So, while I cannot give you a run down on what church was like (as technically I have not been yet) I can give a bit of a low down on Bristol this week.
Well, it has rained a lot. An old friend from Woodies came to stay on Friday and that was great – I think she just came down to see if it was really true. Wonderful opportunity to connect with UK based Christians and do some pretty damn great bible study.
But it has rained a lot. Went to see Mamma Mia! for the second time with my dear sister this evening (Sat) which is amazing and I can’t decide if I prefer Colin or Pierce (spelling?) in spandex grooving out to Waterloo. I also enjoyed spending time with someone that I know is going to be an integral part in this next step of my journey.
It rained on the way back too.
Turns out, rain is a pretty standard part of life. And it is indeed lifegiving – we would be screwed without it. Sometimes, however, you can’t help but wish that there was a little less rain and a little more sparkly sunshineness. Specially in this hilly region of the West Country.
And so comes the analogy…
Rain, like pain, is a part of life. The sermon on the last day I was in Geneva was about accepting suffering and still finding joy. What really stuck out was the idea that we spend so long trying to avoid sufferance that we think it is a bad thing. But it is so clear that in suffering we come closer to God as we prove our faith (see bible to back up this statement) and for this reason should rejoice in it. It is through the fire that we are refined.
I am a little bit worried that God is preparing me to suffer. You know, when you hear a message a few times to the point that it becomes blogworthy? I watched on Friday night the movie, correction: film, Shadowlands. Story of C.S. Lewis. It was really good, I thought. The final fade out comment that he makes was that the pain is part of the joy; that you need to experience the two together. Today in Hebrews, having just been absentmindedly sing “O-B-E-Y obey your Heavenly Dad…” (kids song from EBCG), we read the bit - here - that talks about Jesus learning obedience through suffering meaning, not that Jesus was disobedient before then, but that His obedience was not proven until He did it despite what He had to bear.
I must admit, it is a little bit unnerving. I haven't exactly had to prove my obedience or test my faith. As yet.
But, one of my more fabulous favourite things of nature is the rainbow. This is because it depicts to me in theory what it means in practice. When I first visited Geneva, before I had even been offered the job, God showed me a rainbow in the jet and, though I was not a Christian and could not accept the symbolic significance of God’s promises, I could see clearly the idea that through the storm clouds shines a light and gives something beautiful.
[This isn't the same rainbow of that day in June 2007 (the big football is kinda a giveaway) but it is in the same place.]
And that, my friend, is exactly what the promises of God are about. We have the dark clouds of pain and suffering, the light of God shining through (post tenebras…) and then the glory of His fulfilled promises hangs over our lives.
So while it has rained a lot, and there are whisperings of suffering when it really does not feel like it and I really do not feel like it, I am glad that in all this Bristol has been going through a season of rainbows.
'Cause what with all the rain I have spotted a few this week... here is one that I snapped from my bedroom window t'other day:
No comments:
Post a Comment