Christmas Hope

I have a distinct recollection of a Christmas when I was 10 years of age. I woke up at 2am. Excited, and unable to think of anything but presents, I went out into the lounge room. There I discovered that my brothers were also too excited to sleep. We stared for hours at the presents under the tree. We discussed what may be in each parcel. As the hours past we knew that the time was near for Mum and Dad to awake (actually, we went in about 5:30am to speed up the process).

Isn’t this hope? It’s where we long for something, we desire something. Christmas holds out hope (Of course it also holds out disappointment for children who don’t get what they want, and I’ll leave you to look at YouTube for this)

Once again though, our hope is rather reduced to what is inside a box and envelope. It’s reduced to what will make me happy.

Christmas hope is about longing, is about desire, but for a better world. And we have the example of people, such as Mary, Elizabeth, the shepherds and a widow named Ana who longed for a new beginning.

If you hope for a momentary experience of joy, place your hope in gifts. If you want a world where no-one suffers, where things are fair, everyone is cared for, animals are protected, armies aren’t needed, where people live with purpose, have integrity, will go to great lengths to help, then place your hope in Jesus. That’s the future He has come to bring. His birth marks the beginning. Now is the time for people to take up the offer of new life and be filled with anticipation of Jesus’ return.

This Christmas as you open the present, remember that there is a bigger one yet to arrive.

Christmas in Australia

If any event should bring offense to a secular, multicultural country, it should be Christmas.

Here, we focus on the birth of the Son of God, the one who comes to provide salvation. The event calls for people to respond by worshipping the newborn king. (Just in case you missed it, Christmas claims that Jesus is God, that He is the authority on heaven, that we are sinners who need saving and that we can’t live as however we choose). So why aren’t people offended?

I think it’s because Australians have the capacity to reinterpret cultural events. Take the Queen’s birthday or Labour Day. Christmas is celebrated because of the significance it brings to Australians.  Let me outline what I think Christmas means to Australians:

1) Time to get out

Summer starts in December, but it is a busy month. It’s only as Christmas draws near that we take advantage of daylight savings. I think this is why external Christmas lights have become popular. They invite people to go out after dinner and walk around the neighbourhood (Carols events also get people out).

2) Time to catch up

Australians try and fit a lot into their lives, often at the sacrifice of relationships. Christmas provides the space where we can catch up with family and friends and express our appreciation for the relationships we enjoy.

3) Time to look forward

After the winter months, the helter skelter of November, we can finally lift our heads above the daily grind. We can start to think about the year ahead. More importantly, we cast our eyes forward with a positive anticipation of what could be (what political campaigns fail to do, Christmas delivers).

So that is the focus of Christmas in Australia, and it means that any Australian can embrace it. Dick Gross commented that the “God of Sun, not the Son of God, is at the heart of the Aussie Christmas.” SMH December 12^th, 2013.

As nice as this is, I think it lacks. The Australian Christmas gives us hope (which motivates us to get up and get out) but lacks substance. I remember thinking that 2012 was bad (hurricane Sandy, Pakistan floods) and that this year would be better. But then I reflected on this year- the Blue Mountains bushfires, Typhoon Haiyan, Sichuan earthquake, Boston Marathon Bomb, Newtown shooting in US, Textiles company in Bangladesh… and I could go on.

We hope for a better year, but with no reason to think it would be any different. The Sun God rises and sets. Things go on as they always have.

The hope of Christmas is that the Son of God has come to change things. He has come to bring a new creation without the disaster, death and disease we see each year. He hasn’t returned yet, allowing as many people as possible will place their trust in Him, and find their home in the kingdom of God.

This Christmas, don’t reinterpret hope. Embrace it.

Ethic of consent

Christians seem to out of kilter with the rest of society. Issues such as same sex marriage, euthanasia and gambling raise the question- what's wrong with Christians?

To answer that we need to understand the dominant principle in modern day ethics- consent.

Now if there is no morality (only values), then it is unlikely that we will have a common ethical basis.
So it seems that we now have an agreed procedure:
                              If no third party is affected, the consent ethic is implemented.

It really is a procedural ethic of giving permission to do what you would like.

So what's the problem with this?
Let me share some:

1) Radical individualism
It nice that you have freedom to do what you want to do, but it also removes any communal obligations that you might have (remember, Kantian ethics are also void).

The ethic of consent remove the need to care for family members, volunteer at the local school or give to those in need.
The choice to do these actions engages another ethic.

2) Problem of akrasia (weakness of will)
The assumption is that you will choose what is best for you. But what if you don't (or can't)? Take dysmorphia (a person can't stop thinking about one or more perceived flaws with her appearance).
They could choose to consent to surgery, an eating disorder or removal of a limb.

We don't allow the ethic of consent to shape our actions because they don't know what is best for them.

3) Problem of environment
The ethic of consent is only concerned with the moment of decision. It doesn't consider background factors (ie abuse), cultural factors (peer-pressure) or power factors (ie doctor/ patient relationship).

4) There are virtues
In essence, Christians disagree with the ethic of consent being the primary guide to our actions because there is a way that thing are meant to work (a created order). We don't live in a world where people can hold their own values (ie terrorists). There is a way things work.

Does this help you understand where Christians differ?

Freedom- for what?

"You can be anything you want to be".
"I'd like to be a duck"

So the gag went on a skit show. It shows how ludicrous the claim is. What is strange is that we've swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

A lot of people see freedom as removal of all restraints. That's the holy grail which everyone pursues.
But it is unobtainable. Let me explain why.

Our life is full of constraints. We were born into a certain family, at a particular point in history with unique body shape and genetic defects. Try as you, you cannot become a duck. You are a human who exists at a certain point of time and space. So is freedom a myth? Perhaps.

You see, the original concept of Freedom depicted by John Stuart Mills begins not with an abstract concept, but the reality of where we live. The goal was individual freedom, but not for the purpose of following your own path. There was a recognition of individual responsibility. Judith Brett argues that consumerism has pushed away from life as it is towards life as we would desire it to be (the abstract ideal).

So how does this help?
Well, we're not free to be whatever we want (like a duck), but we are able to become what we are meant to be- fully human.

Of course, to achieve this, we need to overcome some major  obstacles. Our propensity to make poor choices, addictions and more importantly, our confusion about what a true human looks like.

The true human reflects God on earth (we're image-bearers). Of course this is done with restrictions (ie we're not God). But when we recognise that humanity can display God's character and merciful rule, now we know how to live.

Often people think, "Our freedom is curtailed by our responsibilities" But that's not right. Responsibilities, goodness and circumstances do not curtail freedom; they are the conditions under which freedom operates, the tracks along which freedom runs.

Freedom is not the goal. To be truly human is. Our life, in relation to God, other people and the environment is where I comprehend my life. True freedom for this reason is found in Christ.

Sport

We’re a sporting nation. We watch, play and discuss what has happened on the weekend. What is interesting is the changing expectations around sport. Let me explain.

The modern games evolved out of the 18^th and 19^th centuries with the purpose of human competition in a civilised society. Cricket and boxing first represented this ideal, followed by football and tennis. This led to the phrase “Football is a gentleman's game played by ruffians”

In fact, some have argued that sport has a civilising element.

Yet I think that it is Christianity that shaped the way we approached sports.

You see, in the 19^th century England, character mattered more than achievement. The way the game was played was more important than the outcome (“That’s just not cricket”).

So how has sport changed? The focus is on results.

Ancient Roman had sports, where the strong thrived and the weak perished. They performed armed combat entertaining audiences in grand outdoor stadiums. Crowds cheered as they watched gladiators compete in violent confrontations with other gladiators. Is this not the National Football League?

Ivan Cole argues that “The proper purpose of sport in a healthy culture is transcendence. To transcend is to surpass or exceed ordinary limits” The focus is not on character but on achievement, over and above what would normally be expected.

Norbert Elias argued that the modern game has become a re-enactment of hunter gatherer. It is here that our primitive tribalism is displayed (including chants, threats and euphoria).

With sport becoming professional the focus in on achievement. This is not just for the sportsperson. The crowd have expectations too. The athlete is viewed as an employee and the effectiveness, and if possible the spectacle of the performance is all that counts.

 Now sport has followed the culture of the day (Nietzsche’s theory of power, Macintyre on values and Satre’s existentialism). And yet we are saddened when sports people are flawed. Could it be that we are tacitly aware of the value of character? Or do we see ourselves in sport, warts and all?

Boldness

I watched two clips recently and both made an impact:
1) Lord of the Rings (Return of the king)- the choice to give Frodo more time by fighting the orcs
2) Persecution- the choice to confess you follow Jesus despite physical beatings

Now I thought to myself, "I'd love to be that brave". Then I reflected further, and was saddened that I didn't think I could. My contemplation asked the question, "What's wrong with me!!!"

Boldness is a characteristic that is admirable. Yet it is lacking today. Fear grips us (consider how effective terrorism is and the billions of dollars spent to stop a possible attack).

I think that cowardice begins with an awareness of the cost to you. Whatever the pain is, you don't want it. Now in an age of self-satisfaction, self fulfilment and general narcissism, sacrifice is an odd concept. But bravery requires it.

So I think that the key to boldness is self-forgetfulness. That is, you have an awareness of the needs of others or God's glory as greater. This is seen in Acts 4 and 5, when the disciples are threatened with violence. They see the need of others as worth the pain. Consider the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks was willing to be intimidated, humiliated and imprisoned because she wanted a different future for African-Americans.

For Christians, we are meant to be self-forgetful. Galatians 6:19-20 says
 ‘For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

It is possible to suffer because we identify with Christ. It's not that we want to, it's that we see acknowledging Him as Lord is more important than responding to someone's command to be quiet.

Boldness comes from a change of focus. When we focus on the risen Lord Jesus, then we see things differently, what matters is different and what we are prepared to sacrifice also changes.

What's the hurry? (Part 2)

A friend of mine had a plan. He wanted to meet with a friend for coffee, then help someone with a project and teach scripture. It's pretty admirable, right. The only problem is the timeframe:

8am- Meet for a coffee in Chatswood
9:30am- Help out friend in a work project at Town Hall
10:30am- Teach Scripture in Lindfield

Just in case you were unsure, he was constantly late.

We admire him for trying, although it meant that everyone had to organise their schedules around him.
Why did he have to do all of this in one morning?
Why couldn't he choose against one option?

That's the second area I want to pick up- choice.
Some have said that a major First World Problem is FOMO:
FEAR OF MISSING OUT

The thought of people involved in a collective experience and I'm not there- is unthinkable.
The concern is that there would be a group photo placed on Facebook which doesn't include me!

In the past we heard about an event that we missed. That's sad, but we had no real concept of what the loss was on our part. Now we see photos and updates. You can immerse yourself through social media on an event you didn't participate in. And that's the difficulty: you're acutely aware of what happened.

Social media is our friend, but it's also causing anxiety, stress and, in extreme cases, depression
People who suffer FOMO sleep less and keep their phone close at hand. They are unreliable, feeling obliged to break commitments due to opportunity cost. They try to fit more into each day, hurrying from one place to another.

Is there a solution? Yes.
It's called choice.
When you choose one thing you automatically choose against another. That is the opportunity cost.
People hate this idea and believe it is somehow possible to have it all. When marginal success comes (like my friend above), it reinforces our commitment to choose EVERYTHING.

That's foolishness. Make a choice. Know that there will other events, activities and tweets that you won't participate in. When you have resigned yourself to this, enjoy the choice you have made.

Not only will it help you feel less stressed, but you will have more time. When you embrace choice (you determine what you will do), then you can say no and set up boundaries in your life. You don't need to hurry from one event to another. In fact, you can stop focussing on the next few minutes and decide what is important in life.

For Christians, they make a choice to follow Jesus as their Lord. They then choose to seek first the kingdom of God (which involves sacrifice). To go to Bible Study group means you will miss out. To drop around on someone who is going through a rough spot means you will miss out.

Our choice isn't to experience everything this world has to offer. Our choice is glorify God.
So slow down and make wise decisions.

What's the hurry?

I was driving along Ryde Road when a car came up fast behind me. You know the type: aggressive, close to your bumper, trying to force you to change lanes. I have long experienced this from young male drivers, but this was from a lady in her sixties!

I realised that there is something wrong with our culture. What was once the norm for young men with too much testosterone and little self-control is now mainstream. I wondered what was happening. So here are some of my thoughts.

1) Our view of time

“The clock is ticking”

The clock and the calendar dictate our lives. We constantly study them to tell us what to do. Why? It’s because we see time as organisation. If we manage it well, then there is so much that we can achieve.

Now if you’re like me, you’ll feel that the pace of life has increased. The truth is that it’s not the work hours and demands of family that have changed, it’s number of networks we now belong to that has increased. The pressure to interact, complete projects and meet commitments is now demanded in multiple domains.

So time becomes precious. In fact, it becomes a commodity, which you can place a price, save or waste. If you lose time, you don’t get it back. So we speed the treadmill up, uncertain of where we are mean to arrive.

We are aware that time is getting away from us. More than that, we live in fear of ageing. We try to defy ageing (which is defying time) whilst trying to manage it.

 
So what’s the answer? We need to view time from God’s perspective.

Life is a continuous linear redemptive process, That is, we are moving forward, but there is a destination. The kingdom of God is the domain that should shape our time. In fact, Jesus places it as the priority for our time management (Matthew 6:33-34).

The Bible is very interested in time. It speaks of the days and years of our lives (Ecclesiastes 3:1-14), of the final day (Malachi 3-4) and the eternity after (Revelation 21-22). That said, the Bible doesn’t provide tips on time management. Strange, you may think?

 It’s because time is controlled by God. Ephesians 1:9-10 speak of the times reaching their fulfilment. There is a purpose that Jesus fulfils. Now because He is in control, He calls us to holy living. I can’t justify my anger, intimidation or frustration because you wasted my time. It’s God’s time, and He knows where it is heading. So time is an opportunity to be godly. Even when I am stressed and staring at a deadline, the priority is godliness. That is what we are meant to manage.

Sex, sex, sex

Sex is incredibly important in our current culture. We have tied it to our identity and the concept of individual freedom. The upshot is that we have the right to express our sexuality and explore sexual experiences.

 

As Christians we disagree. This of course gets us into trouble with our community.

So why can’t people do what they like when it comes to sex?

1) Purpose

Sex is about a unique union between one man and one woman. This union involves
emotional, behavioural, intellectual, physical, and spiritual aspects. Sex is part of it. It promotes a healthy relationship in the marriage.

Sexual freedom can pull the oneness of the unit apart.

So the purpose is not self-gratification. The goal is one flesh.

2) Priorities

My identity is important and so is my freedom, but surely they are trumped by love. To be perfectly frank, the way people engage in casual sex is abusive. It doesn't matter who the other person is or if they want what we want, they just need to deliver.

3) Created order

We are made in the image of God. That means, we are relational beings first and foremost. That’s why it’s possible to choose abstinence. Sex is not the core of our being, relationships with God, each other and our environment is.

4) Worship

More important that self-gratification is the self-giving surrender to God (Romans 12:1-2). Our worship is in our choice to flee sexual immorality and embrace godly actions and relationships.

I hope you noticed that as a Christian I am not against sex. In fact, I'm very much for it. The Bible sees it as a good gift from God (1 Tim 4:4-5) that should be enjoyed regularly (1 Cor 7:1-6). What I'm arguing is that sex has it's place and when used correctly can enhance a relationship.

Bushfires in NSW

As I went outside today I caught a throat full of smoke. The sun was an amazing orange colour.
I hadn't seen this for many years. In fact, these bushfires could be amongst the worst our state has seen.

It is bewildering to consider the devastation that has occurred and could occur if the fire fronts merge.
It's only as a piece of soot falls next to me as I walk towards the local primary school that I realise these fires are not under control.

And that is frightening to us. We place ourselves in contexts where we can determine the outcome, where our input has a direct impact on the results. We see ourselves as those who can overcome and any hurdle. Humanity has the ability to conquer anything.

And yet natural disasters bring this philosophy crashing to the ground. It is one thing to control an office staff, it's another to qwell an earthquake or extinguish a fire. It's only in this context the we recognise our limitations.

The current bushfires tell us that there are things that make us afraid because they can be more powerful than we are. They ought to push us to seek assistance. In fact, natural disasters should lead to prayer.

So can I ask for you to pray for the bushfires in NSW and any natural disaster you hear of?
Pray-
that God would end whatever the catastrophe is
that God would use the emergency agencies to restore order
that God would bring comfort to those who have lost
that God would offer hope and lift our eyes to see a place where disaster will never strike

Asylum Seekers

It is a great concern about the boats travelling to Australia. Some are concerned that there are queue jumpers who are trying to take advantage of us. Others look at the small vessels which are hardly seaworthy and wonder how many more lives will be lost at sea. So should we show steely resolution or compassion? What is a Christian’s view on the matter?

 

The point of reference for this topic is governments. They are the ones who God has given responsibility to. In fact, in Romans 13 governments are given authority by God to act for all people groups. This means that they must make decisions and have the power to enact them. It allows for the government to determine who is a citizen and who isn’t, and who is allowed to enter this country and who isn’t. Border protection isn’t wrong.

 

We are told more though. Governments are to do good for their people (Romans 13:4) and to restrain wickedness (1 Peter 3:13-15). They are described as servants of God (Romans 13:4), so they out to show righteousness and mercy.

 

So how does this all help? Governments are free to deny anyone entry into their country. That said, they must do what is right, in particular to treaties they sign. The 1951 Refugee Convention which Australia signed places an obligation on us to accept those who are fleeing and are unable or, owing to such fear, are unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of their own country.

 

Moreover, we need to treat those who arrive on our shores humanely. Every person is made in the image of God and ought to be treated with dignity. They cannot be the stick to wave at others.

 

Obviously this doesn’t solve all the dilemmas of the people smugglers and the millions of refugees worldwide. What it does is provide a framework within which the government must work to make choices and enact them for the glory of God.

The inconvenient conscience

Follow your conscience.

This was typical wisdom about how to live life. You should make decisions that are noble and upright, ones which allow you to sleep easy at night. It makes sense

 

Follow your heart.

It sounds the same, but in reality, it just encourages you to embrace choice. Whatever you would like to do, whatever will make you happy, do that.

This philosophy marks our age and the belief that happiness is the highest priority.

The only problem is the inconvenient conscience. Though we are told constantly that this new ethic is good, though movie after movie endorses this position, our conscience doesn’t.

 

So what do we do with our conscience? I think people try different strategies. Firstly, there is the “ignore it” strategy. If we get court up in activity (of importance, of course) then we don’t have to think about it. We don’t need to ask questions about what we ought to do, about right and wrong, or make any assessment of our actions.

 

Another approach is to justify our actions. I find that moral outrage on talkback radio often reflects people who are uneasy with their course of life but don’t want to change. So they state their position and call for tolerance.

 

Finally, people try and clear their conscience. They can do this by acts of service, and confessing to a friend, on television or in a diary. They engage in some ritual of purification, hoping that the guilt will leave them.

 

As much as you try to clear your conscience, you can’t. Your conscience testifies to your life before God. That said, here is the wonderful news of Christianity. Jesus CAN clear your conscience. He not only takes away your sin, but He makes it possible to approach the Father without shame and guilt. Because of Christ, you belong in the presence of God.

 

Praise God that whatever you have done, it is not only removed, but so is the guilt that goes with it.

 

The questions you ask

I was reading a book today that made an interesting comment about our current culture:
"we live by a philosophy that seldom asks 'why' questions and most often simply asks 'what' questions.

Now as you read this you may think, "Yeah! So what?"

If we focus on the WHAT question, we become efficient and productive. We just don't know what the goal is, and have no means of evaluating the value of our actions.

If we focus on the WHY question, we move beyond day to day living. We consider our purpose. We can evaluate if an action is moral, worthy or worthwhile.

The WHY questions slows us down. We stop acting (we are incredibly good at time management) and we seek to understand WHO we are as humanity, HOW we are meant to interact, WHERE we should spend our time and WHAT action we should then take.

Now I believe we must discuss spiritual matters. It is part of the WHY questions. Now you may dismiss God and following Christ, but at least you will know why. Too many people put the issue on the backburner and go back to WHAT they were doing?

This blog aims to challenge us with how we think about life. I want to interact with a whole range of issues. And it will all start with the WHY question.

I hope that you'll have a read and interact. Help me in my thinking as I help you in yours.