Sometimes in life we are confronted with challenging
circumstances.
One time in Romania I was at a Bible class. The teacher was
American and the person translating approached me during the break to inform me
that he needed to go somewhere and asked me, being an English speaker, if I
would translate after the break. I was reluctant, not having experience and
also even in English I didn’t know well all the names of the different Kings
and other characters that were being mentioned as we were going through one of the
books of Kings in the Old Testament. However, I didn’t really have an alternative
solution to suggest. The break finished and we all gathered for the next
lesson. The translator began, but after a few minutes his telephone rang. He
glanced at it, then got his things together, motioned to me to come forward and
then left. Talk about being thrown in the deep end. I had no choice to go
forward and begin my career as a translator!
Life often puts us in difficult situations. Difficulties are
of course relevant and maybe my predicament above was small fry compared to
what some face. Financial hardships, sickness, violence, injustice and much
more attack people everyday. One of the great things about the Bible is that it
is a very realistic book and presents openly all the difficulties and struggles
that different people went through. One person who most certainly was
confronted with a challenging situation was Joshua.
We first read about him in the book of Numbers. We find out
here that he is very faithful to God, for example in chapter 14 he together
with Caleb tries to plead with the people when they want to rebel against God
and go back to Egypt instead of entering the promised land. The fact that
Joshua was one of the spies who went to check out the land of Canaan also
testifies to the fact that he was one of the leaders of Israel. There are also
passages where we see that Joshua was the assistant of Moses and chosen to
succeed him (Numbers 27:18-21).
By the time we get to Joshua 1, we see that Moses is already
gone and now Joshua has to fully take on his mantle. This is in and of itself a
tough task. There were well over a million people to lead, enough to keep
anyone busy. More than this though, Joshua is told here to lead these people
into the promised land of Canaan, which would have been fine, except for the
fact that there were some very well developed and aggressive peoples already
living there, who weren’t just going to happily lie down and let the Israelites
come and take over.
This is why we read a number of words of encouragement in
this chapter. Joshua could well have been feeling daunted by what lay before
him and so God offers some words of solace. Verses 6, 7 and 9 repeat the idea
of being strong and courageous. This is however not just a sort of chin up,
everything will be alright encouragement like what we often offer to people
today, when we don’t really know what to say. Here we see that there is some
real meat to these words.
In verse 5, God says that he will be with Joshua. This is a
great promise because it was God’s presence that helped Moses through his tasks
and so now Joshua is encouraged that God will be there to help him too. The
presence of God is an important theme running throughout the Bible. Adam and
Eve lost their place with God in the garden of Eden. Cain then loses God’s
presence in Genesis 4:14 as a result of murdering Abel. As the story unfolds,
we see though God restoring his presence among people, first of all
establishing the tent of meeting and then the temple. In the New Testament he
dwells among people in the form of Jesus and finally the Holy Spirit is given
so that He now actually dwells within the believer. In any case, it is a great
and vital thing to have God’s presence with you.
Joshua is also given an instruction as to how to be
successful in his task. We see this in Joshua 1:7 and 8. He is told to obey
carefully everything written in the law of Moses and in order to help him do
that, it is important for him to meditate on it day and night. In other words,
the secret of success is to keep as close as possible to God’s word and to obey
it.
Joshua shows his willingness to obey God straight away. He
doesn’t hesitate or remonstrate with God, but rather he sends out the officers
of the people to tell them to get ready for going into the promised land. They
obey on the condition in verse 17 that the Lord will be with Joshua as He was
with Moses, and they even threaten with death any who don’t obey Joshua’s word.
Thus, we see that Joshua’s initial acceptance of God’s word to him as had a
positive result.
I heard an interesting example of a student group in Serbia.
They decided that they wanted to organise a mission week. In Serbia it is very
popular for people to go to Cafes and spend their time there. So, the group had
the idea of hiring out a cafe for their evangelistic meetings. There was a
problem though to find a suitable one. Serbian culture is generally closed to evangelical
Christians and over four years they tried 10 different cafes, but each time
there were problems. Often, they were rejected, but also staff were unfriendly,
some were too small or otherwise unsuitable.
One day the group leader was walking past a cafe on the site
of the university. He decided to try it. He explained to the manager that they
were a Christian group and wanted to organise evangelical meetings. To his
surprise, the manager agreed without problem. So surprised was he that he reiterated
the situation to make sure the manager had understood. Not only did they want
to talk about Jesus, but they also didn’t have much money to pay for the
meetings. The manager still agreed!
For this group, it was a challenging task to organise these
missions. It took four years and a number of difficult situations, but
eventually God led them to an excellent venue, right on campus, and even opened
up the way to using it, in spite of potential problems.
Ultimately then, God can and does work for good even in the challenges we and others around us face!
Once on a
very cold February night, I was walking back to my flat from the CSC student
office. In front of me, I saw a man swaying from side to side as he crossed the
road. In England it’s usually drivers whose cars sway from side to side who are
drunk, whereas they joke that in Moldova it’s those who drive straight who are
drunk (if you see the roads here, you’ll understand). In any case, this was
definitely an English swaying.
Eventually
the man approached the other side of the road but collapsed before making the
pavement. I was tempted to look the other way and carry on, but it was a cold
night and the man was lying in the roadside. I reluctantly crossed over to try
and help. Fortunately, he managed to get up and I helped him on to the
pavement. He started to move on his way, but quickly grabbed a lamp post so as
not to fall over. He then just stood there clutching the lamppost swaying
about.
I tried to
talk to him, but he just kept saying to me ‘Italiano’. My Italiano is not too
belissimo so it didn’t make for much of a conversation. Wondering what to do, I
called a friend from church who advised me to call an ambulance, which I did. I
explained the situation to the lady at the ‘skoro pomochi (emergency help)
centre. She asked me whether the man was going to still be there as it would be
20 minutes before an ambulance came. He didn’t look like he was going anywhere
in a hurry, so I said it would. Then we waited.
I tried to
tell the man a little about God, but not in Italiano so it didn’t make for much
of a discussion. After about 15 minutes all of a sudden, the man built up a
burst of energy, let go of the lamppost and headed off down the road. This was a
problem because I had promised the lady on the phone that the man would still
be here when the ambulance arrived. I thought about going after him and informing
that he had to wait for said ambulance, but then I thought it was better to let
him get on his way. Besides, I had had enough Italiano for one evening.
So, the man
disappeared off and not knowing what to do, so did I. Except that after taking
a few paces all of a sudden, an ambulance pulled over and said that they were
looking for someone who had called. I was a bit nervous, knowing that he in
England you can get in trouble for a false 999 call. However, as the ambulance
door opened, I noticed the driver was someone I knew from church. Also, when I said
that the drunk man had left they seemed more pleased than annoyed, closed the
door and drove off.
In the
Bible Jesus tells in Luke 10:30-35 the story of a man who needs help, although
on this occasion not through any fault of his own. He is a man travelling from
Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he unfortunately falls into the hands of
robbers who beat him and take what they can.
Two people
pass by on the same road, one after the other. Both see him, but, like I was
tempted to do in the above example, pass by on the other side of the road. This
is not what you would expect as the first was a priest, the people who brought
the sacrifices to God at the Jewish temple, so in other words, important and
well-respected people in the Jewish religion. The second was a Levite who were
helpers in the temple, so once again people with a good position in the Jewish
religion. Despite their religious status neither did anything to help the fallen
man.
After this, a third person passes by. This
time a Samaritan. Jesus was a Jew and in the occasion when he told this story,
he was speaking to an expert in Jewish law. The Jews looked down on Samaritan’s
becuase they considered them to have mixed the Jewish religion with other
faiths. In 2 Kings 17 the story of how this happened is told. Due to the fact
that the people in Israel hadn’t been obeying God, he allowed the Assyrian King
to conquer them and take them into exile. In Samaria, a large area of land in
Israel, he sent other people’s to live in the place of the Israelites. These
people also didn’t worship the Lord, so He sent lions among them. As a result
the Asdyrian King sent a Jewish priest back to teach them how to worship the
Lord. However, they only started half heartedly worship the Lord, keeping many
of their former, pagan religious practises. Over the yeats them a Samaritan
religion developed that was based on the Jewslish religion but that wasn’t
pure. For this reason, the Jews looked down on Samaritans. They even considered
them enemies.
So, getting back to the story, a Samaritan
was the last person that a Jewish audience would have expected to help the fallen
man, especially as the man was travelling beteeen Jerusalem and Jericho, so was
probably a Jew himself. But, surprise, surprise, the Samaritan stops, assists
the man in need and even puts him on his
donkey, and takes him to an inn where he can rest and recover.
Jesus tells this parable as a response to a
teacher of the law asking him who is our neighbour that, according to Leviticus
18:19, we are supposed to love as ourselves. Thus, it seems like here Jesus is
illustrating what it means to love your neighbour.
When I think of the word neighbour, a
certain Australian Television show often comes to mine and when we think of
love in today’s society, we tend to concentrate just on the emotional side of
things as emphasised by, for example, the aforementioned televison programme,
which generally seems to be about the feelings people in one particular street
have for one another.
However, I once heard a wise preacher give
an interpretation to this parable that I have never forgotten. In the story, we
see three different types of people, with three different attitudes to the traveller.
Firstly, there are the robbers. Their
attitude to the man is ”What’s yours is mine, if I can take it”. They beat the
man and take by force what they want from him. It’s not too hard to see that
rather than love, this is simply taking advantage of someone weaker.
Secondly, there are the religious people;
the priest and the Levite. Their approach is ”What’s mine is mine, if I can
keep it”. In other words, instead of sacrificing what they have to help the
needy man, they cross over the road and keep what they’ve got. To help the man
would have cost them something, and the are obviously not keen on that. Again,
not a good example of love.
Finally, there is the enemy, the Samaritan.
He takes the position ”What’s mine is your, if I can give it to you”. He stops
and gives up time, energy and resources to bandage the man’s wounds, put the
man on his donkey and taking him to an inn, where he can rest. There he also
pays money so the man can be looked after. And he does all this, even though he
was someone who others looked down on and could even have considered an enemy.
Thus, we understand from this parable that
love is sacrificial. It means giving of what we have for the good of others,
even if it costs us something, even if we don’t receive anything in return and
even if we don’t like those who are in need.
Jesus finishes with a challenge, ”Go and do
likewise”, which raises the question how can we love others in this way. The
answer we discover reading the rest of the Bible, where we see that this is
exactly what God did for us in the person of Jesus, who sacrificed what He had
for our good, even though He didn;t have anything to benefit personally and we
humans were His enemies because of our rebellion before God. Indeed, it was
humans who Jesus was actually helping by showing them the right way to live,
who decided to have Jesus killed. This sacrificial love is what is known as
agape love.
In conclusion, how can we show this sort of love to others? It’s very hard as my example at the beginning illustrates. However, it is possible because Jesus has already shown us such a love and as it says in 1 John 4:19 for example, if we have experienced this love in our lives then we are able, and indeed should, show such a love to those around us. It’s not easy and sometimes we will fail, however it is possible, if we truely know Him.
Veganism is the practice of not eating any animal related products. It can be taken a step further and include not using any products, which contain material taken from animals. This is something more than standard vegetarianism, which is generally just not eating meat. Indeed, the term vegan was born in 1944 when some members of the Vegetarian Society in Great Britain decided to give up dairy products as well and formed the word ‘vegan’ by abbreviating ‘vegetarian’, in order to refer to their new approach to eating.
There are a number of reasons why people adopt veganism. One of the main ones is due to the potential health benefits of consuming a natural, low-fat diet based on plant products. There could be other reasons, such as in the case of people who react badly to certain animal-based products (for example lactose found in milk) and so need to avoid eating them. Some people want to fight against cruelty to animals, to promote a green lifestyle, or simply belong to a religious group that believes in veganism.
Whatever the reasons for veganism, one thing’s for sure and that’s that it’s on the rise! Statistics show that many countries in the world have at least a small percent of the population who are vegan. In Great Britain for example, the number of vegans has grown from 150,000 in 2006 to 542,000 in 2016.
Obviously, if someone converts to a vegan diet it will mean giving up a lot of the foods that they enjoy and are used to eating. However, these days, due to the popularity of veganism there exist many plants based alternative foods that people can include in their diets. Following on, we are going to look at just one example, that of a vegan substitute for Parmesan cheese.
Parmesan, the king of cheese toppings
Parmesan is a cheese well-known for its use in grated form as a topping for many dishes in order to add flavor. The authentic Italian version of Parmesan cheese is called, ‘Parmigiano-Reggiano‘. This is a hard cheese, which has been produced for hundreds of years in certain regions of Italy. Its hardest and crystalline texture combined with strong pleasant taste is what makes it is ideal for grating and adding to dishes as a flavoring.
Buying original Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese produced in Italy can be expensive due to a number of reasons; it can only be produced by manufacturers in certain regions of Italy; it undergoes a traditional, well-controlled manufacturing process and finally, once made has to be shipped out all over the world for sale. As a result of this, a number of cheaper alternative Parmigiano-Reggiano style cheese exist, which are cheaper and generically known as Parmesan cheese.
Unfortunately for vegans, both Parmigiano-Reggiano and these other Parmesan cheeses are all off limits as they are made using cows’ milk. However, the good news is that a number of plant-based alternative Parmesan cheeses exist.
Soybeans to the rescue.
Soybeans were cultivated in East Asia long before records even began and gradually over the centuries their cultivation has spread throughout the world. Initially, their use was more for practical purposes, such as in crop rotation due to the fact that the soybean plants helped renitrogenese soil. Also, they were used in animal feed. Gradually though, people been to discover and appreciate their many other uses as a food substance.
Soybeans are an excellent source of protein and can be used as a meat substitute due to the fact that they contain a good spread of proteins, such that by consuming them someone obtains the proteins they need without having to worry too much about eating other foods. For this reason, they are a good option for vegans who are in danger of lacking proteins in their diet as a result of not eating meat or dairy products.
By boiling soybeans and then filtering the product soy milk can be produced. Yogurt or a yogurt starter can then be added to this milk, which after being left to stand in a warm place, will start to separate into liquid and solid, mimicking the process of curdling cheese. The curd produced can be used just like any other cheese, giving rise to, amongst other things, the possibility of Parmesan cheese suitable for vegans.
Almonds, a nutty alternative
As well as beans such as soy, nuts are also a good source of protein for vegans. This is good news for vegan cheese lovers as nuts can be very easily blended into a cheese-like food that can be used in many ways.
In the case of almonds, they are simply blanched (that is to say boiled briefly in water and then cooled and the skin removed), and then blended in a blender with nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder until a fine powder is formed. This can then be stored and used to sprinkle on food as an excellent alternative to Parmesan cheese.
Cashews, a nutty alternative to the nutty alternative
The above mentioned Parmesan cheese using almonds can just as easily be made using cashew nuts. The method and ingredients are identical except that cashews replace the almonds and so the process is slightly simpler as the cashews don’t need to be blanched. It is even possible to use a mixture of blanched almonds and cashews to produce a nut combination Parmesan.
No need for vegans to miss out
As we have seen, it is quite possible for vegans to enjoy the taste of Parmesan cheese on pasta, pizzas and the like. There are a number of commercial products available that imitate well Parmesan cheese, but use plant-based ingredients such as soybean, almonds or cashews. Those of us, who for whatever reason are following a vegan diet can try out some of these commercial products to see which one is most to their liking. But, as these vegan substitute Parmesan cheese are so easy to make, it’s also worth trying to make your own at home. By experimenting you can come up with your perfect combination and never have to miss out on that Parmesan cheese goodness again!
Feel free to leave below any experiences or suggestions you have regarding alternative Parmesans.
Even to those of us who aren’t fans of Italian food, the names of Italian Cheeses (at least a few of them!) are probably familiar. Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, and Parmesan are famous Italian cheeses, known by many people throughout the world. However, these three are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Italian cheeses. Italy is the fourth largest cheese producing country in the world and there are estimates that Italy actually has over 450 varieties of cheese.
In this article, we will see very briefly the origins of cheese production in Italy followed by some examples of Italian cheeses belonging to different categories of cheese.
Where it all began
Nobody actually knows where or when cheese production began. Milk was almost certainly consumed many thousands of years ago, ever since humans started domesticating animals. In the Biblical book of Genesis, for example, Abel, one of the first humans to have ever lived, is reported to have offered some of his flock as sacrifices to God.
Basic cheese is made by curdling milk using enzymes from animals’ stomachs. Animals’ stomachs themselves were used as storage and transportation containers for animal products. So more than likely, at some point in history people realized that milk being contained in animals’ stomachs was starting to turn into cheese.
Over time cheese production developed. People began to devise methods to extract rennet (the enzyme-containing substance in animal stomachs that curdles milk) and use it to make cheese. Gradually, different types of cheese were produced using variations on the basic method. As time went by people also discovered that by allowing the cheese to mature in different ways, also resulted in different types of cheese.
In any case, there are different ideas and claims about the origin and early development of cheese, but one thing is for sure, that by the time of the Roman Empire, cheese making was a well-spread art!
Roman Cheese Spread
Obviously, due to its size and high level of civilization the Roman Empire had many lasting effects on human society. Cheese was a popular food during Roman times and as a result, its consumption spread to many places, which had been conquered by the Romans and where previously cheese making was not so well-developed.
More so than this, cheese being a popular Roman food led to the discovery throughout Italy of many techniques that could be used to produce all sorts of different cheeses. Over the centuries these cheese making processes have been refined and added to, resulting in the modern-day diversity of types of cheeses available in Italy.
It’s all in a name
Classification of cheeses is a difficult business. One method used is based on the firmness of the cheese. In this case, soft cheeses refers to those that haven’t undergone a maturing process. The most famous example of this in terms of Italian cheese is mozzarella. This cheese is literally the product of the basic cheese making process and this is reflected in its name, which means ‘little cut’, as in a little cut off the curdled milk.
A variation on mozzarella is burrata. This is another Italian soft cheese, made in exactly the same way as mozzarella, except that it is filled with butter or cream. This then explains the name as in Italian burrata means ‘buttered’.
A final cheese worth mentioning in this category is Bocconcini. This cheese is in essence simply small balls of mozzarella. In Italian, its name simply means ‘small mouthfuls’.
Moving on up the scale
The problem with the firmness scale as a measure for categorizing cheese is that firmness is a very subjective quality. There’s an obvious difference between something that is soft and hard. But in between, it’s hard to say if something is harder or softer. This in preciseness means that it is debatable where different cheeses go in the classification and different terms such as semi-soft, medium-hard, semi-hard are employed.
In any case, a cheese which is most certainly harder than mozzarella, but not hard compared to some other cheeses, is Gorgonzola. It is an Italian blue cheese, which means that it is matured in such a way as to allow mold to develop, thus giving the cheese a blue element to its color and a very distinctive flavor. The name Gorgonzola comes from a town near Milan, which claims to be the origin of this cheese.
Finally, we reach the hard cheese category, the king of which is Parmigiano-Reggiano. Quite possible you have never heard of this cheese, but actually, you probably have, just under a different name. Parmigiano-Reggiano is the true name for Parmesan cheese. In fact, according to European Law, the name Parmesan can only be used to describe Parmigiano-Reggiano, whereas in other parts of the world Parmesan is often the name for various different cheese that are approximations of Parmigiano-Reggiano. This is a very hard cheese, so much so that although it can be eaten on its own, it is usually added to pasta, soups or salads by grating. It has a strong flavor, so is a seasoning for these other foods. The name refers to Parma and Reggio Emilia, which are the two main areas of Italy in which it is produced.
Only the beginning
In this article, we have seen a little about the origins of cheese in Italy and we have very briefly become acquainted with a few of the most famous names in Italian cheese. There really are many more Italian cheeses, which we can discuss on another occasion. Just to mention a few in passing to whet your appetite before we close though:
Asiago, a semi-hard cheese, which is good for grating in its aged form and in sandwiches when fresh.
Caciocavallo is a medium-soft cheese produced in a manner similar to mozzarella except that the cheese is formed into balls and tied in twos after production. These pairs are then hung to dry and mature. This is possibly the origin of the name which translates as “horse cheese”, as the cheeses are saddled up and left to age. The cheese itself has a sharp taste.
Provolone is another cheese produced using the same method as mozzarella, except that the final product is semi-hard due to the cheese being left to age. For provolone dolce (sweet provolone) the aging process is two to three months and for provolone piccante (sharp or spicy provolone) the process is at least four months. This cheese has a claim to fame as it is the cheese used in the USA in Philadelphia Cheesesteak sandwiches.
Human beings are
funny old creatures. In the past, when watching football highlights, there
always used to be lots of debates. He was offside! No, he wasn’t. Yes, he
was. Or Look at that! The ref has made a blatant mistake. They were
robbed!
So, after many years of such arguing and with the development
of technology, a natural and logical solution to the problem arose, ‘Why don’t
we just use video technology to correct the mistakes?’
It seems to make sense. A lot of the controversy is a result
of the fact that so many matches are televised and the people analysing them
have access to all sorts of video replays. So, why not give the people
officiating access to said replays when they are judging so that they can make
the right decisions?
A Tale of Two Goals
Well, in yesterday’s Liverpool vs Wolves match, there were two interesting incidents. Firstly, the ball was played forward and it looked like it bounced off the attacker’s arm into the path of a second attacker who scored. Not only that, but the defender who played the ball forward also appeared to touch it as he got it under control. However, using video replays someone was able to check and come to the conclusion that in the second case the ball came off the shoulder and in the first it was inconclusive and so didn’t merit being penalised. Maybe these were the right decisions although with regard to the goal it could be considered unfair as there were suggestions that the whistle had been blown and so the defensive players eased up, thinking that a free kick was going to be given (debatable though, as some of them at least continued playing).
A few minutes later, Wolves went into attack and scored an
equaliser to make up for this first incident. Or so they thought! The equaliser
preceded to be ruled put for offside. On the video replay, it could have only
been offside by a fractional margin, so called millimetres as it were! It
seemed harsh, especially considering what had happened moments earlier when a
goal had been given because there was no conclusive evidence against it.
Expert Analysis
The interesting aspect to all this was that during the
highlights programme, the football pundits spent their time debating the ins
and outs of all this. Thus, technology was introduced to stop all the debating
and arguing about different decisions, but all it has done has been to transfer
the debating and arguing from one subject to another. Instead, of discussing
the rights and wrongs of the referee’s decisions, the experts spend their time
bemoaning technological mishaps and controversies.
It would seem that this says something about human nature. Decisions
in something like football, which is fast paced and not clear cut, are always
going to be subjective. There are some things that are obvious such as a direct
elbow to the face or a man being a yard offside but what about when two men are
practically level? It’s then just down to camera angle and the straightness of
computer drawn lines. Likewise, many fouls are open to interpretation so it
doesn’t necessarily help seeing it 10 times from 20 angles as it’s a matter of
opinion. Did he catch him or not? Was it intentional?
In other words, somethings are down to how we interpret the
situation, something that is never unbiased because we are all influenced by
the circumstances around us, or indeed in us, so surely it’s better to let the
referee make his mind up and just go with that. Indeed, in many situations our
first, instinctive decision is often best (how many students have regretted
changing their original answer to an exam question!). In any case, human beings
are fallible creatures and so, even with video technology, mistakes can be
made.
Anyone up for a good argument?
There is another aspect to this. It would seem that it’s
human nature to criticize and be
negative. This whole VAR situation arose because in the past many refereeing decisions
were taken to task for being wrong. But we could have just been positive and
accepted that mistakes happen because that’s human nature and accepted them.
Trying to use technology to eradicate mistakes isn’t going to happen because it
is ignoring the source of them.
The mistakes are not simply a result of the fact that the
referee hasn’t seen something clearly but rather there are many complicated
factors, not all of which can be avoided by watching video replays.
Play to the Whistle
Beyond the debate about the strengths and weaknesses of the
VAR system, there is another lesson to be learned from this particular match.
Wolves, the team seemingly wronged by the VAR decisions in the first half,
could have let their heads go down and give up due to frustration. However,
they didn’t. Indeed, based on the highlights, they were the better team in the
second half and came closed to scoring. Liverpool didn’t have any good second
half chances and the match could easily have been a draw.
So, here we learn that in life, even when some thing doesn’t go your way, it’s not a good idea to just give up. If we keep going, we still have a chance and actually some times, things can work out better than expected!
Aurelius reclined on his triclinium. It had been a hard day at the agora. He hadn’t managed to sell much casus. He wasn’t sure why, although that was just the way it seemed to be. Maybe it was to do with the weather or, as some would have you believe, the whim of the gods, but in any case, those Sestertii were hard to come by. He was hoping to save up for a new villa, but he had a long way to go. He had been working on a new line of hard caseus, using skimmed milk and various herbs brought from distant lands. He hoped that this healthy, exotic line might go down well.
Just as he was beginning to dream. The door to his domum
burst open and in rushed a sturdily built fellow. Without a word he grabbed
Aurelius and began dragging him outside. Aurelius attempted to protest and
resist his abduction but it was in vane. His assailant was far stronger than
he.
Aurelius was man handled, rapidly without explanation, until
he had been brought through the domum’s courtyard and out the front porta.
Here, he was released, collapsing to the floor from exacerbation.
Somewhat dazed, Aurelius raised himself to his feet with the
intention of legging it to safety. He was most exceedingly annoyed by the
experience and would have lashed out at the man, had it not been for his size.
Strangely, the man had backed off. Aurelius thought about
daring to give him some verbal abuse, but thought better of it and turned to
run. However, as he span around, his eye was caught by an unexpected sight. There
was smoke rising from the neighbours condominium and the wall which adjoined
Aurelius’ was being consumed in flames.
Ipso facto thought Aurelius. His neighbour’s domum was on
fire and it was threatening to spread to his own residency. He realised that
the man who had dragged him from his sweet thoughts, rather than being an attacker,
was actually a saviour who had sacrificed himself in order to rescue Aurelius
from an impending danger. Aurelius was suddenly filled with a joyous maximus!
In life there are many contrasts. For example white and
black. Black writing looks good on a white background as does white on black.
However, black writing on a dark grey background is hard to read. In other
words, the darkness of the one, is made clearer by the lightness of the other.
Christianity is often referred to as the Good News. Indeed,
this is the origin of the word gospel. In ancient times, long before the
internet, news had to be delivered by heralds who travelled all over the empire
and announced it in the public squares. Their messages were known as Euangelion
in Greek, literally good news. This term Euangelion came to be used for the
Christian message, such as can be seen in the first verse of Mark’s gospel. The
old English translation of Euangelion was ‘Godspel’, which eventually became gospel.
Remnants of the word Euangelion can also still be seen in the English language
in the word evangelical.
In order to fully understand and appreciate good news, it
needs to be seen in contrast with the alternative. The news that someone is
getting married is good news because two people, instead of continuing to live
their lives in singleness, will now be forming a family, which is often seen as
a superior way to live. However, this good news is tapered by the fact that
singleness is not so bad (well, that depends on your point view!).
In another scenario, if someone has a bad illness, but then
finds out that they have been cured, this can really be considered good news as
the alternative would have been sickness, suffering and maybe even death.
Thus, to be able to fully understand why the Christian
message is good news, we need to understand the alternative.
In Genesis 3 we see that although humans were created in a
good world and had a perfect relationship with God, a tempting factor manifests
itself in the form of the serpent. This serpent manages to convince Eve to go
against God’s command of not eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil.
The consequences can be seen in the ensuing verses as the
humans feel shame, hide from God and start passing the blame. Moreover, God
gives punishments. The woman receives pain in child birth and the man has to
toil hard to make a living from the soil. The ultimate punishment though is
banishment from the garden of Eden. Paradise lost as it were. This is the bad
news.
The good news can however also be seen in this passage.
Firstly, God does not abandon the people He has created, indeed it is He who
goes looking for them and calls out, ‘Where are you?’.
Next, in verse 15 there is a famous prophecy. In the middle of God giving out the just punishments, we see that there is even here a beacon of hope. A promise is made that although the serpent will strike the seed of the woman, he will ultimately crush the serpent’s head. This is seen as a reference to Jesus, who after being born from a woman is crucified and killed, thus is struck by the serpent, but eventually rises to life after three days and so defeats death. This death has been caused by the serpent, whose head is crushed so to speak by Jesus’ victory!
Finally, towards the
end of the chapter in verse 21, there is an important detail that could easily
be missed. God is said to have clothed the humans with skin. In this way, he
covers over their nakedness with something better than the leaves that the
humans had managed to rustle up. This skin must have come from the sacrifice of
animals, so here we have a picture of the gospel. That in spite of humans
disobedience to God He was prepared to make a sacrifice in order to cover their
shame.
Of course, if we think that we are alright, this won’t seem like such a big deal. But if we understand that the fig leaves we are all naturally trying to use are not doing a very good job of obscuring our nakedness, we will be infinitely grateful to receive the gift of skin from God, bought by sacrifice, which truly does the job of covering up all that we have to be ashamed of and thus freeing us to live life to the full!
Ben felt his heart pound as he moved swiftly along. The
reason for the pounding was twofold.
There was the obvious
breathlessness caused by physical effort. He was in a hurry to not be late for
his meeting. However, there was something more. The said meeting could be
described as a rendezvous and thus Ben, like any romantic hopeful, was nervous.
What would he say exactly? More importantly, what would she say?
Ben was starting to feel decidedly tired, so he began to
slow his pace. He was not used to such moments as these and so had misjudged
his preparation time. He usually spent just a few moments readying himself
before debarking into the world, but this time various different thoughts had
plagued him. Was his hair combed okay? Had he forgotten anything? Was this even
a good idea? This was topped by the present which he had already lovingly
prepared, but he constantly felt the need to check on it and the accompanying
letter, debating in his mind possible improvements.
At last, his destination was in sight. The agreed meeting
point was in the central courtyard of the university, a fitting choice as it
was during years doing student ministry that they had met and got to know one
another. Ben turn a sharp right turn and entered the university campus via a
back entrance. This wasn’t because he was worried about being seen, the campus
was open throughway for all and sundry, but it was just the most convenient
option and after all, he had no time to spare.
Glancing at his timepiece, he observed that he was right on
time, 5.30 p.m. on the dot! Relieved, he quickly made his way through the
campus to the middle, where there was a fountain surrounded by benches. As he
approached it, he scanned around to see if the young lady that he had arranged
to meet was there. She wasn’t. Resigning himself to one of life’s constants, he
seated himself down on a bench to wait.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long, which was good
because the butterflies were churning. From his vantage point, he could clearly see
all the way to the main entrance of the university and after a while, he observed
the shadowy figure of someone entering through the open gate and heading in his
direction. He began to get his hopes up, in spite of previous experiences, and
sure enough the figure had set a collision course towards him. It certainly
looked like it was her and as she came closer the doubt melted away. It was her!
Ben felt a certain relaxation of tensions inside of him as
the first two obstacles had been overcome; both he and she had made it.
However, the most challenging part lay ahead.
Ben was a great one for small talk, especially when he was
nervous, but Andriana obviously preferred the direct approach. ‘So, what’s this
all about?’ was her cut to the chase question, without the usual pleasantries.
Ben was slightly taken aback. He had exchanged a number messages
with her over a longish period of time, before mustering the courage to tell
her that he had a present to give her. She had reacted with surprise and began
questioning him via the internet. Ben was more of a face-to-face kind of
person, so hadn’t known what to respond. Eventually though, Andriana had
realised that Ben was angling for a meeting and so here they were.
‘Well..’ began Ben hesitantly, his plans already being
derailed. He had written everything he had wanted to say in his letter,
thinking that better as he could easily put his foot in it when speaking
freely. He planned a short speech in order to offer the present with letter to
Andriana and then was expecting that she would obediently take it, go away,
read the letter, and then give a reply. ‘I, err, just wanted to give you this.’
He started to open his bag to get the present out, but she recalled.
‘For what reason a present?’
Ben realised this was going to be a lot trickier than he had
anticipated.
‘I was thinking that I quite like talking to you and I
thought that maybe we could get to know each other better.’ Andriana stared and
Ben began reflecting on whether he had more dug himself out of or into a hole.
‘I mean to say that maybe we could keep communicating to see
what God’s plan is for us?’ Ben said, reiterating his intentions, hoping that
different words might produce a different respone. Andriana stared.
A brief, but not uncomfortable, silence followed. Ben
thought about how he could have said things better and if he had been clearly
understood. It was unclear to Ben what Andriana was thinking about, but it
didn’t take long for her to verbalise her thoughts.
‘I hadn’t ever thought about that. It’s nice when someone
asks you how you are and shows a genuine interest in you.’ She paused and then
continued. ‘How old are you?’
This seemed like an unfortunate interjection at this stage.
Ben mumbled a response, hoping that it wouldn’t put her off.
‘Okay, I’ll have to think about and it and get advice. How
long have I got to give you an answer?’
Ben hadn’t thought about this and so didn’t know what to
say. He mumbled again. Nevertheless, they somehow managed to agree on a
timeframe of as long as you need, but not too long!
Ben didn’t know quite how to conclude things. He made a
second attempt to offer his present, but the negative reaction, which included
the word ‘Why’, caused him to abandon the idea. It seemed alright to offer to
pray, so he did and this offer was accepted. After a few brief words of thanks
for Andriana and a request for wisdom and guidance for her, they said their
goodbyes. They then set off, ironically in the same direction, thus after
exiting the university gate, they said goodbye again and were finally separated.
Each of us longs to be accepted. Whether it is about a
desire for a loving relationship or a group of friends or particular community,
we want others to like us and accept us. Thus, we are willing to change and
conform to certain standards in order to increase our chances. How many young
men and women adopt the latest fashions in clothes and hairstyles in the hope
that they will be accepted.
But the truth is that no matter how hard we strive, we are
not always well received. There are many factors at play when it comes to being
accepted, especially with regard to romantic relationships. The other person
could have so many different issues that it is hard to be sure how they will
receive us.
It is additionally challenging for Christians who need to
submit to God’s standards, something which can often cost popularity, certainly
in terms of society, but even in one to one relationships as well. On the other
hand, being a Christian offers a great comfort in the face of the rejections in
this life by other people.
Christianity can be defined as a living relationship with
God through Jesus Christ who is our intermediary. This connection to Jesus
offers great hope and solace because He accepts all who come to Him (Matthew
11:28). He doesn’t have various pretensions or conditions for us. Indeed, this
is the very meaning of grace; that He accepts us in spite of our flaws caused
by sin due to the fact that He has already dealt with our sinfulness on the
cross and furthermore, he offers us something that we don’t deserve, an
abundant life in Him!
Hence, we can face the rejection of others, knowing that He sticks
closer than a brother (proverbs 18:24).
It had been a whole week since they had met at the
university. Ben was sitting in his room, resting after returning home from
church, when the moment of truth arrived.
He was busy looking at one thing and another on his telephone
as was his want, when all of a sudden a message appeared from Andriana. This
caused quite a stir in Ben’s inner being. What could it say?
Cautiously, he opened the message, metaphorically speaking,
and there before him were Andriana’s words. ‘Hi! I’ve made my decision. Would
you like to meet or share I write it to you?’
Ben didn’t know what to say. In one sense it would have been
nice to meet up again, although he wasn’t sure how his emotions would stand up
to this. Alternatively, in writing was a good option as it was less
confrontational.
Ben dithered and then
began writing. It was in vane though as Andriana, by this stage proving herself
to not be one to mess about had already started typing. Ben hurriedly rushed
his message through that it would be nice to meet up, but if it was easier for
her, she could write him an email. She wrote her message here in messenger.
Because she had already started typing, the agonising wait,
was that little bit less agonising. The message, although quite long, appeared
quickly. Ben couldn’t help himself scanning it before reading it, hoping for a
clue as to its contents. He saw the word no and so quickly regretted his
forwardness, although nevertheless embarked upon reading the message, conscious
that the word no could have many contexts and connotations.
After some reassuring words about how she had seriously thought
about Ben’s proposal, Andriana got to the business end of things. As Ben was
now used to, there was no beating about the bush. The phrase, ‘my answer is
no’, didn’t leave room for too much speculation as how this could be interpreted.
The message did at least conclude with some encouraging words about trusting in
God to show Ben his future wife.
Deflated, Ben resigned himself to another romantic defeat,
and wrote a few cordial words in reply. This was however not quite the end.
A few days later an evangelistic meeting was taking place.
Ben had been encouraged to try and invite some people, just one of which
accepted. He arranged to meet this person at the bus stop by the university, so
that he could bring her to the meeting. He arrived at the stop and she wasn’t
there yet. This wasn’t the first time that he had a few moments to kill,
waiting for someone by the university. As he daydreamed and looked around all
of sudden he spied a familiar figure. It was Andriana on the other side of the
road, heading towards the entrance to the university. Ben’s instinct was to
call out to her to try and attract her attention. These proved fruitless though
as she didn’t hear, or at least she didn’t stop.
Once again instinctively, Ben stepped forward, desiring to
go after her. However, he realised that she was quite a bit ahead and already
disappearing into the university campus. He now found himself in a quandary
wondering about whether to go after her or not. His dilemma was disturbed by a
voice.
‘Hi! Sorry I’m late!’ Ben turned to see the only student who had accepted to go to the evangelistic meeting. Her timely arrived reminded Ben that his calling from God was not to chase after possible spouses, but rather to serve those around him.
Before him were four men, smartly dressed in expensive
looking suits. Three of them had introduced themselves as pastors from America and
the fourth as a pastor from Australia, each one overseeing churches with names
like, ‘New Life Christian Center’ or ‘Victorious Christian Fellowship’. So far all seemed good.
The leader of the group had begun to explain that in front
of them was a pile of letters that these pastors had received from people with
various different problems. The screen then cut to a different angle so that
the huge mountain of letters that was indeed before them came into view.
The leader then proceeded to open his Bible and read some verses
from the book of Isaiah. Ben hadn’t quite caught the reference for where the
pastor was reading, but in any case it didn’t matter too much because the
pastor then launched into the thrust of his message which was that God has two
anointments for his children; one of financial blessing and the other of physical
healing. Ben was slightly taken aback. He had never thought of things this way
before.
The pastor continued his message, expounding the idea that God
would protect his children from financial crises and that he would offer
healing to those who were faithful to him. Sounded good on first hearing, especially
as the pastor had been backing it up with Bible verses. The conclusion
then came as the main pastor said that he and the other pastors would now pray for
God’s anointing over all those who had sent letters.
All four pastors raised their hands and began to pray for anointings
for all those who had written letters. After a quick prayer, the shot cut back to
the lead pastor who now announced, ‘…and as a special offer for you, we have a
study Bible for sale that includes our guide on God’s financial and health plan
for your life. It can be yours for just £50. Ring the following number right
now to order!’ An image of said Bible appeared on the screen with the appropriate
telephone number. After a fair few seconds (so that viewers had adequate time
to get the phone number written down, presumed Ben) the screen cut away to the
end credits and the pastors were gone, leaving Ben to reflect on God’s plan of
health and wealth and whether a £50 Bible was what he needed to get his life in
order.
Most people desire to be healthy and wealthy. These are two
basic aspects of life, without which we suffer. Thus, the offer of a God who
offers both in abundance to those who follow him is tantalising.
However, if we read the Bible, whether a £50 one or a free
one that we have been given at an evangelistic meeting, we discover that God’s
plan is not quite that simple. A good example is King Solomon.
Solomon was King David’s son with Bathsheba. He gets off to
a good start in life, being born into a royal family and eventually inheriting
the throne from his father, although he has to be involved in some unsavoury moments
in order to establish his throne. We then see him having a very prosperous
reign as king. He builds the Jewish temple, a significant architectural work,
where God was to be worshipped for the next few hundred years.
Beyond this, we see him also building a royal palace (1
Kings 9:10), becoming so famous that a distant queen comes to visit him (1
Kings 10:1), accruing so much gold that silver has no value in his kingdom (1
Kings 10:21), not to mention many other things such as robes, weapons, spices,
chariots and horses (1 Kings 10:25,26). On top of all this, he has many wives
and concubines (1 Kings 11:3).
Alongside, this great wealth, we can speculate that his
health must have been pretty good for him to have been able to do everything he
did. Thus, we see someone who was blessed from a health and wealth point of
view far beyond most of us today. However, this is not just God’s benevolence towards
a person who does all the right things, but rather God ‘s reward for Solomon
having a right heart.
We see in 1 Kings chapter 3 Solomon having a genie in bottle
moment. God appears to him in a dream and offers him whatever he wants. However,
instead of asking for the obvious health and wealth, he asks for something that
you don’t often hear about in genie jokes.
In verse 9 he requests a discerning heart so that he judge
the people he is governing fairly. As a result, God promises to make him the
wisest man who ever lived (verse 12), not to mention to give him these other
good things that he didn’t actually even ask for (verse 13).
Thus, we see an example of God blessing someone with health
and wealth, but only as a consequence of him seeking what is right. There is
also a condition attached. In verse 14 the word if appears, warning Solomon
that he needs to obey God’s decrees and commands in order to fully benefit from
what is promised. Herein is the catch, which we also see clearly presented in Deuteronomy
28; God’s blessings were for those who obey Him.
In other words, in Old Testament times God did promise health
and wealth to His people, but with the condition that they carefully followed His
commands. If they didn’t, curses were promised. Solomon for all his greatness,
fell foul of this condition.
Returning to the issue of Solomon’s many wives, while for
many men the thought of many wives might inspire dread, Solomon seems to have
married many women from the surrounding nations for political reasons (1 Kings 11:1,3).
This was against God’s commands, which specified that His people the Israelites
shouldn’t marry foreign women because they would lead them into idolatry. (1
Kings 11:2). This very thing is what happened to Solomon (1 Kings 11:5-8). We
see that the consequence of this is that God decided to take the kingdom away
from Solomon, although even here we see God’s grace as He decided to fulfil this
judgement only in the time of Solomon’s son.
This idea of grace carries over into the New Testament. Time
and time again the great men of the Old Testament fail one way or another, and
it is only in Jesus do we see the perfect God-man who didn’t do any wrong and
thus was able to become our model saviour. Like Solomon, who in the first place
sought what was right and only after that did he receive other blessings, we
are also called ‘to seek first’ the kingdom of God and His righteousness and
then to trust in him for the other things we need (Matthew 6:33).
Unfortunately, there are many who want to put the emphasis
on God’s material and physical blessings, bypassing the more tricky issues of sin,
repentance and trusting Him. There are constant warnings of this in the New
testament such as Titus 1:10,11 where the apostle Paul warns Titus about those
who are full of meaningless and deceptive talk, teaching what they shouldn’t
for financial gain.
However, true Christianity is not about what we can get out of God, but rather a loving relationship with Him, which we can enjoy whether in need or plenty.
Ben sat eagerly awaiting. He was struggling to communicate
in a meaningful way to his Asian companion who sat alongside him. Neither of
them was very fluent in the same language, which is of course a problem in
conversation, however they had been muddling along as best they could in a
combination of broken English and Russian. ‘Russglish’ as one might say.
The reason Ben had got himself into this situation was
starting to play on his mind. Earlier that morning, he had been sitting quietly,
waiting for the first session of the conference he was attending to begin. His newfound
Asian friend, also a conference participant, had approached him with a proposal,
‘Two of the girls at the conference want to meet us outside during the break.’
Ben wasn’t used to such offers and didn’t know how to react.
He hadn’t had much time actually, as straight after the proposal, his friend
had withdrawn to his seat and the conference had begun. He felt a nervousness
grow inside himself, and an uncertainty well up inside. Was this a good idea? How
could he get out of it?
He did his best to concentrate throughout the first session,
but it was hard with such a tempting offer awaiting. When the break finally
came, he sheepishly made his way towards the refreshments table, conscious of
the fact that his friend had said for them to meet there. Sure enough, just as
he was vainly looking around for some milk for his tea, his friend appeared.
Ben being an amiable sort of fellow, who found it hard to
refuse, found himself being whisked outside, still undecided if it was what he
should really be doing. After all, he’d come to the conference for spiritual
growth, not marriage! He comforted himself with the thought that at least
he had managed to a nab a good selection of biscuits, including chocolatey
ones, before exiting and so had some emotional support.
His companion was very determined, suggesting that he was
not unfamiliar with such occurrences and gave the air of knowing what he was
doing, which was reassuring. They sat down on a low wall, which offered a token
barrier between the paved area just outside of the conference room and the
ensuing sports zone. Then they waited.
Ben’s understanding of these things was that the man should
take initiative, but he himself hadn’t been very successful with that, which
was why this situation was tantalising. In essence, it was an opportunity to
meet someone without the hullabaloo of trying to find a way to organise things
himself plus the added bonus of not spending endless hours in his mind debating
about whether she would be interested or if it was even a good idea!
After his initial reservations, Ben had begun to warm to the
idea and began to think to himself that as long as he approached things in a
sensible, calm, Godly manner, he couldn’t go far wrong. What could the worst
thing be to happen?
To pass the time as they waited, a conversation had struck
up between the romantic hopefuls. A challenging one for sure, but using the Russian
he knew, Ben had managed to ask a few things, and received Russian replies with
some English words mixed in, that he at least partially understood. At first
this seemed cumbersome, but as time passed by, he began to realise and
appreciate the uniqueness of the moment. He was having fellowship in a language
he barely knew with someone from a distant land that he had never been to and
indeed had only vaguely heard of. Now, that was something special!
Nevertheless, impatience began to grow. The fellowship was
great, but it didn’t stop the butterflies that by this time were churning
around in his stomach. He was getting worried that there would be butter inside
him soon! Where were the ladies? Maybe they had got confused about the meeting
point or were being held up by something? Maybe they had changed their minds, or
it had all been a prank to begin with?
Glancing at the time, it began to dawn on Ben that this rendezvous
probably wasn’t going to happen. The break was almost over and there wasn’t any
sign of those who were supposedly interested in meeting up. The butterflies
began to die down and be replaced by a combination of a slight disappointment,
but an overwhelming relief that the moment had passed without anything tricky
or awkward occurring.
Deflated, but also in some ways elated, Ben and his
companion silently accepted that their hopes had been dashed and rose from
their stony seat, returning to the second session of the conference, ready to fight
another day.
In life, situations often arise where it is hard to know
what to think or do. One such example is the Coronavirus. There are two
distinctly different schools of thought. One is that it is just a bad case of
flu, the other that it is much more contagious and dangerous than other bacterial.
Most of us don’t know much about these sorts of viruses so we based our opinion
on what we have heard. But often what we hear from others is not necessarily
accurate or has a certain bias. Thus, our expectations can easily be mistaken.
Unfortunately, many people take this approach to other important questions in life such as what we believe. Which ever way you look at it, an example of an important question is whether Jesus was who he said he was. If he truly was the Son of God, then we need to listen to what he had to say. On the other hand, if he was something else than the Son of God, that means it’s optional as to how much attention we pay to his teaching.
People resolve this issue in different ways. Some just
ignore it, while others say that Jesus didn’t even exist. A middle ground is to
accept that he existed, but to say that he was anything from a prophet to a
magician who deceived people. There are many arguments that can be given, and
much debate to be had for each one. The bottom line though is that it is hard
to deny that Jesus existed. There is much written evidence, both Christian and
secular, and it is also had to believe that a fantasy figure could have had
such a huge impact on the world.
In any case, it is important that we don’t base our opinions
on something simply on what we have heard from others. It is worth
investigating the evidence for ourselves in order to develop an informed idea
of the truth. It is possible that the reality might turn out to be different to
what we had thought.
Ben spent the rest of the day in a quandary. Had he done the
right thing going outside to meet the girls? Had it even been true that they
wanted to meet? This seemed to him to have been wishful thinking, a vane hope
that someone would have wanted to meet up with him. Maybe a rouse to the enjoyment
of others or perhaps they just had second thoughts. After all it wouldn’t be
the first time!
Ben’s judgement on the matter was hazy for a while, until
after much deliberating he reached the conclusion that the girls must have thought
better. After all, maybe he looked alright at first sight, but it didn’t take
much to spy out his weaknesses.
He resigned himself to this cloudy conclusion until he
arrived for dinner. After entering the dining hall, where all the conference
participants congealed together (strangely without the tardiness which
often pervaded the seminars) to await the evenings sustenance, he began to
search for a free seat. It was always a trying task to find the right place to
sit at mealtimes, so he usually just allowed himself to be taken by the spirit
to the spot that had been ordained for him at each respective mealtime.
On this occasion, he felt himself being drawn to a table where
there were two free seats opposite one another. When one of the girls who was
sitting on this table saw him, she gleefully and invitingly urged him to occupy
one of these places. Not being one to refuse an invitation, he sat down. Hardly
a minute had past when all of a sudden, the unexpected happen. Opposite him an
attractive, blond lady took her place, and without introduction began firing
questions at him. Where are you from? What do you do? What’s your opinion of
this and that…..
It was quite an interview and it continued throughout the
three courses of soup, potato pancakes and funny little pastry desert. Ben had
tried to be polite and open with his answers, but it was hard, especially as
some of the questions touched on sensitive issues, Why are you here? Where do
you get finances from? and what are your future plans? Not that it was bad to
discuss such things, but nevertheless a little uncomfortable seeing as they had
only just met.
Eventually, just as the last flakes of pastry were being
ingested, did the interrogation come to an abrupt end. The blond lady excused
herself and she was gone as fast as she had appeared. Overall, Ben was relieved although there was
something quite nice about someone being so interested in finding out about
him.
That evening, as he reflected on the day before entering the land of nod, Ben realised that this was probably the lady that he had been due to meet earlier on in the day. Either by design or divine intervention, his meeting with her had been delayed to the mealtime. It hadn’t been by any means what he had expected or indeed hoped, although he was now at least sure of the realities of the situation and no longer fumbling around in his mind in the darkness of vague possibilities.
‘Здравствуйте!
Могу ли я заинтересовать вас в личностном тесте?
Бен прогуливался
только по Хай-стрит во второй половине дня и, конечно, не искал какой-либо
глубокой внутренней ретроспективы. Однако солидный мужчина средних лет,
стоявший перед ним, не выглядел так, будто не собирался принимать ответ «нет».
«Это займет всего
двадцать минут, и это абсолютно бесплатно», – настаивал мужчина.
Бен, не
отказавшийся от халявы, согласился. Мужчина радостно поманил его, чтобы
последовать за ним, и вылетел на улицу. Это было не совсем то, чего ожидал Бен,
поэтому он был немного озадачен. Мужчина обернулся, осознав, что Бену непросто
понять, куда они направляются, и ободряюще подбодрил его приятным выражением
лица и вызывающим движением руки.
Бен чувствовал себя
странно захваченным и не мог сопротивляться. Он следовал до тех пор, пока
человек не остановился, не открыл дверь и не ввел Бена внутрь. Когда он вошел,
он взглянул на слова «Церковь Саентологии». Это вызвало у Бена некоторые
вопросы, но было слишком трудно повернуть назад.
Оказавшись
внутри, Бен обнаружил хорошо продуманное помещение с центральным столом,
окруженным книжными шкафами и боковыми комнатами. Немного похоже на вашу
местную библиотеку. Несколько других людей слонялись вокруг, просматривая различные
ресурсы, которые, по крайней мере, создавали более дружескую атмосферу, чем
если бы Бен был там один. Человек показал Бену место и поставил перед ним пару
страниц, которые были полны всевозможных вопросов.
“Я подожду в
моем офисе, пока ты не закончишь.”
Итак, Бен
опустился и продолжил. Были разные вопросы о поведении Бена в разных ситуациях.
В конфликтных ситуациях я всегда …… уступаю и ввязываюсь в проблемы, подумал
Бен!
Бен был не из
тех, кто бил вокруг куста, поэтому он отполировал вопросы буквально за двадцать
минут, а затем передал их для оценки. Затем он провел неудобно еще двадцать
минут в ожидании результата. Наконец мужчина вызвал его в свой кабинет.
«Вы очень плохо
общаетесь, и это нехорошо, потому что общение – это жизнь», – был довольно тупой
приговор этого человека. «Но не волнуйтесь, у меня есть выбор книг для продажи
о том, как лучше общаться».
Бен понимал, что
общение важно, хотя казалось, что говорить о жизни – это много. Конечно, это
просто важный аспект, который облегчает наши отношения? В любом случае, Бен уже
знал, что он не лучший коммуникатор. Удобно, что у человека было несколько книг
на продажу по теме, но тоже несколько подозрительно.
«Спасибо, но я
сейчас читаю свою Библию и некоторые другие книги». Это был вежливый отказ Бена.
«Ну, у меня также
есть семинар о том, как лучше общаться на следующей неделе», – рискнул мужчина,
не сдаваясь.
«Еще раз спасибо,
но я очень занят в своей церкви».
Это было бы
концом дела, за исключением того, что человек явно не пытался поймать Бена, чтобы
легко позволить ему ускользнуть. Затем последовало двадцатиминутное возражение,
когда человек пытался убедить Бена в его необходимости в его услугах, и Бен изо
всех сил старался убедить его в обратном. Когда этот человек впервые заговорил
с Беном, он не упомянул эти другие двадцатиминутные периоды, его немного не
устраивало, но в любом случае Бен сохранял свою решимость и сумел избежать
дальнейших двадцатиминутных периодов в его присутствии.
Общение — Это
жизни вполне может быть преувеличением, но, тем не менее, ясно, что это важный
аспект нашей повседневной жизни. Это объясняет популярность мобильных
приложений, таких как Whatsapp, которые загружаются более 5 миллиардов.
Если мы читаем
Библию, как Бен, мы видим, что общение было важно с самого начала. Многие люди
считают, что у Бога есть отдаленная сила, которая, возможно, приводит вселенную
в движение, но в любом случае не участвует. Другие видят Его как силу, которая
пронизывает всю природу. Однако на первой странице Библии мы видим, как Бог
создает вселенную и использует слова, чтобы сделать это! Он сказал, и это было!
После этого Он
затем общается со Своим творением. Он разговаривает с Адамом, Евой и даже с
Каином. Даже после их изгнания из Его присутствия мы все еще видим, что это не
конец общения между людьми и божественным. В Книге Бытия 4:26 упоминается, что
после рождения сына Сифа Еноса люди стали призывать имя Господа. Другими
словами, мы могли бы сказать, что они начали пытаться восстановить связь,
которую они потеряли со своим создателем.
Эта идея также
подтверждается в Екклесиаст 3:11, где нам говорят, что Бог установил вечность в
человеческих сердцах. Часто люди живут так, как будто этот мир – это все, что
есть, но в действительности у нас есть стремление к чему-то большему, помимо
материала, который мы видим вокруг нас, и, следовательно, все различные религии
и философии, которые развивались, когда люди стремились понять мир, в котором
мы живем.
Итак, в одном
простом смысле мы можем определить молитву как попытку общаться с божественным.
Во всем Ветхом Завете мы видим, что Бог общался со Своим народом, зная,
сознательно или подсознательно, что Бог — это личностный Бог, и поэтому нам
логично пытаться общаться с Ним.
На протяжении
веков разные люди подходили к общению с Богом по-разному.
Симеон Столпник родился
в нынешней Турции около 390 г. н. э. Как и любой молодой человек, он строил
планы на свою жизнь, хотя в его случае его планы немного отличались от
большинства молодых людей. В возрасте 13 лет он решил посвятить себя
христианству, что, как он понимал, означало проводить свое время в
самоотречении и молитве. Например, говорят, что он провел, по крайней мере,
полтора года в маленькой хижине, большую часть времени провел в молитве. В
конце концов он перешел на новый метод, который заключался в том, чтобы сидеть
на колонне, которую он нашел среди руин старого здания. Говорят, что он провел
37 лет, сидя на таких колоннах, проводя время в молитве.
В качестве
альтернативы одна женщина из Румынии однажды сделала замечание: «В больницах
Румынии все молятся!» Это можно воспринимать не только как негативный
комментарий о стандарте здравоохранения в Румынии, но и как замечание,
отражающее склонность человека к Обратимся к молитве, когда у нас возникнут
серьезные проблемы. Интересно, что всякий раз, когда случается что-то плохое,
знаменитости часто выкладывают в Интернет сообщения, которые включают в себя
значок двух рук, сложенных вместе в молитве.
Для христиан
человек, который является нашим примером того, как жить, — это Иисус Христос.
Таким образом, если хотите знать, как молиться, нам нужно учиться у него. В
Евангелии от Марка 1: 35–39 мы видим пример, когда Иисус молился.
Первое, чему мы
здесь научились, это то, что Иисус молился! Несмотря на то, что он был частью
троицы, ему все еще нужно было молиться, и если Ему нужно было молиться, чтобы
поддерживать Его отношения с Богом Отцом и Святым Духом, сколько еще мы,
несовершенные люди, должны молиться, чтобы сохранить хорошие отношения с Богом.
Действительно, мы
знаем из собственного человеческого опыта, что, общаясь с людьми, мы развиваем
отношения и что мы страдаем, когда не общаемся с теми, кого любим.
Генри Мартен был
миссионером в Индии чуть более двухсот лет назад. Чтобы выйти на миссионерское
поле, он оставил свою девушку позади, надеясь, что на более позднем этапе,
когда он оценит сцену, она сможет присоединиться к нему, чтобы стать его женой.
Вскоре после прибытия в Индию он написал ей письмо, чтобы предложить брак. Ему
пришлось ждать пятнадцать месяцев ответа, и он был отрицательным!
Можно только
вообразить страдания ожидания этих долгих месяцев ответа. Естественно, что мы
хотим общаться с теми, кого любим. Таким образом, как христиане, которые любят
Бога, это нормально, что мы должны желать проводить время с Ним в молитве, и
если мы не желаем этого, мы должны начать думать о том, почему.
Второе, что мы
можем извлечь из этого примера Иисуса, это то, что, хотя Он был очень занят, Он
все еще находил время для молитвы. В стихе 34 этой первой главы Марка мы видим,
что многие люди приходили к Иисусу для исцеления. Действительно, ближе к концу
главы мы видим, что так много людей искали Его, что Он больше не мог входить в
города. И в начале второй главы в доме так много слушающих Иисуса, что мужчины
не могут пройти через своего парализованного друга и вынуждены поднять его на
крышу и опустить его через потолок!
Тем не менее,
среди всего этого беспокойства мы читаем в стихе 35, что Иисус встал рано,
когда было еще темно, чтобы пойти помолиться. Это показывает, что это было
приоритетом для Него. Цитируется великий христианский лидер прошлого, который
сказал: «Я так занят, что мне нужно помолиться за три часа до начала дня». Мы
склонны думать иначе, что-то вроде «Я так занят, что у меня есть только время
молиться три минуты.» Однако мы обычно находим время для вещей, которые важны
для нас.
Недавно на лыжном
лагере с молдавскими студентами я во второй день спонтанно решил покататься на
лыжах (отдохнув в первый день). Это означало, что я немного задержался, когда
собрал свое оборудование. Я чувствовал, что это не будет проблемой, так как
молдавские студенты не известны своей пунктуальностью. Однако, когда я вышел из
шале, чтобы сесть на автобус, я увидел, что он уже отъезжает и уходит в гору.
Другими словами, обычно опоздавшие студенты, были как раз вовремя, когда
собирались сесть на автобус для катания на лыжах!
Следовательно,
если для нас важна молитва, мы уделим ей время.
В-третьих, мы
видим, что через молитву Иисус разъяснил волю Бога для Него. Сам Иисус также
Бог, но Он, тем не менее, подчинился воле Отца (Марка 14:36). Когда Симон и Его
спутники найдут Иисуса, они, вероятно, ожидают и надеются, что Он вернется с
ними, чтобы продолжить работу в Капернауме, но у Иисуса есть другие идеи. Он
сообщает им, что Его план состоит в том, чтобы перейти к служению в других
местах. Этот план, кажется, сформировался после Его времени в молитве. Таким
образом, молитва — это один из способов, которым мы подчиняем свою волю Богу и
раскрываем Его планы для нас.
Более того, это
также показывает нашу зависимость от Него, поскольку вместо того, чтобы
продолжать то, что мы считаем лучшим, мы останавливаемся и ищем Его
руководства. На самом деле, в суете жизни, как Иисус потратил время здесь,
прежде чем сделать Свой следующий шаг, кажется хорошим принципом, что иногда
нам нужно уходить в пустынные места, чтобы свободно размышлять и искать путь
вперед.
Джордж Мюллер –
прекрасный пример того, кто полагался на Бога в молитве. Он был из Германии, но
стал министром в Великобритании. Он открыл один, а затем и другие дома для
сирот. Говорят, что он никогда напрямую не просил денег, но верил в Божье
обеспечение. Однажды вечером он признался посетителю детского дома, что, хотя
там находилось 2000 сирот, у них не было еды на завтрак следующего дня. Он
начал молиться. На следующий день они обнаружили, что там была необходимая еда!
Как? Ночью христианин в городе не мог спать и чувствовал, что Бог побуждает его
достать еду и принести ее в приют, что он и сделал. Действительно, говорят, что
он предоставил достаточно, чтобы продержаться целый месяц!
Предполагая, что
мы понимаем необходимость молитвы, возникает другой вопрос: что должны
содержать наши молитвы? Есть разные идеи по этому поводу, но базовая модель
будет иметь четыре пункта.
Первым будет
обожание. Обожать кого-то — значит быть сосредоточенным на его качествах и
прославлять его. Как часто люди, например, хвалят футболиста за то, что он
забил отличный гол, который помогает его команде выиграть кубок. Находясь в
горах Румынии, трудно не быть в восторге от Бога, который все это создал.
Далее идет
признание. Именно здесь мы признаем свои слабости как человеческие существа и
открыто говорим своими словами, что мы сделали неправильно. Хорошо известным
библейским примером является Псалом 51, где Давид признает свой грех после
прелюбодеяния.
В-третьих,
приходит благодарность. Это похоже на обожание, но оно фокусируется на том, что
Бог сделал для нас, а не на том, кем Он является. В Ефесянам 5:20 Павел говорит
нам благодарить за все.
Наконец, есть моление или запрашивая вещи. В Евангелии от Матфея 7: 7 Иисус говорит, что просить, и мы получим, хотя это нужно понимать в свете того, что было сказано выше о поиске воли Бога в молитве, поэтому то, о чем мы просим, может не соответствовать планам Бога, поэтому мы можем не получить это!
