I want to be an ordinary radical.
How late is this. And how sad it is that I have the time to write this precisely because my body decided it was time to go belly up and insist on rest. So, I've been resting over the long weekend and somemore because I am still not well enough to get back to work.
Clearly though, I have my sense of humour and irony back. Thankfully, its not like a truck ran over me or something.
So much has been happening and so much I've been taking in that its no doubt it was going to happen.
My husband is between jobs, the stress must have taken a toll on my body despite having taken all our thoughts about this captive to Jesus. Then, the kids have their Preliminary exams on friday and I've been marking marking marking that I think I ought to change my middle name from Jadyn to Mark. To compensate for that lack of life, I became a weekend warrior and totalled my body by playing tennis hard on saturday and sunday. All that and the late nights.
And now I have this. Huzzah. The good thing is that it has given me time to read the bible a bit more slowly, pray a bit longer, read a bit more and finish my marking (I told you...)
And so, here are my thoughts so far.
At DG we've been reading the book of Romans. At home, Andy and I, we are trying to go through the life of Solomon. Between all that, I've been wondering, what all the use is of the knowledge we get in our time of 'study'. We talk so much about who Paul is writing for, whether it makes a difference if he's writing to Gentile or Jew (It is my opinion that that is not that important. Either way, I still have to do what Paul says. And really, how are people going know about God from whether Paul writes to Jew or Gentile? They are going to see it through the way I live out my life. So, I shall do both.
Sometimes I come away thinking if I've lost some kinda sight for what the bible is supposed to be saying. Sometimes I come away thinking, 'geez, why couldn't I have seen something that obvious?' or I come away feeling like I've really been put in my spot for saying something stupid and that's why I shouldn't lead in some way. Then I feel awful for not having been humble enough because clearly, I didn't see something that I was supposed to learn.
Other times, I wonder why we (general christian populus) focus so much attention on the finites of the bible that we lose the big picture. I don't mean to say that we shouldn't read the bible and know it well, but what is wrong with The Message version if it challenges and convicts us that our lives need to be changed so that we can reflect Jesus better? What is the point of learning the bible so thoroughly if we cannot be good examples for others?
What is the point of figuring out which society Paul really meant when he said, 'do not be conformed to society', when the focus should be on how God change the way we live our lives?
I've always been challenged to 'live out' this Christian life. We talk about how victorious it is, how god is graceful and merciful, how we are now saved but we so easily glaze over or quite conveniently forget that, "if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory"?
I asked a few people about this 'suffering' and 'persecution' here, and the best we could come up with was a few strange looks from our colleagues, maybe they'd avoid us in future thinking we were one of those crazy christian fanatics. I don't know how I'd do it, but I think we are seriously offending those who are truly persecuted for their faith. I don't see many people in my middle-class upbringing (myself included) suffering for His glory.
So, how should I 'suffer' in living out this Christian life here in Singapore? I'm not asking for pain and I guess, people would say we shouldn't go 'look' for it. But the christian life is precisely that counter-intuitive isn't it? I haven't quite figured this part of my thought out yet. But I know that I by no means suffer at all. We may pay for certain choices we make but we by no means 'suffer' in pain. Case in point: I secretly feel that my husband is precisely in this work situation right now because he chooses to put family time first. I think work is important but I also think we place too much importance in it at the expense of our relationships. Should we conform to how we spend our family time because in Rome we do as the Romans do?
I don't suffer. I live in a beautifully furnished 2-3 bedroom apartment, set in greenery, I have cable, broadband, a mobile phone, two Apple macs, more food than I need in my freezer, a hooge telly, a super-awesome cinema worthy sound system to die for, a big bed, pots that I can't finish using, a spare room that sits all the storage and all this for what? Just the both of us? What have I done with the blessing meant to bless others? I still haven't figured it out.
I'm reading this little book called "The Coffeehouse Gospel: Sharing Your Faith In Everyday Conversation" by Matthew Paul Turner from Relevant Media because I have got to do more than this to make my Savior known. It's a small start. So far, I've thought of cookies for my two Indian neighbours. I have to actually start making them first though.
I've read 'Ordinary Radical' and I hated reading it. Probably myself, because I liked the book so much and wanted to live it out the way I was challenged to but couldn't find the strength/time/conviction to do so. I'm going to read it again once I'm done with this.
I want to do something useful with myself, I want to learn about God and Jesus and his Kingdom as he created it, I want to learn about him through living it out usefully instead of hoarding all this great knowledge of Jesus Christ to ourselves. (Which, by the way, is what all good teachers agree on: experiential learning is the learning that stays the longest. On the job, so to speak.) I want to step out of my comfort zone, I want to be able to make new friends, I want to be able to make new non-christian friends whom I can build relationships with, I want to be challenged to live on the edge that requires only the power of God to get me through.
I still haven't figured out how I'm going to do this.
Clearly though, I have my sense of humour and irony back. Thankfully, its not like a truck ran over me or something.
So much has been happening and so much I've been taking in that its no doubt it was going to happen.
My husband is between jobs, the stress must have taken a toll on my body despite having taken all our thoughts about this captive to Jesus. Then, the kids have their Preliminary exams on friday and I've been marking marking marking that I think I ought to change my middle name from Jadyn to Mark. To compensate for that lack of life, I became a weekend warrior and totalled my body by playing tennis hard on saturday and sunday. All that and the late nights.
And now I have this. Huzzah. The good thing is that it has given me time to read the bible a bit more slowly, pray a bit longer, read a bit more and finish my marking (I told you...)
And so, here are my thoughts so far.
At DG we've been reading the book of Romans. At home, Andy and I, we are trying to go through the life of Solomon. Between all that, I've been wondering, what all the use is of the knowledge we get in our time of 'study'. We talk so much about who Paul is writing for, whether it makes a difference if he's writing to Gentile or Jew (It is my opinion that that is not that important. Either way, I still have to do what Paul says. And really, how are people going know about God from whether Paul writes to Jew or Gentile? They are going to see it through the way I live out my life. So, I shall do both.
Sometimes I come away thinking if I've lost some kinda sight for what the bible is supposed to be saying. Sometimes I come away thinking, 'geez, why couldn't I have seen something that obvious?' or I come away feeling like I've really been put in my spot for saying something stupid and that's why I shouldn't lead in some way. Then I feel awful for not having been humble enough because clearly, I didn't see something that I was supposed to learn.
Other times, I wonder why we (general christian populus) focus so much attention on the finites of the bible that we lose the big picture. I don't mean to say that we shouldn't read the bible and know it well, but what is wrong with The Message version if it challenges and convicts us that our lives need to be changed so that we can reflect Jesus better? What is the point of learning the bible so thoroughly if we cannot be good examples for others?
What is the point of figuring out which society Paul really meant when he said, 'do not be conformed to society', when the focus should be on how God change the way we live our lives?
I've always been challenged to 'live out' this Christian life. We talk about how victorious it is, how god is graceful and merciful, how we are now saved but we so easily glaze over or quite conveniently forget that, "if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory"?
I asked a few people about this 'suffering' and 'persecution' here, and the best we could come up with was a few strange looks from our colleagues, maybe they'd avoid us in future thinking we were one of those crazy christian fanatics. I don't know how I'd do it, but I think we are seriously offending those who are truly persecuted for their faith. I don't see many people in my middle-class upbringing (myself included) suffering for His glory.
So, how should I 'suffer' in living out this Christian life here in Singapore? I'm not asking for pain and I guess, people would say we shouldn't go 'look' for it. But the christian life is precisely that counter-intuitive isn't it? I haven't quite figured this part of my thought out yet. But I know that I by no means suffer at all. We may pay for certain choices we make but we by no means 'suffer' in pain. Case in point: I secretly feel that my husband is precisely in this work situation right now because he chooses to put family time first. I think work is important but I also think we place too much importance in it at the expense of our relationships. Should we conform to how we spend our family time because in Rome we do as the Romans do?
I don't suffer. I live in a beautifully furnished 2-3 bedroom apartment, set in greenery, I have cable, broadband, a mobile phone, two Apple macs, more food than I need in my freezer, a hooge telly, a super-awesome cinema worthy sound system to die for, a big bed, pots that I can't finish using, a spare room that sits all the storage and all this for what? Just the both of us? What have I done with the blessing meant to bless others? I still haven't figured it out.
I'm reading this little book called "The Coffeehouse Gospel: Sharing Your Faith In Everyday Conversation" by Matthew Paul Turner from Relevant Media because I have got to do more than this to make my Savior known. It's a small start. So far, I've thought of cookies for my two Indian neighbours. I have to actually start making them first though.
I've read 'Ordinary Radical' and I hated reading it. Probably myself, because I liked the book so much and wanted to live it out the way I was challenged to but couldn't find the strength/time/conviction to do so. I'm going to read it again once I'm done with this.
I want to do something useful with myself, I want to learn about God and Jesus and his Kingdom as he created it, I want to learn about him through living it out usefully instead of hoarding all this great knowledge of Jesus Christ to ourselves. (Which, by the way, is what all good teachers agree on: experiential learning is the learning that stays the longest. On the job, so to speak.) I want to step out of my comfort zone, I want to be able to make new friends, I want to be able to make new non-christian friends whom I can build relationships with, I want to be challenged to live on the edge that requires only the power of God to get me through.
I still haven't figured out how I'm going to do this.
posted by The Chilibuddy @ 3:55 pm ::
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