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October 31st 2017 marks the 500 year anniversary of the day in which Martin Luther is famously said to have nailed to the doors of his Wittenburg Church ’95 Theses’, calling for discussion and change in how the Church understood repentance and the sale of indulgences. While that specific issue may seem unrelatable and far away from the things we face as a Christians in Sydney, it is significant to us because it is the major starting point in understanding the Protestant Reformation.

This would be the movement that generated “Protestant” Churches, drawing a clear line of difference, and in some cases opposition, with the Roman Catholic. The historical impact of the Reformation cannot be underestimated. Whole nations found themselves at odds with one another as they adopted opposing views. Violent conflict was not unheard of.

It is important that we learn from these realities. Even the best motives, the purest intentions, the right positions, can be tainted by sinfulness. It is telling that in humanity’s story, getting things right so often come with glaring oversights that gets so much wrong. We are not so good that our well meaning efforts to uphold the truth have never come with wrongful harm.

The Reformation as a whole engaged with a wide range of issues. Things like the accessibility of the Bible and the value of everyday people were important battlegrounds. There were even socio-economic influences at play, as society experienced changes moving away from Medieval Society towards that of the Renaissance. Politics was an ever close issue with many utilising the commotion of the time to their own personal advantage. Even science and technology was a factor, the development of the printing press being an important element of the distribution of Reformation material.

But its enduring effect, the heart of its continued meaning, is still its exploration of the doctrine of salvation. In challenging the tradition and teachings of the Catholic Church, the reformers established with force and clarity the Scriptures witness to the gospel being all about Jesus, by grace, through faith and for the glory of God.

These truths are the source of our confidence and hope. And while they were always there in the Bible, witnessing to God’s goodness, the Reformation’s rediscovery of them, and the consequent insistence on them as central, helps us to hold on to the foundation we have as Christians. We ought to give thanks to God for this movement as it continues to shape how we do Church and how we understand our faith.

It is regularly noted that the great lesson of the Reformation is that we need to constantly be looking to God’s Word. The truth of Jesus and the gospel are revealed there. But perhaps the great lesson that is often overlooked is the Church’s great need for unity. That a schism or split was necessary is regrettable. The simple reality is that the Christian witness was and is still today, compromised as the world see’s two (and more) separate groups, who both call themselves Christian.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus himself says this –

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Jesus prays that believers would be united. And that this unity would be so rich that it would be like that of the Trinity. This is no small thing, and its impact is profound. The Church as it is joined together, and as it is joined also to God, then becomes a witness, a proof, that Jesus is who he says he is. In short, the unity of the Church is evangelistic: a God given source of confidence in the gospel, one of our best and most compelling arguments for the Christian faith.

Our unity as Christians is God ordained. It is His intention that it would testify to the truth of the gospel. And it has been given to us in Jesus. We must do everything we can to maintain and uphold it, and to build it up, even when the threats are not immediately clear.

How many times has the question been posed, “What’s the difference between Catholics and Protestants”, or “Why are there so many different denominations”, and “How come the views of one Church can be so completely opposite to another?” There are answers to these questions, but when asked they reflect a confusion about what Christianity really is. And it all comes with a feeling that Jesus makes less sense, that the gospel is less real, that the Christian faith is less true, because those that proclaim it are divided.

The impact isn’t limited to our witness and evangelism. It also affects our fellowship. How often have we ourselves, Christians, wrestled to reconcile the real division we sometimes experience with the glory and goodness that should be? It is a special frustration to sit across a table from another believer who you know stands a world away from you on an issue you’ve been discussing.

Unity is important, far more important than we have typically given it credit for. We need to learn to make Jesus truly central. Only then will other things, important things that we may disagree on, be unable to drive a wedge between us.

While few of us will have the opportunity to speak into worldwide Christianity, every single one of us has a place in our little local Church. So let’s make sure we promote unity where we are right now, and that we are humbly looking to God and the goodness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are saved by grace through faith alone, even as we wrestle to find it.

May a remembrance of the Reformation help us be thankful for God and the many ways he has preserved gospel truth in our world. And may it teach us to humbly and tenaciously pursue the unity we have already been given in Christ. 

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:1-4)

The 2016 Federal Election is on in just under a week. Have you decided who to vote for?

Election campaigns have never really been entirely civil affairs. There’s always been plenty of mud-slinging and personal attack, plenty of lies and empty promises. It seems to me though, more than in recent years, that it’s hard to really see what the candidates and parties before us stand for. Whether the issues at hand are moral and ethical or social and economic, it really feels like the options we have are difficult to trust.

That’s a hard proposition in any election, but perhaps it seems more pointed this time around given the number of present issues that are close to the Christian heart. This isn’t a “tell you how to vote” piece. It’s just a simple call for perspective.  

There is much that rides on the positions and policies of the political parties that represent us. Some of them represent the Christian position on non-gospel matters better than others. But we also feel the weight of the fact that we see no party that captures our positions perfectly. Where a party appears reasonable to us on one issue, they are completely unacceptable on another.

For many the end result seems to be fear – that we will lose out on some issue whoever the victor is.

When the Apostle Paul writes to his ministry colleague, Timothy, he addresses the Christian attitude towards their governing authorities. And the command here is to pray – to pray and give thanks for the government we have, and will have. Notice the reason for such prayers. It’s so that Christians would be able to live lives of peace and godliness. And not only that, but these peaceable and godly lives are regarded as good and pleasing to the God who wants to see people saved.

There is a connection here between the God who wants all people to be saved and the government. And it’s the Christians who pray and live good lives. It’s their conduct which points to God and the salvation that he has promised.

Notice that there is no reference to whether or not this government believes Christian things. This Christian witness, which bears forth from peace and godliness, is one that stands regardless of the climate – regardless of whether Christian faith is experiencing a period of patronage or persecution.

This same sentiment is clear in 1 Peter 2:11-25. We must submit to authorities. It is God that has put them in place. They exist to do justice. And where they do not, Christians are called to endure it well, to suffer even. To point to God and our trust in Jesus. To show, that faith lives for something bigger: For God and eternal life.

A government that holds to some or even many non-Christian positions does not curtail the Christian mission. Nor does it prevent the return of Jesus and the coming of the New Heavens and the New Earth. It is not the end of the world. Those things depend on God. And we make a critical error when we believe that any given government can make or break our experience of life, as if the present is what we are living for.

It comes down to perspective.

We need a perspective that sees eternity as bigger than the present. We need a perspective that sees God as the one in control. We need a perspective that says all things, whether pleasant or painful, are things through which God calls us to minister the gospel to our world.  

So pray for our government and the one to come. And do not fear. God is over them, has even appointed them. And whether we walk happily alongside or struggle against the positions and policies they hold, our godliness and peaceful conduct will testify to the truth and the one whom we follow. 

The long wait is over. On Facebook, we are no longer limited to ‘likes’, but can now ‘love’, ‘haha’, ‘wow’, ‘sad’ and ‘angry’, whatever comes our way. Oh, what liberty! The success of the feature is debateable. As far as I can tell, ‘likes’ are still far and above the preferred reaction. But perhaps that is just a matter of time and getting used to a larger variety of options. Whatever the case, it is perhaps timely for us to consider again the place that social media platforms have in our lives, particularly when it comes to the building of relationships.

 “All we wanted was a dislike button”, some have said. I for one am glad that that’s exactly what we didn’t get. The online world is negative enough already. Facebook’s approach with reactions, I think, is relatively helpful. It’s not about casting judgment on something. And there’s too much vagueness for a ‘dislike’ to be misunderstood anyway. Rather it’s seeking to share how we feel a little more clearly. And all without breaking the mould of what make ‘likes’ interesting to begin with.

But clearer does not necessarily mean more substantial.

The risk of course is that we might feel this new semblance of precision as able substitute for a more concrete expression of our connections with each other. It is after all easier and more convenient for us to click that button. And in that action perhaps we feel like we have done our part to connect and care for the people that we are ‘friends’ with.

But really we all know that there is not really such a thing as efficiency in relationships. We all know that the ‘reaction’, the ‘like’, even the casual post on a person’s wall, isn’t sufficient to build or even maintain a meaningful relationship. What we need is real time, real effort, and real energy. What we all need is to be able to see and believe that those around us are willing and able to cast off their own conveniences in order to care for us.  

Don’t substitute your ability to live your empathetic frustration, love or concern out with the ability to indicate it on Facebook. Build relationships by being there for people, rather than suggesting relationship by simply indicating your agreement.

Perhaps this is partly why we are exhorted to physically meet together in Hebrews 10:24-25. The function of caring for each other and growing together as God’s people can’t be fully realised without actual time together. Most clear though is that this is what love and care for one another really looks like. Just as, in 1 John 3:16-18, we see that God’s love in us is something that should not be limited to mere words, neither should our feelings towards the things going on in each other’s lives be limited to our ‘reactions’.

In some ways this is just another, “beware of the inadequacy of the internet in your relationships”, kind of article. But don’t be fooled into thinking that it isn’t a real issue. While it is a useful tool, and in some circumstances the only one we have, it is also something that for various reasons has had the effect of making us feel distant from each other despite our constant connectivity. At best, it is something that adds value to our relationships. But at worst, it steals away the very thing that makes relationships great. And all while making us believe that there is nothing missing.

In the movie Wall-E, the human dependence on technology is caricatured as inevitably leading to a point of overwhelming obesity and utter incapacity. It is a caricature, but perhaps the risk is real, at least in the relational arena, when it comes to our unthinking appropriation of relationship by proxy. We don’t need a middle man (i.e. the internet) to make connections with each other. It is something that is inbuilt and part of our very nature as people. Sometimes it is inconvenient, but perhaps that is the point. Over time that very inconvenience is what proves that it is of self-sacrificial love, and what makes it such a compelling and beautiful thing.

In our modern experience, the very nature of what it means to be connected has changed, and it leaves us wanting, craving even, for better and deeper relationships that we can see, and feel, and live out. I, like probably everyone reading this, have a large number of people categorised as ‘friends’ on Facebook. And I do genuinely think of them as friends. And yet they aren’t in the same category of those friends that I see week to week, and talk to regularly. In and amongst the frantic pace of life, don’t allow your friendships to be simplified by the convenience of the internet. Rather jump into the complicated and oftentimes inefficient act of meeting together. And it will bear fruit.

God’s care and concern for us was not something they he simply indicated. It went much further than mere words. It was shown in the real life provision of his Son. We may have many different means of indicating our care for each other, but there is no substitute for the life of loving self sacrifice. 

Many times over the last few months, I’ve found myself looked down at a screaming and crying baby, and thought to myself, “What on earth do you want?” It is in fact an almost daily occurrence… It’s a moment in which I find myself wishing that I could converse with them, even at this young age, and simply ask what is going on, what is wrong, what can I do to help…

And then, when I try to put myself in their shoes, and try to look at things from their perspective with their rationality and development, I think, how terribly frustrating it must be to constantly be misunderstood, constantly unable to communicate your feelings and wishes. How alienating is it to be surrounded by friends and family, and yet still be incapable of understanding and engaging?

I wonder who is more frustrated. Me or them? It’s probably them…

Actually this kind of frustration isn’t even limited to those first months of life. It’s really something we experience throughout our lives. It’s the difficulty of communicating, of real understanding and real empathy that comes up in all our relationships, whether they are intimate, familial, friendly, or professional.

We’ve all been there haven’t we? Where we are chatting happily with a colleague or friend or neighbour and in some strange twist the topic of our faith in Jesus comes up. We hold our breaths. We know that this could abruptly end the conversation. But it doesn’t, and our hearts begin to thud. Could this be? Could this be the opportunity we’ve been waiting for, to share the gospel with someone we know?

And with much trepidation we go for it. We talk of sin and death and of Jesus. We talk of a cross and of resurrection and of hope. We say salvation is available, reconciliation is possible, and that we can have a relationship with God.

Then we look up and we see a faint smile, a flat nod. It’s pleasant but dismissive. This gospel presentation of ours has fallen flat, and there is no effect. Frustration. Why didn’t it work? How is it so impotent? It can’t be the message, perhaps it was the presentation. Was it too technical? Was something missing? Am I the problem?

Perhaps we are simply not speaking the same language. English yes, but perhaps there is more to communicating the gospel to those around us than simply saying the right words.

In Acts 17:16-34, Paul is preaching the gospel in Athens and it is a setting that is ripe with culture. We’re given an insight into the Athenian worldview with references to the prevalence of idols, their philosophical heritage as well as their interest in spiritual things. And it is in this background that Paul speaks in a profoundly sensitive way. His ‘gospel presentation’ doesn’t carry all the elements of the gospel that we are used to, but instead pitches the message of Christ in a way that speaks to their heart. It is not that those details that are ‘missing’ aren’t important or aren’t true, but that the gospel should be conveyed as something that answers our deepest needs and desires.

Paul listened and understood the conversations that the Athenians were themselves having, and helped them see how the gospel applied to them. He did not speak of Old Testament fulfilment, as he does when speaking to Jews (e.g. Acts 13:13-41; 17:1-4), but speaks their language, showing them how the gospel allows the one true God to be knowable and accessible.

Similarly, our efforts to share the gospel need to be sensitive and understanding of the worldview of those we live with. It means we have to listen and understand, not just the gospel, but the people we want to speak it to. We have to learn to share our stories, and dialogue through them, rather than make presentations that are exclusively based on our views and expectations.

We have to meet people where they are at, rather than demanding that they come to us. We have to help people see that there is something that can meet their needs, rather than expecting them to come around on things that only address ours. In the end, what we really have to do is see that our evangelism and engagement with others is an exercise in love, where we present the truth for all that it is but do so in a way that serves them and puts their needs first.

Perhaps too often our mentality is one of winning. We want to be able to defeat the arguments of our detractors and be proven right. And sometimes we even feel that we have fallen short of the task if there was no conversion. We feel that it is based on the strength (or weakness) of our arguments that a person accepts (or rejects) the gospel.

The reality though is that we aren’t the ones that make a person believe. God is. He uses what we have, with all our shortcomings and inadequacies and brings people to faith. He does the miracle that we cannot and changes people in their heart. And so our task is not to win, or to force, or to compel. It is to simply bear witness, with honesty, sensitivity and empathy.  

The next time you are faced with the prospect of sharing your faith, ask yourself, whose language are you speaking?

Some questions to consider:

1. How well do you listen to their stories?
2. What are the felt needs of the culture of those around you? How does Jesus provide a solution to them?
3. What terms and ideas are you using for your Christian experience that don’t carry the same meaning for others?

What would you do if, during September or October, you were at your local supermarket and you came across Christmas advertising and Christmas products being prominently displayed? If you’re anything like me, you’d probably do a bit of a double take, and then a silent frustration would slowly rise inside. It’s too early isn’t it? We’re more than 2 months out from Christmas, how can shops be asking for people’s Christmas spending already!

Now we can rage at the commercialisation of a Christian holiday and all that, but what if it wasn’t a sale or some sort? What if we saw a proper nativity scene or a Christmas display or what if we heard carollers singing of the baby Jesus in the middle of June?

We would think it was strange.

Human expectation is a powerful thing. It can be all that determines whether we find something normal or odd, straight forwards or difficult. The celebration of Christmas is something we expect to do in the Christmas season, and an experience of Christmassy festivities outside of that limited time frame strikes us as unbalanced.

Rightly, as Christians committed to the person of Jesus Christ, we agitate over the dilution of the true Christmas message when the holiday is just an excuse for gifts and gluttony. And rightly we are uncomfortble with the commercial machinery that seeks to stretch out the material opportunity as much as possible. And yet that true Christmas message is one that shouldn’t be bound by the designated time of year that we traditionally commemorate it. Is it not part of the ‘true’ Christmas message, that Christ’s birth and entry into our world is a momentous reality on every day of the year?

This is the foolishness of Christmas. A designated day of the year, or perhaps a designated season, in which we are so focussed on this one profound truth that we become blind to it at other times. And not only that, in the all consuming bonanza that is Christmas, we also become blind to other truths, choosing instead to lock in with what is presented before us.

And yet still there is something about our human experience that requires our thoughts and our energies to be directed into something focussed in order for us to really appreciate it. We need a time or season that is set aside to consider something like the birth of Jesus deeply if we’re to really engage with it and be enamoured by its importance. Like a birthday or an anniversary, the celebration of the day marks its value to us, even though the profundity and significance of life, or commitment or whatever we are celebrating, is something that is truly remarkable each and every day.

And so this is the wisdom of Christmas. A designated day of the year, or perhaps a designated season, in which we are so focussed on this one profound truth that we are able to see it clearly and reflect on it deeply, in a way that we have perhaps not afforded to because of all the other goings on of our lives.

The wisdom and folly of Christmas. Where does it leave us? Perhaps its wisdom ought to protect us from its folly. Perhaps the focus on Jesus’ birth, the renewing of our appreciation of its truth and importance, ought to build us up in such a way that we are mindful of it in the seasons to come. Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, yes, but it’s the gospel message that it is part of that’s truly important. Christ’s entrance into our world is a reminder of Jesus’ incarnation, sure, but it is a story of God’s salvation that has begun and finds its climax on the cross.

Consider then Philippians 2:6-11 – a thoroughly non Christmassy passage, that has Christmas all over it.

In your relationship with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I suppose that’s why we celebrate. Merry Christmas!

May it be full of the grace of God as we remember Jesus and all that he has done. And may its truth fill us with a peace and joy that lasts beyond the Christmas season as we are refreshed in the gospel of Christ. 

In 1979 Douglas Adams answered one of humanity’s great questions. The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, was 42. This was of course in the fictional novel titled “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” where a supercomputer called Deep Thought pondered the issue for 7.5 million years. The irony of course was that though the answer was revealed, it was fundamentally meaningless as no one knew what the ultimate question was. Perhaps this irony was a comment, on the foolish nature of a humanity that greedily seeks knowledge and answers without a real sense of understanding or wisdom.

Adams’ answer might be a bit of a joke, but the fact is that the question is not. This question of the meaning of life is a real one, and one that countless people over countless generations have pondered and struggled with. Even now, though we may not always think in such philosophical terms, our thoughts in the everyday life pose this very question. When we go to our jobs and feel deflated at the seemingly inconsequential nature of our efforts we are asking ourselves whether or not there is true value to what we do. When we are dissatisfied with our current position or lack of advancement, our feeling is that there are bigger and better uses of our time and energy. When we go to school or university and feel that the things we study are ultimately just matters of knowledge but not real life, we recognise that there is more to life than the things that we know and do. And when we are troubled by the sense that decisions we make now have monumental life consequences, we are sensing that there really should be greater purpose or greater reason for making the choices that make. Our frustrations and our confusions, those feelings of futility and our desires for meaning, are all reflections of this one same sentiment, that there has got to be more to life than just the comings and goings of life.

We may not all wrestle with this meaning of life stuff in the same way, but we do all wrestle with it. Everyone desires purpose and meaning. Everyone wants to know why we are here and why we live.

Many things have been attempted in pursuit of an answer. Whether it is religion or philosophy, science or society, people from all walks of life and from all kind of disciplines have sought to concretely provide an ultimate meaning to our existence. These things can get complicated, so perhaps a more straight forward and simple approach would be of benefit. We do not always have to wrestle with difficult and complex reasoning in order to come to rich conclusions. We should simply start somewhere at the beginning.

The question then of why we are here can only be answered if we understand what we are. Put another way, meaning and purpose is derived from definition. The purpose of a cup is a product of the nature of a cup. The purpose of a car is derived from the nature of a car. These things are made with a purpose, and the purpose with which they are made are in their definition. And so it is with humanity. Our purpose and reason for being can only be begun to be understood if we have a clear idea of our definition. We can only know why we are here, if we have understood what we are.

This is (one reason) why the creation account in the opening chapters of Genesis is so important. Regardless of one’s beliefs about how the world is created, what is clear is that God is the creator. And that as creator, there is something special about how God created people.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Gen. 1:26-17)

What are we? Well there seem to be two important things here. Firstly, that we are created by God. Secondly, that we are created in God’s image. Notice the emphasis in these verses really is on our being made in God’s image. Surely this has to be the starting point for any reflection on the meaning and purpose of our existence. What we are determines why we are here. What we are is created by God in His own image.

We have been made by God as reflections of Himself. And so in our lives, we exist to bear that image. There is nothing more fulfilling than fulfilling our function. Thus it is our joy and not surprise, nor insult that God would declare that we have been made for His glory. We are not independent and neutral beings that are coerced and forced into the glory of another. No, this was the purpose for which we were made from the beginning. We exist because the glory of God is a goal or function that the creator deemed necessary to fulfil. In his grace, life is his chosen way.

And not only is this the case, but as image bearers, we also do it in a special way. We don’t exist as glory givers to God by having ‘glorious lives’. It is not simply that glorious deeds and great achievements bring honour to God. It actually ought to be in everything that we do, whether they are things of interest or things of mundanity, because we are doing them in ways which are God-like. We do it by reflecting the character and nature of God in our lives, by being an actual ‘image’ of Him. It is the justice and righteousness, the humility and peace, the goodness and fairness and the kindness. It is these sorts of things that follow the nature our existence. We are not glory doers so much as we are image bearers.

And this is, amongst other reasons, precisely why we need Jesus. Jesus is the only true image bearer, the only one who does it all perfectly. We can’t truly find this meaning or purpose without relationship with Him, without his salvation and reconciliation, justification, sanctification… We need the gospel and everything it entails.

What is the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything? It is not 42, nor is it success or victory, power or prestige. It is that we bear God’s image and we exist to reflect his likeness and therefore his glory in whatever it is we are doing. And it is that we can find this peaceful satisfaction of purpose and meaning in Christ.

Sometimes this does not seem like the answer. It is not some silver bullet solution that magically takes away all those feelings of frustration and futility, the discontentment that we all wrestle with. And certainly there is more that needs to be said on the matter. But it is the starting point to understanding with some biblical clarity what exactly God has put us here for. It has to start here if our sense of why we are is to match with our understanding of what we are.

Some questions to consider:

1. What does it mean to bear God’s image when you are frustrated or tired of work or study, especially when there is no end in sight?
2. How does bearing God’s image affect the way we speak to and live with our husbands, wives, parents or children?
3. Does seeing ourselves as bearing God’s image make the present, earthly life more or less important? Why?
4. How should seeing other people as image bearing change the way we engage with them?

We’ve all been there haven’t we?
That awkward silence after we’ve exhausted conversation about the weather and the latest TV show. Or when a friend has told us something bad that has happened and we just don’t know what to do or say. Or those times when we’ve received some well intentioned but slightly thoughtless advice or comfort. Maybe we have given some ourselves…

Life is hard. We need each other.

But how do we move beyond niceties and shallow commiserations to deep, scriptural, gospel centred relationships?
How do we walk with each other in wisdom and in love?
How does the gospel inform the way we do friendship and everyday counsel in the church?

Recently Fievel and I went to a workshop based on a book titledSide by Side: Walking with others in Wisdom and Loveby Ed Welch. It is practical advice for all Christians on how we can live lives of love for others. 

When it comes to helping others we can easily fall into one of two categories. Some of us feel inadequate to help others and are often afraid we will make things worse. We have self doubts that say, “Who are we to help someone else?  We don’t even have our own lives together.” Thoughts of our own weaknesses and failures disqualify us to help others. And so we leave the helping to others who seem more “capable” or to the experts. Others of us love to help others, but we can come across as self-sufficient, self-righteous or even too intrusive, lacking compassion and sensitivity.

You are needy

The workshop and the book kicked off with the idea that “those who help best are the ones who both need help and give help”. This was not what I expected. I went to the workshop expecting to dive straight into learning how to help “others”. Not once did it cross my mind that I needed to realise and address the reality of my own neediness. Welch stated, “Your neediness qualifies you to help others.” It is when we become more and more aware of how needy we are of God and of others that we begin to become useful. But I suspect that, if you are anything like me, it’s not easy to ask for help. We spend a lot of time hiding our neediness because we are afraid of what people will think. I am so much more happy to give help than to ask for it, to appear strong or at least competent. But necessary humility is what enables effective counsel. When we let go of our pride, we invite others into our struggles. When we let go of our idolatry of self-sufficiency, we are allowed into other people’s struggles. Jesus himself introduced an era where weakness is the new strength.

But it’s more than just admitting our neediness before others, it is also realising the reality of our ongoing neediness before God. We are needy because life is full of difficulties. Our hearts are easily drawn away from God and the pressures in our lives will expose what is really going on in our hearts. Admitting and practicing our own neediness begins by confessing to God and asking for his help on a regular basis.

How often have I tried to solve things myself before turning to God?  How often do I actually think about my sins and confess them to God?

You are needed

Having been made aware of my own neediness, the workshop moved on to talk about how we are all needed in the work of personal ministry to others. God wants us to be ordinary people who minister his extraordinary Word to others. Welch writes that he has written the book for “people like me, who are willing to move towards other struggling people but are not confident that they can say or do anything very helpful. If you feel quite weak and ordinary- if you feel like a mess but have the Spirit- you have the right credentials.  You are one of the ordinary people God uses to help others.” In this section Welch offered uber-practical advice on how to help each other better from how we can have thoughtful conversations to how to talk about sin with one another and to pray scripturally for and with one another especially in times of trouble and suffering.

Pray during trouble

One of the most helpful insights (there were many) I took away from the workshop and the book was thinking more about how to pray during trouble. When we pray we not only come alongside the sufferer but we bring God and the suffering together. We can certainly pray for whatever is on our friend’s heart but we also want to pray for the deeper spiritual realities beyond the seeable circumstances such as a job, a dating relationship, an exam or a physical illness.  We want Scripture to reshape those prayers and to take them further. 

An example from the book:

Our friend asks us to pray for healing of an illness.  We know that beyond the physical illness, there can be deeper spiritual battles that raises questions about God’s care and goodness. And so we can ask our friend how we can focus our prayers:

“I know that sometimes sickness reveals some faith struggles for me, I can start to doubt God.  How is your faith in the midst of all this?” 

I was also challenged me to think about how I share my prayer point with others in line with this.  I can always share life’s circumstances, but I can also share the deeper spiritual realities behind my circumstances to help another’s focus on how they can pray for me.  

A personal example:

“Please pray for the preparation of the birth of our baby.” I could leave it there but I can also help others see the deeper realities. “Please pray that as I get more tired, I wouldn’t use that as an excuse for my irritability and impatience towards my husband.  Please ask that God will help me to remain loving when I just want to be selfish.”

Side by Side: Walking with others in wisdom and love

It is impossible to do the book justice by my words here. I encourage you to read it if you have any desire to see Christian communities move beyond cliches and niceties to deep, scriptural Christlike relationships in this age of separation and individualism.

Life is hard.  We are both needy and needed.  So Let us walk side by side with each other.

Over the last few months we’ve had brief looks at the descriptions and functions of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit when they were considered independently. Ultimately however this was so that we would be able to more clearly understand who God is as a whole.  So today we are going to think about what we mean when we say that we believe in a Triune God, and hopefully that will lend even more weight and value to our worship of the God that we meet in the Scriptures. Our aim is not to master the subject, something that is not really possible, but rather for us to begin to appreciate it and see how it can build up our devotional lives.

Firstly we ought to acknowledge that there is only one God. When the Scriptures affirm this, they are affirming that the God of the Bible is the only true God and therefore the only God that we ought to worship. This does not mean that God is ‘one’ in every way we can imagine that a being might be ‘one’. Only that God is the one and only God.

Secondly, as we should be able to see in our survey regarding the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, they are each divine, and independently so. This is to say that they are each God in their own right. They are personal beings who have their own interactions with the world. They are not simply different modes of forms of the one being, but are distinguishable in their own right. They are each fully God, and not mere parts of God who are only recognisable as divine when considered together. 

Now classically put, God is three persons but one essence or substance. The Athanasian Creed puts it like this – 

That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence. For there is one Person of the Father; another of the Son; and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one; the Glory equal, the Majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is; such is the Son; and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated; the Son uncreated; and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited; the Son unlimited; and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father eternal; the Son eternal; and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals; but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated; nor three infinites, but one uncreated; and one infinite. So likewise the Father is Almighty; the Son Almighty; and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties; but one Almighty. So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods; but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord; the Son Lord; and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords; but one Lord … And in this Trinity none is before, or after another; none is greater, or less than another. But the whole three Persons are coeternal, and coequal. So that in all things, as aforesaid; the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped. 

This is to say that they are three distinct personal existences but one being that is God. This envisages that God is in perfect unity with himself as each person mutually indwells the other (Consider Jn. 10:37-39, 14:8-11, 17:20-21). And so though each person may perform different functions and have different roles to play, they are each considered equal in divinity and worth to each other. God is three, but three in a different way to which he is one. God is one, but one in a different way to that which he is three.  

Naturally this is something of a conundrum to us as we try to understand its inner workings. We struggle with it on logical and philosophical grounds, but actually our consideration needs to go much further than that. We have to remember here that this is theology. Our definition of who God is comes from Scripture. We do not simply ignore or discount information that we find difficult to understand or reconcile. Rather we are called to trust in God’s self revelation through Christ and the Scriptures. Part of our struggle here is that there is information that we do not have. Though it is tempting, we cannot fall into the trap of assigning to God an existence that is drawn from the nature of ours. Instead, those things that we have and yet are difficult for us ought to be ‘chewed’ on, that our reflection and consideration would lead to understanding. And at the same time we need to accept the inherent mystery that is God himself; that it is presumptuous for us to expect to be able to understand Him beyond what He himself has revealed, and that what we cannot and do not know and understand are not causes to reject him.

When we consider the doctrine of the Trinity, though we do not grasp it perfectly, we should be able to see its mark on the things that we believe as Christians. It is in the salvation plan of the cross, it’s in how we think of prayer. It’s in our view of Church as well as what it means to live as a Christian in the world. It’s in the creation, and certainly in our understanding of the future that is promised.  It really is in everything, and our understanding of what God has done and is doing will only be richer when we learn to recognise the Father’s, the Son’s and the Holy Spirit’s part. 

So rather than just taking it as given, why don’t you consider it? Take something that you are learning about or have been wrestling with, and ask yourself where the Trinity is. What parts are the Father, Son and Holy Spirit playing, and how is the one triune God over it all? 

At the end of the day a consideration of the Trinity ought to deepen our worship. We exist to worship God, and that only gets richer as we recognise better who he is. And whether we learn something incredible in our reflection, or find things still a bit hard to grasp, the simple task of affirming the truth as we have received it in the Scriptures, benefits us in our faith. 

Recently my Facebook feed has been inundated with posts about the new reality TV show Married at First Sight.  

For those denying knowing anything about the show, it is a reality show that first hit our TV screen in May this year.  Marketed as a “social experiment”, the show features four couples, matched “perfectly” by three experts (a psychologist, a relational psychologist and a neuropsychotherapist), who agree to marry when they meet for the very first time.  The couples get married to a complete stranger in front of their family and friends, go away on honeymoon and spend a month living together.  At the end of this time, they have an opportunity to choose whether they both want to continue with their marriage.  

As silly as the premise of the show may sound, it attracted an average of one million views each episode, with the finale ranking #1 in its time slot. 

So what is the fascination with Married at First Sight?  

One journalist summed it up nicely, “We know it’s not the real thing. We know it’s not good for us. If asked, we will probably deny consuming it at all. But it hits the spot. Especially that packet flavour of mild-spice mixed with future-regret. Yum.” (Hardie, 2015)1

What is the spot that it hits?

Is it just wanting to see how people could put themselves in such an awkward position? Do we find it entertaining to see how these couples will fall apart in the weeks after the elation of the wedding?  

Maybe it hits a deeper spot.  A spot that actually wants to see these couples succeed, a belief that these couples can find true love.  That true love is well and alive today.  A spot that takes us back to our childhood where love stories were fairytales and people did live happily-ever-after.  

It’s that vulnerable spot we know to be there when our relationships disappoint us.  When we go through yet another disappointing date, yet another heartbreak, yet another unfulfilled expectation.  

It’s a vulnerable spot that doesn’t go away with marriage.  

After the elation of the wedding day and the honeymoon, reality sets in that you are two very different people with different personalities, different upbringings, and ways of doing things.  Conflicts surface, patience and romance can be easily lost.  

Maybe that does make me question whether it would have worked out better if experts found me my “perfect match”.  I am not talking about plunging in to marry a complete stranger on my wedding day but at least that a bunch of surveys and interviews can find me my perfect match.  It’s like the traditional matchmaker but with three PhDs and a bunch of scientific and psychological research to back up their decision.  Maybe somehow that will stop some of the difficulties, the conflicts, the disappointments, the heartaches we potentially face in marriage?  

But will it?

Perfect compatibility at the beginning of a marriage does not guarantee a conflict-less, heartache-less, happily-ever-after marriage.  Marriage will always be a union between two very imperfect people.  We bring into our marriages… baggage… and lots of it.  The key to a lasting marriage is not if our baggage is perfectly compatible, but it’s a COMMITMENT to carry each other’s baggage no matter what.  There is no review date after living together for one month…six months…six years…sixty.

It’s a lifelong commitment.

In Christian marriages, in particular when this commitment is not only to each other but also to God, we are to be “as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

It’s about commitment not just compatibility.    

What do you think?

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1. Hardie, G. (2015). I do! what we learned from Marriage at First Sight. The New Daily. [online] Available at: http://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/2015/06/22/married-first-sight-says-marriage/ [Accessed 5 Jul. 2015].