A slice of heaven... on earth

One of my favourite things in the world....

Good things do come in small packages!

Life is not all ha ha hee hee

"Life is a dance between duty and desire"

How true.

Sporting the issues

The Commonwealth Games are just beginning. I think the idea of it is great. Athletes, who have trained hard, competing to see who is best. But sometimes, i can't help but think that usually the more well off countries win because they have the money. Its not always just about talent. Those with money can have all the experts at hand - coach, nutritionist, physiotherapist, phychologist and other experts. They also have the benefits of better equipment - shoes, clothes (it seems that the clothing is getting more and more sophisticated now). I think its no longer an equal slate.

Also, is it right that countries are putting in more and more money into the opening ceremonies (usually trying to outdo the one before it)? Millions - just to impress all who are there and who are watching. I'm sure there are benefits, but is it right?

If only...

I'm currently watching a BBC documentary 'Being Indian'. This episode focusses on a 15-year-old girl, Isha, in Delhi whose parents are rich enough to send her to a private school. The school is rigorously academic, and also has lots of facilities for sports and other activities. She has a cell phone, and can afford to take a taxi home if needed. Pretty usual for most schools here in middle class residential zones and also for private schools. But what strikes me about this school, is that the school partners with Unicef and gets their students involved in their programmes. Thus the students are exposed to those who are less privileged from them. They visit a slum and the impact on the students is tremendous. They are confronted by poverty, and Isha is challenged about the way she spends money. Their school also encourages them to teach someone who is illiterate to read and write. So Isha has been teaching her maid for the last 3 months and considers it her moral duty to teach someone to read and write. Wow!

If only schools in NZ would do that! Imagine what would happen if generations of school children are exposed to the 'other side of the coin' - the poor, the homeless, the down-trodden. What would that do? Perhaps we would have a generation of people who are acutely aware of inequality and are moved to action! Perhaps we would have more voices to speak out for the voiceless, more resources poured into fighting poverty, more people willing to do something! If only...

But in the meantime, let us do what we can.

this side of Heaven

At our office devotions today, we talked about heaven. To be honest, heaven is something I hardly think about. Mainly because I have no idea what its going to be like and hoping it won't be like how some people have suggested it could be like. But heaven (and hell) is not an uncommon topic in pop culture. Its used in advertising and in movies. In movies, people who die seem to go to heaven. But I'm pretty sure it does exist otherwise Elijah will be having a wild time somewhere up there in space.

On earth, we have a glimpse of God's creativeness - majestic mountains, delicate flowers, powerful waves. In heaven, I hope the beauty of all that is around me will blow my mind. On earth, we are comforted by God's Spirit. In heaven, I hope there will be no more tears. On earth, we press on to try and live a life that is worthy of the Gospel of Jesus. In heaven, I hope we will be made perfect. On earth, we are awed and humbled by the profoundness of Grace. In heaven, we will understand the culmination of Grace.

For now, I work towards what a follow of Jesus works towards - holiness, compassion, humility, awed by God through creation etc. And I live in hope that heaven will be much more than I expect it to be. But for now, on this side of heaven, I only hope to be of earthy good.

What does it mean to be a mature Christian?

We seem to classify those who call themselves Christians under various categories:
new Christians - those who have just come to the faith
mature Christians - those who have been in the faith for a while
nominal Christians - those who say they are Christians but don't seem to have active involvement

Firstly, by labelling people like that can be unhelpful as we are putting them into a box defined by a cultural stereotype. And secondly, didn't Jesus say not to judge so who are we to label others, after then we will be held to the same standard?

Back to the question. So what does it mean to be a mature Christian? I don't think I'm entirely sure the unwritten rules actually help here. It seems to assume that maturity comes after some time of being in the faith and having a somewhat active Christian life (else one be labelled nominal). However, I think that being in the faith for some time and having an active Christian life does not necessarily equal maturity. It also depends on a person's exposure to theology, exposure to good Bible exposition which can help them form their Christian worldview and values and priciples in which to live by.

I have encountered people who have been Christians for a while and have a shocking interpretation of Scripture and prescriptive way of doing bible study (reminded me of being in school again). And also recently encountered someone who though has been a Christian for just over a year, is able to lead bible study like someone who has been a Christian for ages.

As we all know (and have met), there are people who despite their actual age seems to behave like someone much younger than them. This we call immaturity. Yet maturity (a primary criteria being how long they have been a Christian for) seems to be a criteria for some Christian organisations or churches in choosing their leaders (I don't recall ever hearing the term 'immature Christian' used!).

So what is a mature Christian? I'm not entirely sure. And although I don't really like this term, I find that I do use it when I come across new students as I attempt to categorise them so as to spot the up and coming leaders. What are the initial markers? Its listening out (in conversation) whether they go to church, what their view is on certain things, their previous involvement in the Christian world, their current involvement etc. Pretty superficial I would say. But what is the alternative? Maybe next time I should give them some tasks to do - lead a bible study, interact with non-Christians, express their views on certian topics?

But perhaps its more healthy to try not to categorise people (rather unhelpfully) like that (or not categorise people at all if possible). Instead I'll seek to listen to their story. And give people (my students especially) a chance to do what they would like to do or encourage them to continually step out beyond their current comfort zone. Not sure if this is building 'maturity', but then I don't want to be into building mature Christians per se. I'm into holistic faith development and encouraging people (in particular the students I work with) to step out into their potential. Maybe its all one and the same, except that the term 'maturity' is so last millenium.

it's been a while...

Kinda took an unofficial break to my already sparse posts. But maybe thats what summer does - makes me slow down and take it easy. Not there hasn't been much to post. In fact there were times when I was composing posts in my head, but somehow what was in my head didn't translate to anything else. So I'm back in the blogosphere and will continue the sparse blogging...