Mark 9:33-37
They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?”The silence was deafening—they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest.
He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”
He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”
January 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Being a servant to all….hmmmmm that\’s a really tough one but the more I look at what Jesus tells his followers to do the more I realise being a Christian isn\’t for the fainthearted. And sometimes I don\’t know if I\’m brave enough, being a servant to all, ore even just to few, well that\’s a lot of hard work.
Please forgive me if this post is a little (!) rambling but reading the gospels just hasn\’t been the same lately (thanks to a certain book The Irresistable REvolution, so glad you recommeded that one Richard (typed with a hint of irony)). The way Jesus calls his followers to live is kind of different to the way that i live. I live an altogether comfortable life and I must admit that I don\’t really go out of my way to help the poor and opressed, I mean I give a little to charity and will always help those who cross my path but wouldn\’t anyone, christian or not?? So I\’m starting small, I\’ve set myself some goals (won\’t bore you with the details) and I\’m really going to try to live more like a follower of Jesus (thank you Jesus that it\’s a journey and that though you are a God that challenges me, you are also a God of grace). Here goes…..
January 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Preach it Jen!….thanks for this comment which is encouraging, challenging and inspiring.
I reckon it’s too difficult too break out of cosy christianity on our own. I know I soon get tired/give up. What we need are a bunch of people who will read ‘irresistable revolution’ (or maybe just read the gospels without our usual filters!) and then decide to support each other in this journey of living it.
I really like candles, pebbles and ambient music, but this is what dream needs to really be about eh… watch out you lot!
February 1st, 2008 at 9:08 pm
We`re on the last day of a week-long family break (holed up in a small cottage in a Yorkshire fishing village). My wife finished The Irresistible Revolution a couple of days ago and I knew (as she was so keen to discuss some of the ideas!) that I should also read it.
I`ve just finished it and it puts into words many of my feelings about my Christian walk (or plod!) at the moment.
I feel I set out (10 years ago) with every intention of being used by God to live justly and radically love those around me, but I can see now that along the way, I`ve settled for the easy option - where loving costs us nothing (it is easier to love like-minded folk!) and social justice seems too distant to care much about.
I`ve been feeling for some time that I/we need to be open to change, to be prepared to receive a fresh vision…… I think God`s starting to prepare the way for something new.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I haven\’t read the Irresistable Revolution (anyone with a spare copy they could lend me, Liverpool libraries have failed me..?) but read a Tear Times interview with the guy who wrote it which really struck me.
I sense that change is on the cards for me, but how and in what way I don\’t know. How do we figure out what God is asking of us?? Do I/we close our ears if it\’s not what we expect or want? How do we open them again?
The thing that struck me about the image of Jesus embracing the child was how it isn\’t possible to be pretentious around children. To have a good relationship with a young child, you have to be yourself- they see right through you! Kids (on the whole) expect you to be exactly who you are, but they also accept you exactly as you are. How would things change if we were willing to deal with that level of honesty in our relationships? It\’s really scary- there\’s a great big mix of trust, responsibility and vulnerabililty in that!