A Right Relationship

I facilitate a bible study/small group here in Ballarat on Sunday nights when I'm not out and about around the division. This bible study is based on the Nooma DVD's (which are great by the way) but the DVD is really just a starting point and the conversation can go anywhere after that.

While thinking about some of the stuff in my prep. for the study/group i began to think about what it meant to be in a right relationship with God, and also what it meant to be in a right relationship in general.

The more i thought about this the more i felt led back to where it all began; the garden of Eden.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, before the whole Apple incident (not the computer, for those who don't know the story grab a Bible and check out Genesis chapter 1), they had a right relationship with God. Genesis 3: 8 says that Adam and Eve heard God walking through the Garden at the time of the evening breeze. Imagine what that would have been like to walk through creation with the creator at your side. Adam and Eve spent time with God naming the animals, they knew what it was like to hear God directly, to actually be in his physical presence!!!

Adam and Eve had a right relationship with the animals. They did not have to fear any of the animals because they all ate plants (see Genesis 1: 30) and the animals didn't have to fear Adam and Eve because they too were vegetarians (as much as i hate to admit that, being firmly against not eating meat) (see Genesis 1:29). It was only after they ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, realised that they were naked, hid from and were found out by God that this changed. Because Edam and Eve ate the fruit (not necessarily and apple, but it will do for the example) God had to kill an animal to provide them with clothes (so a vegetarian caused the first animal to die!!!).

Before the 'Apple Incident' Adam and Eve had a right relationship with nature, not having to work so hard to cultivate the food that grew from the earth. After their expulsion from Eden this changed (check out Genesis 3: 17-19)

Before the 'Apple Incident' Adam and Eve had right relationships with each other. They understood each other, in fact the bible tells us that they were as one (check out Genesis 2:24). Now no one really understands each other, and peace is far from a reality in our world.

So how do we as Christians restore ourselves and our world to right relationships??

Here are a few of my ideas:

Right with God:
This side of eternity what Adam and Eve had is impossible, but, anything that vaguely resembles that would be awesome!! The best way to get right with God is to stop sinning. Christians often call this Holiness. I dont know about you, but I know that I'm not perfect, I still make mistakes, but I'm trying to make those mistakes less frequently. Also, lets try to seek God more intentionally, because the bible tells us that when we seek Him we will find Him (Jeremiah 29: 12-13). Lets try to spend quality time in devotion prayer and bible reading with God.

Right with others:
This one should be easy, Jesus taught us so much about how to be right with others (check out Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7). Love those who hate us, care for the poor and oppressed, go the extra mile, don't retaliate, return good for evil, etc,etc.

Right with animals:
Probably not really possible this side of eternity, but lets care for them, stop cruelty towards them (it is still ok to eat them, just kill them cleanly), care for their habitat, which leads me to my next point...

Right with nature:
Let me preface this by saying that I don't consider my self to be a "Greenie" but I do think we need to be careful in what we do. I hope to have kids one day, and would like to leave them and their kids a planet to live on (assuming Jesus hasn't already come back!!). So lets look after the resources we have. The ozone hole is a perfect example of us being out of a right relationship with nature; we pollute, disrupt the natural balance and then get skin cancer because of it. Lets try to use renewable energy, reduce the energy we are using, blah, blah, blah. I'm sure you get the idea.

Being in right relationships is not going to be easy, but it will be beneficial.

Remember the right thing to do isn't usually the easiest thing to do, in fact, the right thing to do is often the hardest.

"The popular thing isn't always right, and the right thing isn't always popular."
-Someone very wise, I just cant remember who (is it in the Bible??)

What Are You Hiding Behind???

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wake up Monday morning and instantly wish that a) you were still asleep and b) it was Friday night?

I've had one of those weeks.

The problem is, even when the proverbial hits the fan and all you want to do is crawl back into bed, pull the covers over your head and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist, life continues to go on around you.

As a result of this many of us have to take a deep breath, pull ourselves together and move on. But how?

Many of us put on a mask, or veneer of normality on the outside when we are around others, while on the inside we are a mess, with so many thoughts and emotions rolling around just wanting to escape.

And so we feel exhausted at the end of the day when we finally get home and can take that mask off and be exactly how we are feeling.

Masks can be good. In Ice Hockey people wear masks to protect their face from serious injury/disfigurement. Superheroes wear masks to protect their identity and those they care about.

Sometimes masks are fun, they allow us to pretend we are someone or something different and we can let our hair down without fear of what people think of us.

But masks can be bad. Sometimes we wear a mask (figuratively speaking) so that people don't see who we really are or what we are really thinking.

This week, as i have struggled to deal with the stuff going on in my own life, i have found myself reaching for a mask to cover my inner feelings and maintain the character i usually portray to those around me, strong, confident, energetic, joyful.

The thing is, even though this is what i am trying to look like, there are some people that still noticed that things weren't right and asked me if i was ok; to which if i was honest, the answer was no!

As i was thinking about this stuff last night on the way home from a meeting in Melbourne, i began to wonder if this is what we sometimes do when it comes to God stuff.

We pretend that we are ok, we keep doing things on the outside, hoping that no one will notice that things are not ok inside.

But the thing is, that even though people may only see what is on the outside, God can see whats going on on the inside. God knows our deepest thoughts, dreams, hopes, desires, fears and failings. And He loves us anyway.

While i struggled to deal with all that has been going on over the last week, God has been there. When i've screamed out WHY? He was there. When all i wanted to do was get away from everyone around me and retreat to the safety of solitude, and couldn't, God gave me the strength i needed to push on.

Now, my problems, while hugely significant in my life, didn't rally rate on the scale of the world around me. This week countless people have died in wars and from famine, I heard this morning of over 100 babies in Kazakhstan that were infected with HIV because doctors, nurses, and hospital officials were negligent in their jobs. We have global warming, floods, droughts and countless other problems that occur around us every day. But it is so easy to get caught up in our own problems that the rest of the world seems to fade away.

Sometimes we need to take off our mask, admit that things are not ok (some people call this confession), make the necessary changes (sometimes this is called repentance) and walk towards our future, trusting God to go ahead of us and prepare the way, one step at a time.

As I overheard someone say yesterday; "Life sucks, and it's not funny."

Bad stuff happens, even to good people, but God is faithful. Even when we don't know why stuff happens, we need to trust that God will work all things for the good of those who love Him, and follow Him into our future!!

As my old high school motto says: "In Faith and Hope and Love."

I say: "Amen"

Whats Love Got To Do With It Anyway???

The Salvo's new territorial youth initiative is called 2Love. You may have heard me speak about it and have probably seen the logo on a few of the posters i have put together for publicity.

The 2Love strategy is based on Jesus response to the lawyers question, "What is the greatest commanment?"

The story goes like this:

Mark 12: 28- 33: One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (bold mine)

In Western Vic i have adopted this strategy as part of my strategy for the division.

As is mentioned in my earlier blog, on the 23rd of June we will be launching the 2Love strategy for the division. Without giving much away, the strategy is based around equipping the young people of the division with ways to love God and others as they go back to their curches and communities, in order to impact the world.

But the real reason i wrote this blog wasnt to launch 2Love in WVD on cyberspace, but to ask you what do you love.

I'm looking for the less than obvious answers of "God" and "Jesus". In fact the odder the better. I would like to use some of these examples as part of the launch on the 23rd.

Anonymity is guaranteed on the night, i promise. Remember that if you don't want to be identified on the blog, you will need to hide your name when you post a comment.