replaced…today I have just received the replacement for my broken phone. For most of us when we encounter something that is broken we know it means it needs to be replaced.

broken = replace

Something that is therefore labeled ‘broken’ can immediately be thought of as something where there is no hope, it just needs to be replaced. But does broken always mean we need to replace?

What about a broken society?

There has been a lot of talk over the past 6 months about our ‘broken society’, however the danger with this expression is that we immediately think that broken means that there is no hope and it needs to be replaced.

What if broken can lead us to something else…yes sometimes it means replace but surely sometimes it means restore!

broken = restore

Broken can therefore be an opportunity …

…an opportunity to restore!

To see brokenness like this means that when society is labeled as broken or where you or I can feel broken, we can have a totally different starting point, as brokenness reveals something worth restoring…

…society is worth restoring

…you and I are worth restoring

At the heart of the Christian faith is that we are broken…

…broken in our relationship with God, one another, ourselves and creation…

…but that God in His love for us wanted to restore what was broken…

…therefore God does this through His Son Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Understanding we are broken is the starting point to discovering the wholeness God has to offer.

So do we see brokenness as an opportunity…

…to play our part in revealing God’ ability to restore society and others through our actions and words?

…to be restored and to receive the wholeness God offers?

vote…

…because we can!

What a privilege that we live in a country where we can have our say, where we can vote…but with any privilege comes responsibility and in respect to the imminent election it is surely is to vote!

Though there is a lot of cynicism around politics at the moment it is key that we still use our votes to ensure that minority views are not given larger platforms from which to speak.

But who do we vote for?

Though we will always encourage you to vote we will never tell you who to vote for.

Fortunately there is not a Christian political party, as our faith in not a political ideal but whole way of life (a new way of life that is as a result of faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection). However this can make it hard to see which party to vote for, as all will have policies that you and I will both agree and disagree with. We therefore need to give ourselves some thinking space before the 6th May and ask ourselves some questions before we begin to ask questions of different parties policies…

…do i have a particular bias towards a political party? If so why?

…what issues, in priority order, do I feel most passionate about in respect to the nation?

…what issues, in priority order, do I feel most passionate about in respect to my local area?

…who are the candidates for my local MP’s seat?

Having answered the above questions we can then begin to examin the different parties policies and are local cantidates as to how they respond to the issues that we feel most passionate about.

The following websites are also helpful in forming an opinion as to who to vote for, click on the picture below to connect to the sites…

US health reform bill…

…I came across an article in the Times on Monday that was written before the success of Obama’s health care reforms, though the reforms are exciting it is the article that caught my eye….

“Two months ago Mr Obama’s efforts to pass comprehensive health reforms seemed to have been wrecked by the loss of a single Senate seat to a Republican, depriving the Democrats of their “supermajority” in Congress. Then the President received a letter from an Ohio cancer sufferer, Natoma Canfield…“Please stay focused in your reform attempts,” she wrote, and Mr Obama has done so. “I’m here because of Natoma,” he told a rally in her home state last week.” (Times newspaper)

The writer of the article also went on to say, “when the history of his presidency is written, Ms Canfield may turn out to be its saviour”. As I read the article I was struck how one persons actions, someone we have never heard of before, impacted a nation.

As I sat sipping my coffee I remembered something Jesus had said about what it looks like for anyone who is a follower of His to impact the world around them as they reveal what He is about…

…Jesus is about bringing peace, righteousness, justice, mercy and revealing his power. His desire is that anyone who puts their trust in his death and resurrection lives knowing the reality of this. This is what the bible calls God’s kingdom, that those of who have put our trust in Jesus and are now part of…

…back to what Jesus said

Jesus gave two illustrations to explain the impact of revealing what He is about (His kingdom), stating is like a mustard seed that is planted and grows or a small amount of yeast that is mixed in to a bowl of flour. In both illustrations the starting point is very small but the end result is vastly greater in size either in the large mustard plant or the flour that is effected by the small amount of yeast.

Or it could be like a woman who writes a letter to a president who inturn impacts a nation.

As I read this article and sipped my coffee and remembered what Jesus had said I pondered what small acts I could take to reveal what Jesus is about knowing though they start small the impact will be greater.

The question is how about for you? What is the small act you can take? The letter you could write, the words you could say or the actions you could take?

Or maybe it is to investigate more of what Jesus is about, as from this small decision it could change everything!

Birmingham…

I came across the following short films in connection with Birmingham, which I think are worth a watch.

The first is just some shots of the city centre and just reminds me of the privilege of living in such a diverse city…

Birmingham City Centre UK – Caught in Time from Simon Smith on Vimeo.

The second captures the change that goes on, Birmingham is a city that continually redefines it self. Sometimes this is good and sometimes not but we now get to a play a part…

Birmingham timelapse from 7inch cinema on Vimeo.

coffee mug…

This is my favourite coffee mug, it may seem a bit strange to have a favourite mug, but there you go I have one!

The thing is, up until the new year this mug would have exposed a terrible habit I have. Though I enjoy drinking coffee from this mug I would often leave it on my desk waiting to be discovered a few days later. The problem was when I discovered the mug, outwardly it would continue to reveal its pristine white exterior, however on the inside it would be a different story. Inside one would discover a brown sludgy potentially mouldy mess!

The outside, what you could immediately see looked great but the inside told a different story. But I’m talking about my coffee mug aren’t I?

I wonder whether sometimes, if I’m not careful, there is a danger I can be more like my coffee mug than I would like to admit. I wonder whether we can all be? I wonder whether we can find, that the public appearance of who we are can sometimes tell a different story to the one our lives are telling on the inside, in our home, amongst certain groups of people or internally in what we are thinking and feeling?

I watched the BBC four dramatisation of Enid Blyton recently, as I watched it I couldn’t help be in awe of her prolific writing ability and gifting to capture children’s attention. However as the drama unfolded I became more and more struck by the way who Enid was in public was vastly different to her she was in private. Probably the most striking portrayal of this was through the relationship she enjoyed with the nations children who read her books and her two daughters. To the nations children she was a dream Mum who could transport them to magical worlds and fill their lives with joy an laughter, however her own Children really experince none of this and were limited to seeing Enid for an hour a day. This uncomfortable reality was best expressed through a scene where Enid entertains a number of children who have won afternoon tea with her in own home. Enid send her own daughters away so she can entertain the other children. The daughters and listen in enviously to thye fun being had…

Though it was uncomfortable viewing I found myself  wondering how am I like Enid in respect to how I live my life?

Perhaps you and I can be more like Enid or my coffee mug than we would like to admit?

Maybe to admit this is a starting point!

Jesus confronted this inconsistency in living when he walked the earth. Stating, we can look like white washed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead peoples bones. He then gave a simple and direct remedy, make sure that you are clean on the inside and outside.

There is a need to ensure that who we are on the outside in public is who we are on the inside in private.

Sometimes its hard to admit who we can be in private, however until we do we can never become who we want to be!

Since the start of 2010 I have resolved to not leave my mug on my desk but rather to ensure that it is clean inside and out.

The start of a new year presents an opportunity to not allow there to be a difference between who we are publically and who we are privately. An opportunity to be clean inside as well outside, to live a life of transparency! An opportunity to start a journey of admiting who you are in order to become who you want to be.