I was wondering today...
I do quite a lot of that...
anyway, as I say I was wondering... not very profoundly... but it was, I guess a demonstration that I'm still alive with some 'brain' activity
but I was wondering about what the good news would be for today
Could it be forgiveness of sins? Well, I guess that's true but I fear that the world has so trivialised sin that that particular message doesn't ring very loud in the UK at the moment, (maybe it should, at a national level, as we see Iraq fall apart following our share of that ill fated invasion?)
Could it be life in all it's fullness? Again, I think that's true but there seems such an attitude of eat, drink and be merry with such a strong marketing of sensation, adrenalin rush or celebrity as equalling fulfilment that the Christian message of fulfilment in Christ just won't resonate as very powerful or attractive.
[I think that resonate is a very important word here, because I'm not sure that the western world is very good at listening, appreciating or understanding at the moment. Again, not very original here, but we live in an age of the sound-bite. So we're looking for something that resonates or chimes with the age. Or we're looking for something poetic that will strike, move or point towards... but for goodness sake don't waste your time explaining....]
So back to my musings...
Could the good news be about personal fulfilment? Similar to the previous point and one of the themes of Pete Ward's "Liquid Church". I'm not sure here, for some this might work, a sort of spiritual life long learning... but the danger here is that I'm not sure, in the end, if the good news is about us choosing; rather it's about our being chosen...
so, there I was wondering and not getting very far, when I read Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
ah yes, in a world confronting Global Warming seriously for the first time - just as we all refuse to reduce our consumption
and in world that's steadily heading to war between the West and China (over scarce resources)
and in a world where you only need one nutter to blow a city or a telecoms or some such apart
in a world where it seems all about now for we dare not look at the future...
yep, a message of hope seems powerful, not quite sure at the moment how to shout, sing or live it but hope, that'll do.
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