Standing on the shoulders of giants

On the side of the British two pound coin is a phrase that (in my mind) defines a part of being community. Standing on the shoulders of giants.

The 12th century theologian and author John of Salisbury used a version of the phrase in a treatise on logic called Metalogicon, written in Latin in 1159. The gist of what Salisbury said is:

"We are like dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants. We see more, and things that are more distant, than they did, not because our sight is superior or because we are taller than they, but because they raise us up, and by their great stature add to ours."

Isaac Newton quoted this in a letter to his rival Robert Hooke, in 1676: "What Descartes did was a good step. You have added much several ways, and especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

Living in a community can be a challenge, yet living in a community empowers me. When I am shortsighted, they can help me. When I am weak, they can lift me up. And they do.

I think this is God's awesome plan - He did not make us lone riders, He gave us each other. Our job is to encourage, to lift it each other up, but also to speak to the truth in love. To mold, to hold accountable, to be there for each other. All of this in relationships...

To my community, who regularly allow me to stand on their shoulders so I can see beter - thank you!

Enemies of the Church?

Still on the topic of being Church... as I mentioned in the previous post - the Church is a living organism and not a building. I have not changed my mind on this. However, I would like to compare the Church to a building in this post.

This picture of St Pauls during the blitz (World War II) is displayed at the cathedral. It reminds me of the trials and tribulations we (as Christians / Church) go through.

Being a Christian does not indemnify me. There are no guarantees that bad things will not happen to me too. In fact, when you read through Acts, you are confronted with a lot of things that went wrong.

Yet... through all of this God protected the Church. God protected the Church through times of prosecution and lots of trials. St Pauls stood through the war and is still beautiful. In my mind, it became a picture of the Church, the Bride and God's protection. I know that this magnificent building will not stand forever, but we have God's promise that the Church will be there for ever.

As a teenager I once saw a picture of two fortresses - one had Christians from different denominations in it and the other had representatives from all the other religions in it. The gunmen in the second fortress aimed at the Christians. And the Christians? The Christians took aim at each other.

We have God's promise that the Church will exist and is Jesus' Bride. God protects the Church and yet we attack each other and I don't know why? Why is it so easy to see other Christians' sins and errors when Jesus said we have to remove the logs from our own eyes first?

I pray that God will help me to love the Church the way He does. I pray that He will soften my heart and help me to remove the log from my eye before I fiddle with the splinter in my brother's eye. I pray that God will change me first.

May you have a blessed day!

Being Church

I am back from my holiday in the UK and just loved it :-)

I visited some cathedrals, saw renovations to church buildings and saw yet some other church buildings closed or converted to shops. I thought about church and what being church really means.

St Pauls is an alltime favorite! It is awesome. When I stood inside (no pictures allowed, sorry) I thought about the Church as Jesus' bride. Church cannot be a building. It cannot be static. Church is me and you. Church is alive. When I looked at the splendour of the building I could not help to wonder what Church looks like to Jesus.

What is our role as Bride / Church? Surely we cannot just sit back and wait for our Groom. Our community are looking at seven invitations from Jesus this year. We looked at making Him Number One in our lives and now we are looking at spending time with Him. We call it 'plugging in daily'. Jesus wants to transform us, but we need to spend time with Him.

We need to form habits (maybe we could call it disciplines?) to set ourselves apart from the world and spend time with Jesus. We are His Bride. His representative (yes, singular) on earth. To represent someone, you need to know what that person would do or think. The only way to do this, is to spend time with them.

What a great opportunity and invite... plugging in, being able to listen to God and having the opportunity to speak to Him. Being able to transform ... not static, but alive.

My Redeemer lives

Yesterday was probably the strangest Good Friday of my life. I am on holiday in London and decided to visit St Pauls. I attended a very solemn service of 3 hours and was faced by the cruelty of the cross. I think being raised in a Christian home has some disadvantaged - for one - we are 'used to the cross'. Being in strange church in a strange city in a foreign country took me out of my comfort zone and helped me to look at the cross and consider what happened.

I think I (we?) hardly ever stop to consider what really happened. The cross was cruel, it was created to cause a long and painful death while people mocked the person on the cross.

We often talk about how Jesus died in our place, but I forget that He did not simply take a bullet for me. It was long - it was humiliating - it was creation mocking Creator.

Yet, He forgave me.

Yet, He calls me friend.

I can not understand nor comprehend this.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Jesus' resurrection. The foundation of our faith. Tomorrow I will remember that Jesus is my Creator who died a slow and painful death - so I can live. Tomorrow I will celebrate this with the church, the body of Christ across denominations.

Nicole Mullen sings a song called 'My Redeemer lives', here is a part of the lyrics...

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning?

And who told the ocean you can only come this far?

And who showed the moon where to hide till evening?

Who's words alone can catch a falling star?

Well I know my redeemer lives

I know my redeemer lives

All of creation testifies

this life within me cries

I know my redeemer lives

The very same God

that spins things in orbitruns to the weary,

the worn and the weak

and the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken

they conquered death to bring me victory

Now I know, my redeemer lives

I know my redeemer lives

let all creation testify

that this life within me cries

I know

my redeemer

He lives

to take away my shame

and he lives

forever I'll proclaim

the amount of pain that bought my sin

was the precious life He gave

and now he's alive and

there's an empty grave!

And I knowmy redeemer lives

I know my redeemer lives

let all creation testify

that this life within me cries

I know my redeemer

I knowmy redeemer lives

I know my redeemer lives

I know my redeemer lives

He lives He lives

I spoke with him this morning!

He lives

I'm gonna tell everybody ...