Age is a Funny Thing! (Philippians 3)

Age is a Funny Thing! (Philippians 3)

Philippians 3.12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. [nkjv]

Age is a funny thing. Do you realise that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we are kids? When I was younger, I can remember being so excited about aging that when asked how old I was, I'd respond in fractions. I may have been 5 years old but I would say, "I'm five and a half!" I never people hear people in their 30's say, when asked the same question, "I'm 36 and a half."

In our teenage years, rather than think in fractions, we jump whole numbers. When asked how old you are, the response is "I'm going to be 16!" You may only be 12 but you're going to be 16!

Then comes the greatest day of your life, you become 21! Even the way we say it sounds impressive, you BECOME 21! And that's where things begin to go downhill. You turn 30. It makes us sound like bad milk. He turned. We had to throw him out. Then you're pushing 40, you reach 50, you make it to 60 and by then you have built up so much speed on your downhill journey that you hit 70!

After that, its a day by day thing. You hit Wednesday. You hit lunch!

A child can't wait to be bigger, older, better, taller, stronger, smarter, richer. It becomes a driving force in their life. There has got to be more out there. But somewhere along the way, we trade in that passion and drive for something less. We become cynical. Complacent. Content. We settle.

Now these aren't all bad things but they become very dangerous when the same attitude creeps into our relationship with God. There is so much we don't know about God and there is so much He has in store for us. He is the God who does exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask, dream, think or imagine. The Apostle Paul once declared, "I want to know Him. I want to be intimately acquainted with Him!" I want to spend my whole life getting to know Him. Our Christian life is about moving forward, pressing on, growing from glory to glory. The minute we decide to settle where we are, we cap our potential and singing the shoulda, coulda, woulda's.

Henry Varley, a British Revivalist once said, "The world has yet to see what God will do with a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to the Holy Spirit."

Is it any wonder the Word of God tells us to come to God with child-like faith. The adventure awaits us. Our best days are still to come. We need to let go of the past. Be spontaneous. Courageous. Take a step of faith and press on. A spiritually mature person is one who loves God with all their heart, lives life to the full and loves people unconditionally.

Rather than holding ourselves back, hiding behind our religious maturity, perhaps we should let our lives reflect our love for the One who has saved our souls and given us hope.

And just be a child again.

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Popcorn Christianity! (Mark 15)

Popcorn Christianity! (Mark 15)

Mark 15.21 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. [nkjv]

Mel Gibson's film 'The Passion of the Christ' gave many people a new understanding of Jesus' journey to the cross and the horror of his crucifixion. Like many Christians around the world, I went with my Church to go and see the movie. In some ways I wish I hadn't. I would much rather have sat in the privacy of my home so I couldn't be distracted by the people around me. Along with many others in the cinema that day, I was moved to tears. All I could think while I watched Jesus being beaten, whipped and crucified was, 'He did this for me!" But there were some in the cinema who talked through the movie, some giggled while others sat there in their comfortable seats stuffing their faces with popcorn, chips and choc tops, while the Son of God was crucified in front of them!

Jesus' death to these 'Christians' was nothing more than a night's entertainment!

Afterwards as people were coming out of the cinema, some wanted to chat, all I wanted to do was jump in the car and go home as quickly as I could. I wanted to be alone. Scenes from the movie played over and over again in my head. I just wanted to fall in a heap on the floor somewhere and sob, and repent of living a selfish life. There was also part of me which wanted to phone every one of those 'so called Christians' and give them a piece of my mind. How can you watch something like that and be indifferent!

But I guess there were thousands of people just like these who actually witnessed Jesus going to the cross that day and walked away unchanged. Some hurled insults. Some jeered. Some even took great joy in seeing Him suffer. Would I have been any different if I were there that day?

There were some who were impacted. There were those closest to Jesus, His mother and friends who watched from afar. There was the Roman centurion who came to the realisation that this truly was the Son of God. There was the criminal on the cross who that day entered with Jesus into eternity. And there was Simon, the man compelled to carry the cross of Christ.

Simon was from North Africa. Maybe he was chosen because he was black, maybe because he was a foreigner, maybe because he stood out in the crowd. Regardless of why, he had the honour of being the very first person to carry the cross of Christ. But he had to be forced to do it.

To carry the cross of Christ is never easy. It is never comfortable and it is never convenient. But Jesus tells us that if we want to follow Him, it is something we need to do daily. To carry the cross causes us to focus our attention on Christ. It means laying down our will, our desires, our dreams. It forces us to stop thinking about ourselves. It causes us to stand out in the crowd and identifies us with Jesus.

Just like Simon, we are 'compelled' to do it but we are often blessed by the things we are compelled to do. We are changed! Scripture says that Simon was the father of Rufus and Alexander. We learn in Romans that Rufus was someone known to the early Church and was a devoted follower of Christ. We can surmise that something happened to Simon that day. He may have been a stranger to the city. He may not have known this 'Jesus' whose cross he was commanded to carry, but in carrying the cross, a transformation took place, one which not only changed his life but also that of his children.

My prayer is that we all put down the popcorn and pick up the cross so we can experience the transforming power of Jesus' love in our lives.

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Dinner with Tom Cruise or Mum's Lamb Roast! (Mark 7)

Dinner with Tom Cruise or Mum's Lamb Roast! (Mark 7)

Mark 7.5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” [nkjv]

There was an ad in the early 90's where actress Naomi Watts passed up a dinner date with Tom Cruise to eat her mum's lamb roast. I love to cook. I'm no Jamie Oliver but in our household I am famous for my lasagna, pancakes and chocolate slice. I learnt how to cook by watching my mum in the kitchen when I was a child. Even now, when I need advice in the kitchen, I'm on the phone to mum straight away.

I heard a story recently about a young girl who also use to watch her mum in the kitchen. One day, while preparing a roast, she noticed her cutting off the ends of the roast. When she asked her why she did that, her mum replied, "that's the way my mum did it dear." Still puzzled by this, the little girl rang her grandma to ask the same question. Grandma also gave the same answer, "that's the way my mum did it dear." Not satisfied, the little girl rang up her great grandmother and asked her the same question. "Oh my dear", she said, "when I use to cook a roast, the only way I could fit it in the pan was to first cut off the ends before putting it in the oven."

We all have our traditions. Those quirky things we do, which have been passed down through the generations. Those things our parents did and which we will probably teach our children to do. They aren't necessarily all bad. Some traditions bring a sense of comfort and familiarity. Some help us focus on what's important in life.

The Pharisees and Scribes however were so caught up in their traditions and religious customs that when confronted by something different they struggled to believe. They didn't evaluate Jesus through the measure of God's Word rather they evaluated Him through the measure of their religious traditions.

This is when traditions become unhealthy. They blind us to the truth. They become more about rules and less about grace. Sometimes even the tradition becomes more important than God Himself. And the greatest consequence is that God's message of love, forgiveness and grace gets lost in translation and religious tradition.

Unless of course there is a little girl, bold enough to ask 'why?'

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