What if God Was One of Us?

I had this old song by Alanis Morissette stuck in my head the other day -

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

If God had a face
What would it look like?

The Bible says that God did become one of us through His Son, Jesus.  In Jesus we see the fullness of God and His heart for us.

"We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created."

[Colossians 1:15 MSG]

But I often wonder, if Jesus was around today, what would He be like? 

I saw this picture today of a modern stained glass window which a teenager had designed to show Jesus in a 21st Century context.

If Jesus was around today, where would He be?  What would He be doing?  Who would He be with?

I don't think He'd be at church. 

Whilst He lived on earth, Jesus rarely hung around with 'religious' people.  He was usually found with those on the outskirts of society, with those who really needed Him and were aware of their need.  He befriended the lonely and despised (Zacchaeus); He healed the perpetually sick (the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years); He comforted the mourning (Mary and Martha); He fed the hungry (the feeding of the Five Thousand); He forgave the 'sinful' (the woman caught in adultery), and He affirmed the outcasts (the Samaritan woman).

What would this look like in our age and our culture?

Who are the lonely?  Who are the hungry?  Who are the sick?  Who is mourning?  Who needs to know comfort and forgiveness and affirmation?

The Bible says that we have Jesus' spirit living within us; we get to be Jesus to the world.  We get to share His love to those around us.  And when we do, it is as though we are doing it for Him.

        "I was hungry and you fed me,
        I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
        I was homeless and you gave me a room,
        I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
        I was sick and you stopped to visit,
        I was in prison and you came to me.

        ... Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that 

        was me—

        you did it to me."

        [Matthew 25:36, 40 MSG]

I know that most of the time I don't reflect Jesus or live out His love for other people.  But as I grow closer to Him, I hope that my life will look more like His.

God did come to earth and live as one of us.  And now He challenges us to live like Him.

Imperfectly Perfect

I recently found myself in a place which prided itself on its perfection. I was greeted promptly by a smiling and helpful receptionist; I was offered free tea or coffee in a pristine white cup from a friendly waitress whilst I reclined in a comfortable brown leather sofa.

Everything seemed perfect.

Except for me.

And I felt completely out of place. I felt as though my presence undid the work of 'perfection' that these people had strived so hard to achieve.  I felt uncomfortable and inconspicuous.  Because human perfection is always contrived and artificial.  It is a carefully crafted artefact, or a performance which we admire from a distance.  It doesn't invite us in, it distances us.  It doesn't affirm us, it criticises us.

It is something which intimidates us.

And it is something with which I have struggled for most of my life. 

I thought that I had to be perfect in order for people to like me - do the right thing, say the right thing, be the right thing.  There was no room for error.  And so I panicked when I made a mistake or 'failed'.

My least favourite Bible verse for a long time was Jesus' words to His followers -

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

[Matthew 5:48 NIV]

I struggled enough with being perfect in human eyes, let alone in God's eyes. 

But when Jesus talks about being perfect, He doesn't mean for us to be perfect in a human way.  It doesn't mean being on your best behaviour and never putting a foot wrong.   It means to be perfected - to be made complete, with nothing lacking or missing - in the same way that God is complete.  It denotes wholeness and a sense of peace as our striving comes to an end. 

True perfection is not something that we can achieve if we just try harder;  it's not something that can be artificially manufactured; it isn't a show that we put on.  It is something that comes from within and can only be realised when we understand our identity in Christ.

God's perfection, in contrast to human perfection, is embracing, inviting, forgiving, reassuring, affirming and enabling.  It meets us and accepts us where we are; it welcomes us in.  It isn't ashamed of our imperfections, neither does it deny them.  It acknowledges our weaknesses and lovingly completes us.

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

[Matthew 5:48 NIV]

Be perfected, made whole, complete, peaceful, assured, in the same way that your Heavenly Father is. 

I am not perfect.  But in Him I am.

Imperfectly perfect.

Packing Light

I am not very good at packing.

Or rather, I am far too good at packing.  I pack for every eventuality and weather condition.  I pack wellies alongside my swimsuit; suncream and sunglasses alongside my umbrella. 

I am prepared for anything.

Except I am always over-prepared.  I never need everything that I have packed and I end up lugging all of that excess weight around with me. 

And it is tiring.

I am going away tomorrow and have challenged myself to 'pack lightly'.  I have managed this once before (very successfully I might add), but it makes me feel really uncomfortable.  I don't like the feeling of being 'unprepared' or 'underprepared' for things.

I do the same in life sometimes as well.  I try to prepare myself for every eventuality or outcome.  I plan for different situations and 'carry' them around with me 'just in case'.

And that is tiring too.

Jesus knew our tendency to 'overpack' in life and to carry too much around with us - especially those things that we were never meant to carry.  He urged us to lay down our heavy bags and take up His light load instead:

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” 
[Matthew 11:28-29 NLT]

When we pick up the load that Jesus gives us, we find that it is manageable and easy to bear.  We don't have to lug around our past mistakes or our failed dreams; we don't have to bear grudges or the sins of others; we don't have to carry our guilt or our shame; we don't have to carry the thoughts of who we 'ought' to be or who we thought we could be.

We don't have to carry more than we need to.

We can give all of those things to Jesus and take His 'yoke' which is easy to bear - a yoke of grace and forgiveness and love and acceptance.

Let's accept Jesus' 'yoke' and learn to pack light. 

Does Prayer Work?

Does prayer work?

It's a question asked over and over and over.  By people who are seeking God.  By people who are doubting God.  By people who are questioning God.  By people who love God.  By people who hate God.  By people who are angry at God.

Does God hear our prayers?  Does He care?  Does He answer them?  Why does He answer some prayers and not others?  What makes Him answer our prayers?  Is there a 'right' way to pray?  Is there a 'wrong' way to pray?  Do His answers relate to our faith?

Does prayer work?

Many people ask the question.

But I don't think it's the right question to ask. 

Prayer isn't a mechanism or a magic formula.  It isn't a cosmic shopping list, or a 'request slot' with God.  Prayer isn't about me and what I want.  Prayer isn't something that works or doesn't work.

Prayer is talking to our Father in Heaven.  Prayer is a conversation with our Creator.  Prayer is relationship.  In the same way that human relationships are built on communication, our relationship with God is built on prayer. 

When I chat to family or friends on the phone or face-to-face, I don't simply ask them for things.  And I don't judge their love for me on whether or not they meet my demands.  Of course, there are times when I do ask for things from them, but that is part of my relationship and conversation with them, not the whole relationship.  Most of the relationship is built on chatting and sharing, talking and listening.  Learning more about the other person - their thoughts and beliefs, their likes and dislikes.  Learning what they are passionate about and what they value.  And it's about sharing my thoughts and beliefs and values and dreams and hopes and fears.

Prayer is the same.

It is about falling in love with God and partnering with Him to fulfil His work in this world.

Jesus advised His followers to pray like this:

"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God.  Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.  The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant.  They're full of formulas and programmes and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.  Don't fall for that nonsense.  This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.  With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply."
[Matthew 6:6-7 MSG]

Perhaps instead of asking Does prayer work? we would be better off asking What is prayer? and spending our time developing our relationship with God.

[The most useful and beautiful book I've ever read about the question of prayer is "God on Mute" by Pete Greig.  I strongly recommend it.]