Setting the world right

Christianity, GeneralLeave a comment

One lazy Sunday afternoon, a father was dozing on the sofa. His wee girl shook him awake, “Daddy, I’m bored!” He looked around for something to do, and noticed that the Sunday newspaper had a photo of a map of the world. He showed her the picture, then tore it into pieces, and told her to put the world back together again. Since she was too young to know where all the countries were, he thought the rest of the afternoon was his to doze in.
A few minutes later she shook him again. “I’m finished, Daddy!”
“You can’t be!”, but when he looked he saw that the world had indeed been put back together. “How did you do that? You didn’t know where all the countries are!”
“Well,” she said, “there was a picture of a person on the other side, and when I got my person back together, the world got back together too.”
We are like that. Too often our lives get ripped to bits. Our person is in pieces, and because our lives are in pieces, our world is too.

Laughter might be bad for you

ChristianityLeave a comment

When my brother and I were very small I remember that we would sometimes get the giggles. I am sure that we started laughing for some valid reason, but when it got out of control we were just laughing because we were laughing. There was no stopping it, even with the threat of punishment from whatever authority was lurking near us who could not see the funny side of things.
I like to see people laughing, and I love to make people laugh. I too like a good laugh, and I would rather laugh than cry. Sometimes I go back to the old days with my brother and laugh so much that I can’t stop and laugh so much that it hurts my stomach. Sometimes I laugh so much that I cry. In the wonderful years since I met Libby and became a Christian I have laughed a lot. When you have a good life, laughter is easy.

Right, Mountain, out of the way!

ChristianityLeave a comment

A friend of mine will shortly set out on an amazing adventure – to climb Mount Kilimanjaro – to help raise funds for the charity Scottish Spina Bifida. I really admire him for that. It will take courage, strength and endurance. You can sponsor him if you would like to give him a wee bit more encouragement.
But I ask myself why he doesn’t just walk round it. After all, when we face problems in our lives, some of them look like mountains, and that’s often the easiest thing to do, isn’t it – walk round them? Sometimes we don’t even do that – we just stand there and look at them. They are huge! I’ll never get over it! Scientists say that Mount Everest is getting higher all the time. As we just stand and look at our problems, they get bigger too. Sometimes we can’t even see the top.

Making the best of the worst

ChristianityLeave a comment

Can you remember the worst thing you have ever done? What category does it fall into – embarrassing, dodgy, illegal, evil? Is it worse than anything anyone you know has ever done? Does it scream at you, or merely give you a nudge? Was it a long time ago, or fairly recent? Maybe it was a one-off, or perhaps a serial occurrence? Does it lie in wait for you, or is it in your mind all the time?
Answers on a postcard to…..

Possessed

ChristianityLeave a comment

In this period of economic downturn there is much tightening of belts going on. There is the fear of losing a job, and the depression that comes from having lost one. People aren’t going out as much, aren’t buying as much. At a time of low interest rates, credit is very hard to get, and mortgages are only available if you have a substantial deposit and a secure salary.
Today in the UK, not having a television is one of the official measures of poverty. When I was very young, it was a mark of affluence – black and white affluence, but still affluence! Our standard of living has increased immensely in a relatively short period. We have more possessions than we ever had, and we throw them away faster than we ever did. Once they are out of fashion, they are out of the door. Once they are old tech, we are looking at the new.

100 not out

ChristianityLeave a comment

Nearly one in five people currently in the UK will live to see their 100th birthday, according to the government. The Department for Work and Pensions said its figures suggested 10 million people – 17% of the population – would become centenarians. (source – BBC)

There are definitely more older people around now – although the funny thing is that the older I get, the younger the older people seem to be – or is that just me? It is very obvious that we are living longer, and so we should, since medical advances mean that previously fatal conditions are now manageable. So we should perhaps aspire to live to 100 years old. Whether the prediction will be the case when the obesity bomb hits the ground is another matter.

All of them?

ChristianityLeave a comment

Things have been critical here for the last two weeks. For some people, the bad weather has placed them in critical situations, lives have been endangered and lost. For me, the situation has not been critical in that sense. In fact, the situation has not been critical for me – I have been critical of the situation. I have criticised the local council for their inability to clear the roads of the snow and ice. Very critical. I have to confess that I have got quite angry about it, and felt that the anger was justified.

Piggy in the middle

ChristianityLeave a comment

I have heard some daft ideas in my time, but there was one which I came across years and years ago which has stuck in my mind ever since I first heard it. It wasn’t so much an idea, as a theory of life and I think it is also used to show the importance of logic in an argument.

The theory states that I am the only person in the world. No one else exists, just me. That is when the argument starts, because you chip in with the comment that you are there too, so I am wrong. Ah, but you are only there as part of my imagination. I am making you say that you are there.

To be or not to be

ChristianityLeave a comment

They say that what you are is what you eat. I have never really understood that. OK, I can see that if you do not eat meat you can be called a vegetarian or a vegan, but that is really as far as it goes – it puts you into a category, but that is only part of what you are, part of what you do.

So, what else can define what you are? Your fashion or your taste in music can suggest what age group you fall into. Your accent can suggest where you come from. The car you drive, or your lack of a car, can point to your income group, but not necessarily. The way your children behave can possibly show how good a parent you are. How you behave might point to what you have been through earlier in life. But all these things only show a bit of you – they are not what you are, who you are. Like nationality or political affiliation, they might classify part of you, but they don’t define you.

That sinking feeling

ChristianityLeave a comment

What puts fear in you?

For me, it is things or situations that I am not in control of. Computers? Not a problem, I can strip them down, repair them or rebuild them. Cars? Ooohh, fear, doom, calamity – all because I am not in control of the mechanics, because I don’t know how to fix them.

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Shut that door!

ChristianityLeave a comment

It’s nice to get home, isn’t it? It’s good to get the shirt and tie, the suit and the shiny shoes off, and just get into some sloppy gear that you can relax in. It’s good to switch off all the thoughts about work, the people who have crossed your path, made or spoiled your…

Stop, search

ChristianityLeave a comment

Are you looking for something? Maybe it’s something you lost. Maybe it’s something you have never had. Maybe it’s tangible. Maybe it’s a reason, maybe it’s just a word. Whatever it is, I am sure that you are looking for something.

In the UK, somebody has just won £113 million in the Eurolottery. It is a lot of money in anyone’s terms, and is beyond everyone’s wildest dream.