In today’s reading, Jesus does the unimaginable, forgiving the very people that were crucifying Him. Even more He asks God to let them off the hook!!!!
If we think this is because He is divine, that He could do this, remember that Stephen (the first christian martyr), also forgave his murderers [Acts 7:59-60].
This kind of forgiveness is hard – very hard – yet it seems to be something that we are called to do; what is more, our own experience of being forgiven is tied to it [Matthew 6:12-15].

Lets discuss together what forgiveness means, why its important, and why our own experience of forgiveness hinges on our forgiving others.
One thought that comes to mind is that our not forgiving others reveals that we do not realize enough how guilty we are of sinning against, and hurting, God and others. If we knew how much we need to be forgiven, then we would realize that others need it as much as us, and we need it as much as them.
Someone (?) once said: ‘Whoever refuses to forgive others burns the bridge that they themselves need to cross’.
Having said this, my guess is that a big part of the struggle with forgiveness is the emotional agaony that their wrong caused us. Some people won’t refuse (a conscious choice), but others can’t; that is, emotionally, they can’t get over the pain and anger of someone elses’ sin. They may intellectually acknowledge the need to forgive, but emotionally they cannot feel it.
This requires healing, amazing grace, Holy Spirit help, and patience. Thankfully the Lord excels in each of these areas. Jesus knows the struggle, the hurt, the sin, etc., and He also died for those struggles and sins.
What are your thoughts about forgiveness? Have you struggled with it, or have you experienced God’s help in getting to the point of forgiveness?

Hmm, what “one thing” would Jesus challenge me to give up?

Obviously there is no one word that can capture how God is. But I do wonder sometimes whether our dominant thought about God is helpful or harmful – to us and to others.
Do we primarily think of God as mad or sad… or joy-filled?
This is not an ‘either/or’ choice, but a question of God’s primary character.
The following is written by Wayne Jacobsen (co-author of The Shack), and made me think about how I primarily view God.
Be sure about this, how we view God will also show itself in how people primarily experience us. We will ‘leak’ the same quality in our relations with others – primarily mad, sad, or joy-filled.

“I’ve heard that there are two kinds of Christians in the world,” the young woman said perched on the couch of a home I visited lately. “People either see God as mad or sad.” On a normal day, that would have sounded fine to me. Either he is mad at our sin and wants to blast the world into oblivion, or he is sad over our sin and hopes to rescue us. Of those two, I’d choose the latter.

Continue reading ‘how we view God’ »

I recently read a quote about “community” and its impact on us. This relates to my struggle with ‘church’, but in a positive way. This quote shows how community can function positively. It seems to me this is a clue for when ‘church’ (or better, Jesus community) is working well:

“Living in community I discovered who I was. I discovered also that the truth will set me free, and so there’s the gradual realization about what it means to be human. To be human is that capacity to love which is the phenomenal reality that we can give life to people; we can transform people by our attentiveness, by our love, and they can transform us. It is a whole question of giving life and receiving life, but also to discover how broken we are.” -Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche

Community happens beyond ‘church’, it is somewhere we can share with anyone, everyone, if we are open. We can love everyone (yes, says Jesus, even our enemies) and we can receive from them. If we take the time to look at ourselves, we will discover how broken we are. And how that makes us like everyone else.

How can this apply to ‘church’? How can we experience community like this together?

Please tell me what you think?

I wanted to let you know about Durham Youth House, the only shelter for homeless youth In Durham Region. This shelter is located downtown Ajax (82 Kings Crescent, Ajax) and is meeting a great need in our area. If you go to the web page, you will find more information, but also ways that you can get involved. I have been in dialogue with the staff there, and the Lord willing, we will be able to partner together in this work.

www.durhamyouth.com

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self sustained. [Mahatma Gandhi]

I am trying to imagine church in a different way, with a different set of priorities and practices.
What if…

1. We were more concerned about, and motivated by, God’s kingdom priorities than the church priorities?
2. We saw each day as an opportunity to demonstrate God’s value system in how we lived life – seeing church as what we do through the week?
3. We invested more in kingdom building projects and efforts, not church building projects and efforts?
4. We designed a facility primarily for kingdom activity, that could ALSO be used for church functions once in a while. (For example, build a Youth Center, designed with everything a youth center would need, and allow church gatherings when available – for leadership meetings, worship, prayer, small groups, etc. – though the Youth Center activities would take first priority!!!
5. We gathered in community space, not in church space?
6. We came together several times through the week (not just Sunday mornings) to share stories of God’s kingdom in action, to support and encourage one another in our kingdom activities, and to learn together from the bible how God’s kingdom comes in/through/around us?
7. We minimized and simplified church activities so that people were released to prioritize kingdom activities?
8. We hired staff for external ministry (community developer, service coordinator), not for internal ministry (i.e. worship, youth, community life, pastoral care).
9. We didn’t serve people to get them to come to our church, but so they could experience the good news of the kingdom.
10. We didn’t focus on church growth at all, that we celebrated our church whatever size it was, and aimed instead to share the love of Jesus no strings attached!
11. …

Any other ideas?