Stereotypes

If you read yesterday's post you will have watched the TV advert for the AA.

Did you notice that all the people who broke down in the advert were women? Obviously if you break down and are a woman you need the help of the AA man. Presumably if you are a man you are more than capable of sorting out the problem for yourself.

On Sunday we looked at the story of Deborah from Judges 4. Deborah was a woman who was leading the people of Israel.

There are times when we come across stories in the Bible that should challenge our stereotypes and prejudices. They should make us think.

In our E100 Bible readings this week we also read the story of Ruth - a foreign woman, who has lost her husband, who displays the characteristics of a true disciple and who finds herself the great grandmother of king David and a distant, but direct relative of Jesus.

A couple of weeks ago we read about Rahab, a foreign woman, who was a prostitute. But a woman who displayed great courage and faith and who is mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 11 - listed amongst those who demonstrated great faith.

Sometimes we have a picture in our heads of the kind of people God uses. Usually these pictures are the result of our life experience. Some people may be a part of a church where only certain kinds of people get all the key roles - maybe, for example, professional men. This can result in a number of thought patterns.

Those who are professional men (in this example) then either consciously or unconsciously overlook others in the church because they don't fit.

But also those who aren't professional men assume that God doesn't want to use them and therefore find themselves on the fringe of the church rather than involved at it's heart.

Hopefully stories like Rahab, Deborah and Ruth should alert us to the fact that God can use anyone and wants to use anyone. The key is not our background but our willingness to be obedient to God. Are there people you have overlooked because of unconscious thinking? Is God asking you to do something but you've always resisted because you see yourself as the wrong kind of person?

Help - I need somebody

How do you think about God? Is it something like this?



For many people, God is a bit like the AA man (Automobile Association) - he's there when your car breaks down on the motorway, but when your car is working fine you don't give him a second thought. When we experience a crisis in our lives we call out to God for help, but when things are going well we hardly give him a thought.

This week in our E100 Bible readings we have been reading from Judges and Ruth. And in Judges the people of Israel go through this cycle of good times - they forget about God and follow false gods - they are oppressed by their enemies - they cry out to God - God rescues them - they experience good times - and the whole cycle repeats itself.

There are a whole range of reasons why we experience crisis in our lives. It is not the case that we can simply say that suffering and hardship are God punishing us for sin. In the New Testament, Jesus, the disciples, and the apostle Paul are just some of the people to experience hardship because of their obedience to God.

But sometimes it may be the case that God sends a crisis in order to get our attention. We are happily following a road that will lead to destruction and God wants us to stop and choose the road that will lead to life. But the only way at times for God to get our attention is when we reach rock bottom - a bit like the prodigal son.

It is good to know that if we have reached rock bottom and there is no where else to turn, no matter how far we've walked from God, no matter how long we have been away - God is loving and forgiving, and has promised that if we turn around he is there to welcome us back and give us a new start.

To be continued...

No chains on me

Last week I was given Chris Tomlin's latest album, 'And if our God is for us', which went straight on to my iPod and has been pretty much the only thing I've listened to since then. Those of you who visit this blog regularly will know that Chris Tomlin is one of my favourite singers/writers - but even from my biased opinion there are some great songs on this album.

The other day I was listening while out running and I decided to run an extra mile at the end of my run just so that I could listen to some more! And if you're looking for something to raise the tempo during a run 'No chains on me' should do the trick...

I've started - hopefully I'll finish

A few posts ago I mentioned that I was hoping to read Virtue Reborn by Tom Wright - having failed to read any of the books on my 2010 'to read' list.

Well, I've started. I've only read one chapter, the first 24 pages, but that chapter was enough to make me want to read more.

What is the book about? I think it is going to be about developing character, specifically Christian character.

Tom Wright has set himself a few questions to try to answer, and they are really good questions.

There is the 'what am I here for?' question - what is a Christian supposed to be doing between the point at which they become a Christian and the point at which they die.

Then there is the tension/balance between those who believe that life is about following a set of rules, or should that be Rules; and those who believe that following Jesus frees us from rules and that we should be true to ourselves and authentic.

There are the questions related to the moral choices we make.

And then there are the questions of how this relates to our wider world which is reeling from the financial crisis, and (within the UK at the time of writing) the MPs' expenses scandal.

Tom Wright argues that what we are supposed to be doing as Christians between belief and death is the transformation of character - so that we do indeed keep the rules, but not out of a sense of duty but out of the character that has been formed within us; and we do indeed follow our hearts, but only as those whose spontaneous decisions and actions reflect what has been formed deep within. And in the wider world how do we develop a fresh generation of leaders in all walks of life, whose character has been formed in wisdom and public service, not in greed for money or power.

To be continued...