Post-Christmas clean-up
It was the day after a very successful Carol Service and I was sweeping up glitter from angels' wings and minced pie crumbs off the floor, so I started thinking about life and stuff. As you do, of course...
I share these thoughts with you now.
I was thinking about the rest of the Christmas period and what was still to come. There was still quite a bit of the floor to be swept, but I had the rest of the day, so I wasn't in a hurry. Thinking about the time I had and what needed to be done, a question rose up from the depths like a methane bubble trapped in ice for centuries: How much is expected of me and how much am I willing to do?
I was really satisfied with myself for being so humble and willing to sweep the floor when I realised that I wasn't particularly willing to do much more than that. What if the vicar came in, looked around and said: "Thanks! Can you also clean the chairs, wipe down the windows, clear the bins in the kitchen, carry the big bits of junk to the skip around the corner and have it done by lunch?" I don't know if I would have been as keen or happily willing to do those things on top of what I already thought was above and beyond the call of duty, so to speak. More than that, I wouldn't have been able to as it was already 11:30 when the thought occurred to me.
Isn't that what we do with the invitation to freedom and forgiveness Christ offers us every day? Strange jump to a whole other topic? Here's how I got there. Try and stay with me here.
When Christ died on the cross many years ago, He made the perfect sacrifice for all sin. He was shamed so we don't have to be. He was beaten so our wounds can be healed. He died so we can have life eternally. He was, from the day of His birth (whenever you believe that was) to the day of His death, a pure, spotless, perfect human being, so when He died He made the perfect sacrifice; a sacrifice we wouldn't have been able to make in a million years or more. Christ went above and beyond the call of duty. He didn't just do the bare minimum to get us into heaven one day, but by rising from the grave on the third day He sealed the victory for us all.
How does this slot in with an unsatisfied vicar in my mind experiment? Easy. We do the same thing with Christ's victory and invitation to freedom. We look at what He did, how much He loves us and sometimes we stand in absolute amazement at the thought. Then we turn around, look at our past and ask God to take out the trash, polish the floor and wipe the window blinds. There's nothing more to be done, you see. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:14). It's all done. He went above and beyond the call of Godship and did all that we can't so that we don't have to anymore.
Why did He do that? Love. He wants to be with us. He wants us to be with Him. Now, after the perfect sacrifice for all, we can be near Him without anything getting in the way. If we want to, of course... The choice to accept this is ours.
I've made my choice. What will you choose?
Can I also get a hand with the bins, please...
I share these thoughts with you now.
I was thinking about the rest of the Christmas period and what was still to come. There was still quite a bit of the floor to be swept, but I had the rest of the day, so I wasn't in a hurry. Thinking about the time I had and what needed to be done, a question rose up from the depths like a methane bubble trapped in ice for centuries: How much is expected of me and how much am I willing to do?
I was really satisfied with myself for being so humble and willing to sweep the floor when I realised that I wasn't particularly willing to do much more than that. What if the vicar came in, looked around and said: "Thanks! Can you also clean the chairs, wipe down the windows, clear the bins in the kitchen, carry the big bits of junk to the skip around the corner and have it done by lunch?" I don't know if I would have been as keen or happily willing to do those things on top of what I already thought was above and beyond the call of duty, so to speak. More than that, I wouldn't have been able to as it was already 11:30 when the thought occurred to me.
Isn't that what we do with the invitation to freedom and forgiveness Christ offers us every day? Strange jump to a whole other topic? Here's how I got there. Try and stay with me here.
When Christ died on the cross many years ago, He made the perfect sacrifice for all sin. He was shamed so we don't have to be. He was beaten so our wounds can be healed. He died so we can have life eternally. He was, from the day of His birth (whenever you believe that was) to the day of His death, a pure, spotless, perfect human being, so when He died He made the perfect sacrifice; a sacrifice we wouldn't have been able to make in a million years or more. Christ went above and beyond the call of duty. He didn't just do the bare minimum to get us into heaven one day, but by rising from the grave on the third day He sealed the victory for us all.
How does this slot in with an unsatisfied vicar in my mind experiment? Easy. We do the same thing with Christ's victory and invitation to freedom. We look at what He did, how much He loves us and sometimes we stand in absolute amazement at the thought. Then we turn around, look at our past and ask God to take out the trash, polish the floor and wipe the window blinds. There's nothing more to be done, you see. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:14). It's all done. He went above and beyond the call of Godship and did all that we can't so that we don't have to anymore.
Why did He do that? Love. He wants to be with us. He wants us to be with Him. Now, after the perfect sacrifice for all, we can be near Him without anything getting in the way. If we want to, of course... The choice to accept this is ours.
I've made my choice. What will you choose?
Can I also get a hand with the bins, please...
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