On the final day of the congress, Sam Leonor preached (again) on how a belief in the destination of our journey affects how we act along the way. We had read to us Revelation 21.1-6 and were thinking about the New Earth; about when there will be peace and reconciliation between all people, and even all things. Where there will be no pain, or suffering, or tears, and where God will dwell with us. Where nobody will hurt or abuse anyone, or oppress or despise anyone, but all will live in harmony and compassion alongside each other. And what Sam was saying, was that if that's what it's going to be like in the future - if that's what we believe, and hope for and long for - then that's what it should be like now. In our everyday lives NOW, we should be witnessing to and demonstrating that the future is beautiful, by living like that now. It pains me that Christians do not demonstrate the joy and hope and love we believe in. It gets blocked out or pressed down by all the other things going on around us. And it should not be! It shouldn't be that when someone throws me an off-comment, I want to show everyone that I can hold my own and explain why I'm in the right so much that I turn it into a fight! If I believe in and long for God's Kingdom of peace and reconciliation to be fully brought in, then I should be making peace and reconciliation in my relationships now. It shouldn't be that when I see someone lost or in need or alone, I'm too scared to reach out to them and I just walk by on the other side and leave them there. If I believe in and long for God's Kingdom of love and compassion to be fully brought in, then I should be recklessly giving love and compassion to those around me now. Sam finished by saying, 'Let's give credence to the belief in the New World we hope for, by living like it now.' In other words, let's give credence to our faith - all of it, who God is, what Jesus did, the hope that's coming - by living like we have what we have! God is incredibly beautiful, and having faith in God makes my life beautiful too. Just sometimes I get weighed down too much to see it. That should not be! My joy and strength come from the Lord, and so I can live making peace and reconciliation; giving love and compassion; and trusting in God no matter what my circumstances are. If that's what it's going to be like, then that's how I want to live now. What do you believe but don't really live? You are precious and loved by God; let him open your eyes to see his beauty, that you may be blessed, and be a blessing!
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Also based on one of Sam Leonor's talks; the idea about the precious and wonderful things we've all got, being to be given and not just to have. The woman who anointed Jesus' feet did so with a jar of nard. The kind of jar that is so expensive, that it's more an indicator of social status than something you use. The kind of jar that sits on a prominent shelf in the house, where every guest can see it. NOT the kind of jar that you break open and pour on someone's dirty feet. But as Christians - as followers of this Christ-like way - we need to be reckless in our outpouring of what we have so that others can glimpse the outpouring of Christ's love for them. Reckless, just like that woman was. She walked into a room where she didn't belong, with a jar of something so expensive and precious that she wasn't supposed to use. Sam imagined with us, that as soon as she went in, the whispering and staring would've started. The judgement, the questioning of what she was doing. And if she hadn't had her eyes fixed on Jesus; the one she loved, the one she was there to anoint, she never would've managed it. If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus then we don't count the cost of being radically hospitable to others. If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus then we don't get scared by the risk of reaching out to someone else. If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus then we won't join in with, and add to, the injustice in our world, but live demonstrating grace, and hope and love.
This post was my thoughts and notes based on a talk given by Sam Leonor at 'The Journey' AYC 2017 European Youth Congress in Valencia, Spain."Come, follow me, we're going to change lives." Not, 'Come, follow me, we’re going to be rich and famous, or popular, or liked.' Not even, 'Come, follow me, we're going to travel around Palestine for 3 years, and I'm going to say some amazing things, and teach you so much about who God is and who you are, and you'll see amazing miracles, and wonderful love, and then I'll be killed, and you'll go on, and then you'll be killed, and probably your families too.' When we follow Jesus, we are not promised greatness and success in how the world terms it. And we are not told exactly what will happen. It is a risk, to follow Jesus. But it is a risk not to. This is what Sam Leonor preached about at the first 'The Journey' talk (it was actually the second, but my flight was delayed the day before, so I missed the first). About risk vs. risk. I don't so often think about the risk of not doing something, but always the risk of doing something. I really struggle to meet and talk to new people, because the risk is, they won't like me and I'll be rejected and embarrassed and so on. But the risk of not meeting and talking to new people, is that I am left friendless, or that I am only friends with people like me, and don't see the world through different eyes, which is so important. Also, I LOVE being with people; I LOVE hearing other people's stories and finding out about them! I think exploring other people (that sounds strange; not in a strange way!) is one of the most exciting adventures we embark on in life! Maybe I should consider the risk of not doing it more, and move out of my comfort zone to know and love people wherever they are. One of the things Sam talked about was the risk of changing ideas or plans. Maintaining the status quo is far easier, and I always think of it as far less risky. But just as there is risk in changing, or starting something new - for the disciples, stopping their fishing and going with Jesus to become "fishers of people" - there is risk in staying the same; of something draining you, of something not fulfilling you, of missing out on something unknown, yet amazing! Jesus says, 'Come, follow me. It's going to be amazing!' Not safe, not always clear beforehand, but amazing. Are there any journeys Jesus might be calling you to embark on, but the risk of doing so scares you? What is the risk of not following? How does thinking about that change your thinking? This post was my thoughts and notes based on a talk given by Sam Leonor at 'The Journey' AYC 2017 European Youth Congress in Valencia, Spain.I've just been away for a 5-day European Youth Congress in Valencia, Spain. It's been AMAZING! For a start, it was my first time in Spain, which did not disappoint! It's been beautifully sunny most days, and wonderfully cloudy on others, cutting out just a little of that heat! Valencia has a beautiful town centre, and a stunning beach where I witnessed crazy people doing beach aerobics and volley ball in close to 40 degrees heat!!! 😯 And where I stayed in the sea until well after sunset because it was still so nice and warm! Wouldn't dare to do that in England! But the real reason why it's been amazing is that I came into this week feeling like a mess. I'm unsure exactly what my future will hold, and I guess I was - a little bit - doubting that even God knew it anymore. Which, of course, I didn't really think when I thought about it, but you know how you can know things but not feel them sometimes - well it was like that. But I am going home so confident that my God is a good God, who loves me and does not leave me. And though I can't see that far into the journey ahead, I know that God is Lord of that entire journey, and journeys with me in love and grace. There has just been such an atmosphere of joy here this week. True joy; unhindered and unceasing! Joy in worshipping an amazing and, actually, beautiful God. I think I call God beautiful a lot, without really thinking about it, but the way God loves and is interested in me, and made all that is around me, is actually beautiful. And so I come out of this week excited, more than anything else. Excited about what God has in store for me, and where he might lead me! Because I'm convinced it will be good. I have faith in an amazing, wonderful, inspiring, loving, challenging, exciting, beautiful God! "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11.1)
Over this last week I have been lucky enough to visit Nice (in the South of France!!!) for my job. Other than my complete and utter lack of ability to speak or comprehend even the most basic French, everything was so exciting! Having never been anywhere in Europe before (other than the UK) I was excited by the buses that had multiple doors which the driver could choose which to open to let people on or off (which I have since been told also exist in London…); by the vibrant winter sun still high in the sky and making it shorts and t-shirt weather by England-standards!; by the apricot jam and the tea pillows they gave us in the hotel (no joke; they were literal cotton tea pillows with fancy looking chunks of tea leaves inside them, rather than tea bags); by the walks along the promenade, and the fancy sweets in the sweet shop, and the people roller-blading around, and the service in the fancy restaurants, and the art - oh the art! - in the streets, in the shops, in the galleries and museums! It was all just incredible, and it made me realise that there are so many places in this world I still want to explore!
But it also opened my eyes to simple and pointless injustices which happen all around us. This year I'm working part time as a personal assistant to a lady with muscular atrophy, and so this is why I was in Nice, as she was going on holiday with her mum and sister, and I was going along to assist her in all the physical ways that she needs assistance in. Despite the fact that everything had been pre-arranged and we were travelling with her very specific power-chair, which is designed to support her in a position in which she is not in pain and can breathe, the staff at the airport as we arrived were not prepared and hadn't brought the chair up to the right place for us to pick her up and put her into just off the plane. Instead, they sent the chair through to the bagging reclaim and refused any of the options we gave for us to build it and bring it back to the plane, because they needed to get the next passengers on that plane and get away as soon as possible. So instead, they supplied a wholly unsuitable chair and got angry at us when we tried to explain we couldn't use it, until we were unable to do anything else. We were all really shaken by this experience, and the lady I assist was injured and, really, just scared to go home because she didn't want to be hurt again. Thankfully, she is incredibly intelligent and studied Law at Oxford university, and so she was able to communicate to the airline that what happened was not OK and there would be consequences to what happened and that it absolutely could not happen on the way home as well. Consequently, we had an amazing flight home, and it was just so simple for everybody to do the things they were supposed to do and work together with us, actually listening to what we needed and what the lady was physically able to use. Why that couldn't have just happened the first time, I don't know. And it actually made me really angry. I don't normally get angry - so it really surprised me. But if that had happened to someone who wasn't as intelligent, or even someone who just hadn't had the educational experience that she'd had and known that what had happened was not allowed to have happened - they'd just accept it. They'd just accept that, because they have a physical disability, they get hurt when they try to do things. And then they just probably wouldn't do things like that. They'd think going on holiday just wasn't something that they can do. Why are we allowed to tell - through the way we set up society - a whole group of people that they can't do something. Yes, sometimes it's more difficult; yes, sometimes it takes longer; and yes, sometimes it takes more working together to work out how something can be done - but generally, that something can be done. People shouldn't be forced into a position of only living part-of-a-life just because others can't be bothered to hear what they need and try to offer that. And I don't just mean with foreign holidays, because many people can't go on foreign holidays for many reasons - but it also happens in educational opportunities, in job prospects, so on. We make the world operate for people like "us" - but what about "them", whoever the "them" might be to you? |
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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