Trust

Recently I have been traveling through Italy a little on holidays but also using the time to think about what's ahead in life, and where that might be. Thinking in this way as you move about another country I think helps you to pick out more of the little things which are different in the culture from those you are m more familiar with - not just the big things which you j have probably already heard about before you left.

I found myself asking this question - what qualities or things in life are really important to me? I thought of a number of different things but want to focus on just one, trust - and connected with that, truth.

These are two different qualities which I think we often attribute to being universal b but in actual fact, in some ways, are a lot more cultural than what we might have previously realized. This is not to compete however with universal and absolute truths but more with how these are understood, what they mean within a culture.

If you tell someone something and trust them not to share it with others, what does that mean? If somebody else asks about it are they to lie, either outright of by omission? Or is it okay to share it with family and close friends whom they share everything with normally? Or can they share about it with anyone providing they don't say who it is? Or maybe they can share vague details and say who it is? And then what about when they want to help, either by prayer, support of some kind, or more practically or directly - can they share then, and how much?

I can think of situations with different people from different cultures where each of these is acceptable and maintaining the trust given them, and also of situations with different people from different cultures where each of these would break the trust given to them. So in this way, trust and what that means is imbedded into our culture.

There are two main problems with trust - the first is the existence of secrets, and the second is human error. I think the problem with secrets and trust is an obvious one but with human error let me give two examples. The first, 'don't worry, I'll catch you - trust me' and they don't. What's gone wrong? They've misjudged their capabilities, or the distance/landing place, or between distracted for a moment, or weren't ready when the other person decided to drop... Human error. The second human error is in regards to truths and our understanding of conceptions of the world. For example, take into consideration the religions of the world - one might say this is truth while another says that it is truth and the previous is a lie - we must consider what is being said and decide which one is telling the trek other and which one is lying... Or are they both lying, but they can't both be telling the truth. Or consider previous scientific principles and discoveries which in further years have been proven to be false, a misunderstanding of the information at hand, or rather missing an important piece of information to complete the puzzle correctly.

If trust is implicitly problematic and not really ever truly particle considering the above problems and its grounding in culture, why is it so important to us? I would suggest that it's because of these very reasons that it is so important to us. Trust, rather than being imbedded in culture or always delivering disappointment is rather rooted in the fundamental human relationship.

There are many different levels and ideas of trust but the real trust which we look for is in the idea that we can know and understand another human being so well that there is an explicit understanding of exactly what they mean. A trust which goes beyond words and into the depths of who that person is, subconsciously knowing their body language which says often so much more than what comes from their mouths.

And then there is the trust which is rooted into the confidence one had with an absolute truth. It is not an idea that we put trust into as much as some people would like to say that it is, but trust always belongs to a being. They may trust a friend, relative, of teacher who told them about this; or they may trust in themselves and their own understanding of the way things are, but for some they trust in an invisible and eternal being who is so much more trustworthy than any other since he had known us since the beginning of the world and promises to be with us into eternity - He knows us completely in a way that no other ever can, he understands, and while we don't know him the same way he never changes so only truth comes from him and he invites us to come and know him in a similar way, even if it will take eternity - it is an adventure and relationship greater than any other.

Do you have any thoughts on trust???

what is strange

"7+8=15"

 

This is how a recent conversation I had started - it then continued through talking about head space, washing powder, bright colours, snow, frogs, and toilets, just to name a few. This is not an unusual conversation for me to find myself in but it suddenly occurred to me that such a conversation may be very strange for others to hear.

 

Our past, our personality, our situation, all affect the way in which we react to different things. What we consider normal and what things we find strange. I am certain that at some point that most (if not all) people whom I have met have found me strange, not necesarily in a bad way, but just different.

 

I'm not afraid of what people think, most of the time, which allows me to simply be the person I have been created to be. Some might ask, well who is that person, and the answer is not simple but the most important I shall put before you now. I am my parents child, my Fathers daughter, a sister to many, a sinner, a saint, and an individual.

 

Now some of those you many not understand so I will explain a few of the terms here.

• By parents I mean my earthly Mother and Father.
• By Father, I mean my Father in Heaven, God, Creator.
• As I am in Christ, all those whom are also in Him are sisters and brothers.
• A sinner is someone who sins. To sin is to do something opposed to God - at some point most every day I put myself first which is opposed to God.
• By saint I mean I am one of many (similar to sister) who are seen righteous because of Jesus.

So while I may be a little strange to some, and most conversations are always interesting, I am certain of who I am. Oh, and if you would like to hear any of the stories behind the afore mentioned topics which came up in our conversation, just ask!

 

God Bless

La la La, da DA de dum!

Here in Cambridge, the atmosphere is changing as the students are all arriving ready to start the new term this coming week, the holidays are over, and it's all back to work. The days are getting shorter and the wind is increasing. The most is made of the sunshine when it appears but primarily now it's raincoats and closed shoes that you see everywhere.

 

With all the students arriving for university it got me thinking about my own time at university in Australia. I have such a short attention span that I'm always amazed that I made it through my degree. I had to come up with a lot of different strategies to help me get there though.

 

The Institute for Learning Styles Research breaks up the way individuals learn into seven basic categories. These are print (read), aural (hear), visual (see), haptic (touch), interactive (repeat), kinesthetic (do), and olfactory (smell & taste). Everybody learns through a combination of these but work and learn better with some rather than others. For me, those some are haptic, kinesthetic, and interactive (with a lot of crossover into visual).

 

These aren't the ideal learning styles for studying at university - and honestly a lecture was way too long for me to stay attentive for (my mind drifted off topic). Taking notes helped but because I'm really not a print person, it didn't help a lot. I do like pictures though - and I can remember them - so sometimes I would take lecture notes in image form. This worked sometimes but not all topics lent themselves towards images (ie. I couldn't put pictures to math equations). Practicals were the best as this didn't require effort to change up the learning style given but just go with the flow (follow on) - unless they were computer based which goes pack to the print style learning - this wasn't so good. Sometimes I would imagine (picutre in my mind) I was doing the things I was putting into the computer for real - this helped. As I was studying a form of Earth Science sometimes I would take a 'field trip' to an area like that which we were currently studying (beach, mountains, lakes, etc.)to see and feel just what I was looking at on a page - somehow this made it make much more sense. One other method I came up with was to sometimes 'act out' my lectures - go back over notes and put movements or expression into it to help me remember; or sometimes I would write the information (data, study material, lectures) into a song against an easy tune to hum.

 

This last 'method' is something which has stuck with me but in a different way, even though I did not do it a lot. When I have a slightly quieter time in my day, like when riding from one place to another, or doing the dishes or some gardening, I often find myself making up tunes to either go along with my current mood, or mimic (parallel, copy) my day so far. It's like I'm in tune with the world - and this is my tune which works together with everyone else's to make a wonderful melody (tune) of life. But sometimes I have an off day, it just wasn't quite right, and there just isn't a tune which fits, it's like you're suddenly out of tune - like you're separate from everything else.

 

It's on these days, when I feel down, out of touch, not quite right, lonely, isolated, like a floating island - on these days that I remember that there is so much more than just now, and that I am so much more than what's now. I remember that we are made in God's image (Genesis 1:27), that we are loved by Him (Romans 5:8), that we have a future beyond here and now (John 3:16, 1 Peter 1:3-5), and that nothing can ever separate us from this (Romans 8:38-39). And the great thing is that I don't need to learn these things the same way I had to learn the things for my degree because these things are shown to me every day through my relationship with God, through Jesus, by the Holy Spirit. The same way I don't need to learn that my family loves me because they show me every time I talk to them.

 

I love learning things but even better is to know something with such certainty because it is shown to you again and again, without fail. I also love to be 'in tune' with the world and what's around me, but when I'm not I still know that God will always be there to take my off beat ways and show me his own rhythm to follow - this is the most important one in my books (my opinion).

What do you think about this?

 

God Bless

 

PS - sorry, I started rambling (going on and on) a little again

In the beginning... (Shine, Part 1)

I was thinking and praying about just where abouts I could start this series as there is so much in the bible on light and then I thought, where better to start than in the beginning?? - In more than one sense of the word.

In my first blog to this address (22nd June, 2010) I did what many people do and explain why they have decided to start up a blog. And with this also why they have named it as it is. The latter I explained only briefly but did not go into a lot. An excerpt from that blog 'Beginning'...

It comes from a passage in the Bible, something I have been challenged about recently and which I will probably elaborate on in a later post, but for now.. Matthew 5: 14-16

'You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.'

We are each but a single flame yet so much light can come from us. I guess my hope for this blog is that it can be a testimony to my light. Whether I talk of myself or other things happening, that God may be using me and shining through me so that my ray of light is one that stands out amongst others, one worth following.

Is it not a wonderful passage?!?

Now for looking more at just how that imagery of Light is used in the Bible that we might be able to understand it more... lets start in the beginning!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. -John 1:1-5

Now this passage may take a little bit to explain, just giving you a heads up. I mean at the surface some of what it is saying just doesn't make sense - let's take the first sentence, the Word was with God, and was God. Isn't it one or the other? And what is the Word - how can a word be those things? And in the last sentence - how can darkness comprehend anything? But once there is a light it is no longer dark - of what is this speaking? It's all a bit of a riddle really, isn't it?

Well, let's try to make a little sense of this passage then. It starts In the beginning... so let's go back and see what's in the beginning.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was wtihout form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face fo the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.   -Genesis 1:1-3

In other parts of the Bible, or through many different parts of the Bible we find that there is three in one with God. There is only one God but within Him there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Sound complicated? It is. And it's something which you can never convince someone of - it always takes a measure of faith. It sounds too unbelievable to be able to convince anyone of it. Here, in this very first passage of the Bible, we see that the three persons of God are here - when we read it with John 1. God the Father is there - God the Spirit is there - And God the Son is there as the Word.

If we can understand this, then suddenly the first three sentences of John make sense. Those statements are no longer contradictory but supportive of one another. The first thing which is created which gives life to the world is light. Light is the leader and divider which gives life. It is to this imagery that the rest is set also.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

We know now how this is speaking of Jesus, the Son of God, who was there from the beginning, even though he came here only just over 2000 years ago. Trippy, or what? We can see how this passage is linked with Genesis to help explain things but what is it really saying about Jesus? It is saying that He is life. He is our light. And we did not comprehend who He was (we are the darkness, or rather the world is the darkness). So if we want to get away from the darkness of the world, the death that it offers, the only way to find such light, and life, is in and through Jesus - for only He can shine bright enough to overcome.

Kind of random, kind of not - what is your favourite source of light in this world??

Coming up: Shine, Part 2

God Bless

Suffering

Sooo... I was a little pre-emptive with my last blog, it seems that I have not started back up again as soon as I thought I would. Anyhow, not to dwell on what's been.

As I mentioned in my last blog I thought I'd have a look at suffering. As it so happens I don't actually have much to say on the subject... I don't think.

We often view suffering as some kind of punishment, as though since we're suffering we must have done something wrong in order to have deserved it. This has some grounding in that if we sin and continue to turn from God than we should not be surprised if we find that we are undergoing some kind of suffering. But the assumption behind this is that you only suffer if you have done wrong and this is where it is incorrect.

Think back to when you were just a child. What made you suffer and what were the motives behind it? If you are honest with yourself it is probably your parents in rebuking and disciplining you that caused much of your 'suffering'. The motives behind this should have been out of love, to show you the error of your ways that you might learn what is right and wrong, and build good character. If our earthly parents do this how much more than will our Father in Heaven do this? That we might be built up in Him with godly character through those tests and trials.

In talking of this let us not get confused with temptation though. For to tempt us is not in line with what we know of Gods character. To tempt is to call us to sin, calling us to turn to our sinful nature and not fight against it to be as we were created to be, in Gods image. Temptation comes from the devil but there is hope against it as we hear in 1 Corinthians 10:13

'No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.'

God is almighty, more powerful than the devil or any temptation.

There is but a third type of suffering. We read of Paul in Colossians 1:24

'I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church...'

 and again in 2 Timothy 1:8

'Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God...'

We are promised that as long as we are in Him and doing His work, there will be suffering. Jesus said

'If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, Yet because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you.' (John 15:18-19)

We are no longer of the world living and revelling in our sinful ways but have turned from them, repenting, to live a life of worth. We are different, we stand out, we are not accepted.

How then, why then, do we expect to be both? To live as a child of God but also enjoy comfort on a worldly scale, free from suffering on a worldly scale. We must understand that these are different. Suffering is in the world, and everyone will suffer as we are all sinful, living in a creation which is also suffering. The real question is what are we suffering for? We can suffer as the world suffers or we can suffer for the gospel in the world.

My question to you then is.. What do you think about suffering.. and what are you suffering for?

Coming up: a look at 'God's Will'

God Bless