Christian life has much variety and I seem to be able to transfer my thinking to various spheres. I am interested in the political nature of our quest for understanding of our Lord and our fellow Christians and the wider world. I seem to be attracted to debate about orthodoxy, about women in the the three-fold tier. I am interested in how we articulate our understanding of the trinity and the variety of interpretations that exist. Interest in the various camps and parties and their theologies is helping me to work out what my own views are and it has certainly fueled my desire to learn and study - God is so mighty and so much bigger than our petty squabbles that he can take feelings of rebellion, like mine - I would be the rebel in the Reform camp or the complementarians gathering,(if I were ever to be invited to such gatherings, which is doubtful), and he can demonstrate his majesty and omnipotence and bring me ever closer to him. He knows, that with a personality like mine, it can take a reaction against something in order to fuel a propulsion towards something - Him, and I am so grateful that this has happened. All of this thinking stimulates the grey matter but my soul is set souring in other spheres.
Learning at college is interesting but can also be a little dry. On Mondays we look at spirituality and we pray and worship and there is a living heat about these days. On Wednesdays there is less prayer and worship and 3 hours dedicated to study of the early church and the ordinal and rites of initiation etc and the fires cool somewhat and I sometimes have to perform the mental gymnastics of separating God out from his Church and the strange things that we humans have done to package him and write formularies about him, however much I might think these things were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Where I am really in commune is when I sing and pray and plan services and lead kids and youth and just when I get to witness God at work in the World and other people.
But our God is a God of harmony; he doesn't have us separate body from soul, brain from spirit - all can work in harmony and feed each other.
At MUG last night (Midweek us and God, St Nicholas Church Allestree), we thought about Hope and the resurrection. Here are some of the things which spoke powerfully to me:
'On earth as it is in Heaven' - it's great to be a part of this project now!
The resurrection is more than about what is going to happen to us when we die, it is about a God who says 'I am the sustainer of life - I have defeated death.'
The resurrection is part of the new creation - eternal life starts now.
Charles Spurgeon said 'Great faith brings heaven to Earth.'
We are the people of transformation because we're a transformed people.
The resurrection marks a new moment in history - a new history.
This is the story by which I want to live my life. I fuse experiences with the bible and the bible makes more sense to me than anything else anybody has to say, politicians, the media etc. It's energising for me. I'm anchored to Jesus and if I weren't, I'd be all at sea.
We can speak life where there is death. The way that we live towards that hope and we have to live in the world to reflect God to society and society to God, means we can be a part of the resurrection project.
Resurrection is highly theological and deeply personal. What does it mean to you?
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