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The most basic truth most difficult to accept. How does God work through the here now and the mundane?
I consider Jesus’ life as an affirmation of the worth of this life. All of this life.
Whether I can make myself agree with that or not is another matter… but it’s nice in theory.
Better to make a difference now, rather than dreaming about the grass on the other side.
This is always the better place. And when it often doesn’t seem to be, see what can be done to make it so.
Unfortunately, too many Christians are waiting to ‘go to heaven when they die’, and see the main work of the Church bound up in terms of saving souls ‘for the future’. O to see a widespread rediscovery of Salvation as about whole human beings not just spirits, and about ‘now’ and not just the future, and what God does ‘through’ us and not just ‘in and for’ us.
i agree binopadre… death to all dualism!!!
in reply to jonbirch. I see what your saying but there are some dualisms which are right (good/evil, creator/creation). Whilst affirming that this world is gods good gift,we must have an eschatological dualism, which looks beyond what for many is a painful life and to the life of the age to come. This future vision can then be the fuel by which we live for the here and now.
kat: but dreams and a hope for the future can inspire us for action in the present
of Jon (#7) we could focus on what we can do now to improve “what for
many is a painful life”… that does not deny a life to come but
shifts to focus of our intent.
I find it fascinating sometimes reading Old Testament stuff, seeing how the fact that they had very little thoughts concerning life after death (before they starting trying to account for God’s promised blessings for those who had been martyrs), affected their view of the ‘now’.
Sometimes I wish Christianity had no doctrine of afterlife, heaven etc….as it could be so releasing….
and I would so love to see Christianity in its full glorious potential, living in the ‘now’, for the present, understanding what ‘hope’ means for the present, not just the future.
Those in the the land of ‘Banker’ might think otherwise!
rara. The OT is little concerned with life after death but a promise of a future is there throughout. ie. From the patriarchal promise of Gen 12 to the eschatological vision of Isaiah. The look at the future helped frame their lives in the present.
Caroline: agreed, its a question of balance. The cartoon seem to overstate the case.
funnily enough, the issue of life after death didn’t enter my thinking when i did this cartoon. i was thinking geography and career/calling, etc.
Jon, what about “the issue of life after the death” of your career? Lots of that going on these days.
But, then, this cartoon addresses that – life is still right here and right now, there be or not be a new career out there in the future.
What’s that verse where Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow since today has enough troubles of its own?
Thanks Jon, I really needed this one right here and now. Been in denial, booking passage to Tarshish… over my tantrum and moving on with life where I find myself. This cartoon is going to be my motto for the week.
I shall print it out and paste it to my forehead and right arm- or wait that’s something else and I’m left handed anyway
but honestly- Thank YOU (and the God of timing too)
for me, now is about letting go of the difficulties from the past, the cold weather triggered some of my memories of a friendship that broke down and my struggles with trying to join a community. my shame and failure to manage the situation, all I can ask is that God gives me the grace not to trample on others in the way I got so crushed then, and to know how to do something to protect myself.
I’d love to belong to a community that recognised these problems, and worked to make sure people are safe – I’d love to hear some positive experiences of belonging?
I like Christian Aid’s motto – ‘We believe in life before death’
I especially like N.T.Wright’s understanding of the resurrected life of a Christian – life after ‘life after death’
This also reminds me of the alpha tagline:
“Is there more to life than this?”
hm…….. yes, and now, not just in the future, I want to say.
An irrelevant aside but I’m slightly disconcerted to find the jingle ‘”we-buy-any-car-dotcom, we-buy-any-cat-dotcom, any, any, we-buy-any-car-dot-com” appearing in my brain waves whenever I look at this cartoon. Which makes me wonder whether my ‘adverising doesn’t affect me’idea about myself is rather self-deluding
Pat@19: But it is a classic! And with your lovely children doing such a wonderful rendition how could you ever forget it…?
binopadre@17: love love love that motto too.
so important to live in the here and now, work with people in the here and now, love people in the here and now because we are in the here and now!
Pat – would you like to buy my cat? She’s eating me out of house and home!
I find this cartoon oddly disconcerting, too. On the one hand I can hear a resounding “YES” in my head…on the other hand, I think, “So this is it, then? What a disappointment!”
theseoldshades
Carole – well spotted! I really should proof-read better
carole… i know what you mean.
rara… agreed.
pat and theseoldshades… i know ‘compare the meerkat’, but that’s not what you’re talking about, is it?
Jon:
I couldn’t find a clip of the original one I was thinking of and which was a cartoon with a street rather like yours, with little coloured cars whizzing along it which would randomly explode wih a little coloured ‘pop’ in time to the words of the jingle.
However, the latest ad will still give you a flavour of it!
Webuyanycardotcom
amazingly, i saw this advert for the first time yesterday at the half-time interval of arsenal v bolton. it certainly is infectious!