Sunday, 16 August 2009

fatalism

How often have you heard a believer say, “but it must be God’s will..?”

Often when a decision is made or an event happens which is sanctioned by authorities or the answer to a perfectly sane request in prayer is seemingly answered ‘no.’

Often with the appointment of workers, the decisions of a corporate church leadership, the actions of the state etc.

As if the sovereignty of God means every decision of import by leadership is the enforced will of God. I sure there’s a brand of hyper-Calvinism that subscribes to this view, but it makes no sense. I’m guessing that most followers of Jesus wouldn’t really stand up for this view. But functionally it is what happens.

If something happens which is a hard decision or hurts someone or prayer isn’t answered, it’s down to God, because He's big enough to take it, He can cope with blame or spite or the difficulty.

The possibility that every decision every Christian organisation and individual makes could not only be wrong but barking mad needs to be faced by all of us. But the key possibility is that I, We, may have got all, many or most of our decisions wrong is more important. The humility of this understanding, the acknowledgment that it is easy to step out of God’s will and even easier to step back into His plan.

This underpinned by a faith in a perfect loving Father who wants nothing but the best for us and the knowledge that He does work all things (our successes and failures, right and wrong decisions) for the good of those that love Him.

Saturday, 15 August 2009

Canals and Rivers

Whilst away on a nice little break Caroline and I were walking along a canal bank.

It struck me that the British church is very much like a canal. There’s life in there, but you’re not always sure how it survives. It supports great boats that move swiftly and serenely held up it. In the past it supported massive heavy industry but now just the odd pleasure cruise.

It is immovable, fixed, easy to get into, very hard to get out of, you can easily drown in it.

Alongside the canal was a powerful, free flowing river, with a life of it’s own, running free and clear, cutting out a new path with every year and every generation. It’s shallower, but much more life giving, more fragile but more powerful, more dangerous and more productive, necessary to every generation,

As we walked we saw where the river could flow in to fill the canal and where the canal could overflow into the river. River water goes into the canal and stagnates, canal water went not the river and was cleaned and freed.