The Joy of a Future

 Joy is the serious business of Heaven

 C.S. Lewis 

   As Christians our lives are positively bursting with joy! My Bible says the word 'Joy' one hundred and seventy one times. It must be important!

    This, my final post in a series looking at the joy of being a Christian. This is the grand finale!



...a marrow, a castle and the watchword of Heaven

'This is a marrow....'

   I recently heard a tale. It takes place in 21st Century Sussex, a rural county in the quaint English South, where farmers pride themselves on their marrows and where neighbours share and share alike. 

   My storyteller (you know who you are) was driving merrily along, transporting her young brother home one summer's eve, when said brother suddenly spoke:

       "Sister", he exclaimed "Stop the car! I need my free marrow!"   (dramatic reconstruction)

   "Your marrow" She replied in disbelief. "Have you lost your marbles, brother?" (Marbles is a highly popular game in Sussex)

   It turned out, to her amazement, that a free marrow did indeed await them. A small table stood outside a house. Beside it a chalk board read 'Free Marrow'. Her brother promptly jumped out of the car, picked up the marrow, and reentered the car, clutching his new marrow. 

   Why am I telling this story? Fascinating though the rural culture of 'the south' most surely is! 

    The reason is simply this: the marrow was free, the growers wanted to share their produce.  But it had to be taken. It had to be received. How great is that? What kind people- people who grow marrows with the intent of humbly bestowing their harvest upon strangers. 

   God has freely offered up himself as the substitute for us. We no longer have to be labelled 'sinner'. Jesus Christ has given us a gift, a free gift. Lets take it!

   And who, after being treated so grandly, wouldn't want to thank the giver and hold them in great respect?!

'This is a castle....'

   Actually this is Bodiam Castle in East Sussex. A fine castle to be sure. I recently went to Warwick Castle and then to Arundel Castle. Before that I went to the Tower of London. I love Castles. Can you tell?

   What is the point of a Castle? No, it isn't simply a place for aging volunteers in tweed jackets to spend their afternoons! (Note to self: try to get that job in 40 years time!) A Castle is built to secure and defend. A castle is designed to keep invaders and intruders out. Its purpose is to protect its inhabitants and its treasures.

   Jesus spoke some of the most wise words to ever be spoken:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

   Good advice. How joyful would you be if you knew that your future was safe in the vaults of Heaven? Would you not rejoice if you knew that your eternal soul was guarded and defended by the Lord God himself? Why are Christians joyful? Because our lives are safe from any threat, from any marauding army or blitzkrieg strategy.

   The Bible promises many things to Christians. One thing we aren't promised is riches and glamour and good looks. We know that 'the best is yet to come'! All of the joys and blessings we have now will be even greater in Heaven: a real literal physical place where we will live for eternity with the Lord God. Because we know we have this eternal future prepared and safe, we can live without seeking fame or glory or money.

   In the book of Psalms, God is regularly referred to as our 'fortress'. If our hope for the future is in the Lord God Almighty then it is safer than the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

'This is a watchword [keypad]'

     Throughout history, watchmen and guards have used a simple mechanism to find out who is their 'friend or foe'- a watchword.
     Until the early 19th Century, armies tended not to have uniforms, most soldiers simply wore a peasants garb. The English Civil war between King Charles I and Oliver Cromwell is a particularly good example of this. Both sides looked identical! Who was who?!
     Unsure of who they were fighting, the men would challenge their opponents with a watchword. Remembering the right word was literally the difference between life or death.

    So, what is the watchword of Heaven?

   Its important to get it right.

   When I was 15, through God's guidance and love, I learnt the watchword. Its simple and its marvelous. But if, like a civil-war soldier, I didn't stop and learn the word, then my future would be sealed. One day we will die, everybody does, and then it will be too late to learn the watchword.

   Would you like to know it? Do you want the freedom, contentedness, purpose and assurance of a future which Jesus grants his people?

   I asked Jesus for the watchword. This was what I learnt,

I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

   The door of Heaven stands open to all who Jesus invites in. The Watchword is Grace. Jesus Christ died upon a cross, to take away our sins. He rose again (a grave couldn't hold the author of life) to show us the way.

   Do you see now why Christians are full of joy?



   I've been trying to tell you a little about this joy. Just a glimpse. A crack of light through a door left ajar. 


The wonderful thing about this joy is that it is free for all: thats the marrow! 


This unspeakable joy is safe and unmoveable: thats the castle! 


Jesus stands by an open door because of God's grace: thats the watchword of Heaven!

• The Joy of Contentedness
• The Joy of Freedom
• The Joy of being Loved
• The Joy of having a Purpose
• The Joy of Heaven

a marrow, a castle and the watchword of Heaven

this is a marrow....

this is a castle.....

Do you know the watchword of Heaven?

To find out more, and to discover how a marrow, a castle and the watchword of Heaven are all connected then you are going to have to read the final blog in my (un-exhaustive) list of 

'The Joys of being a Christian' 

(Coming soon to Wonders and Wigwams.)

Purpose

The Joy of having a Purpose-

                          For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

    Motorways have a strange effect on me, peculiar as I am; amidst flashing lights and screeching tyres, sirens and indicators, I pause and consider the meaning of it all (much to the anger of the drivers stuck behind me!).
  
    Have you ever looked at the sheer mass of lorries and simply thought- why?! In one short journey think how many Eddie Stobart lorries you might see? And then consider: half of those were traveling one way, half the other. Wouldn't it just be more efficient to let the people in the North keep their things and the people in the South theirs? Hundreds upon hundreds, thousands upon thousands of people....all..... moving, talking, working, sleeping, eating, driving.... and why? What's the point of it all?

    I like watching Reggie Perrin, a TV series in which an overworked middle manager comes to terms with the futility of his existence (some sitcoms actually do contain some serious content!) In an earlier blog- A-Road Inspiration- I told of Reggie's annoyance at his work: he designs and sells razors, but after all his concerted effort and care, people's hair just keeps growing back!

   Frankly, a life without meaning is meaningless. Agreed?

   Good news though. This, my fourth 'positive spin' on being a follower of the Messiah of the bible, is this: Jesus gives us a purpose.

   There is a popular children's song, based on a bible character, which goes like this: (for a bonus point see if you can work out who the character is!)

Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone. 

Dare to have a purpose bold and dare to make it known.  

  
    So what is this 'purpose bold'? Why should Jesus Christ give our lives meaning?

    Simple really, it was through and for Jesus that we were created in the first place!

    For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

  
     I don't know how you react to the news that we were created by and for someone else, but our great-great-great-great-great-grandparents didn't like it one bit! They rebelled against the Lord God and no longer 'walked with him'. They did anything and everything they could think of which would anger God- from their revolt came murder, theft, lust, perversions, lies and deceit (to name but a few).
 
    A righteous and just God would have no choice but to utterly destroy any rebellion and wickedness going on in his kingdom. The good news which the whole bible is focused on is this: God sent his only son to be punished so that his rebellious subjects could be forgiven and not destroyed. Why? Because he loved us. Why? We don't know.

    When we are forgiven and become followers of Jesus we re-discover that purpose and meaning which our ancestors lost. An old Church document, called the Westminster Catechism, was made- using the bible- to remind Christians of the basis of their faith. One thing it said was this:

Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

    Perhaps this puts you off of Christianity. Why should I dedicate my life to someone else's  glory? If you need to ask that question then you have missed the whole point of the bible. When Jesus died on the cross, he died because he loves us. That kind of love cannot help but be reciprocated. We love God, the scriptures say, because he first loved us. Get this: we actually want to serve and glorify Jesus! And it brings us a great joy to do so.

    By worshiping Jesus Christ in all we do, we actually discover that life is fuller and more  wholesome than we originally thought! I remember one speaker we had at church took an elder by surprise with these words, "Someone once asked me what Christians do. He said that we are strict and have so many activities which we won't do. So lets find out what Christians are up to this week-  can we have the notices please, John?" That made him jump, he'd been nodding off at the back!

   Yes, there are activities that believers avoid. Not because we want spiritual 'brownie points' (or pozy points, as we had at lower school!) but because we love our Saviour and want to be like him.

   Its a generally accepted rule that 3 sets of results which agree are 'fact'. Well the bible has this to say- not once, not twice, but thrice:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men 

    Christians are weird. Christians don't do what other people do. Christians boggle the mind. Why? Because they aren't living for career, or love, or wealth. No. Instead they are living for Jesus.

    They have a purpose. Do you?

• The Joy of Being Loved
• The Joy of Freedom
• The Joy of Contentedness

an awakened bride

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all arms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

Leaning on the everlasting arms,

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all arms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

Leaning on the everlasting arms,

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all arms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

    Freedom was a post about the two-fold freedom christians have through the Lord Jesus Christ- free from the consequences of our own sin and free from anxiety and fear in everyday life. The hymn above, a recent rediscovery of mine, is a fantastic reminder of the peace we have, knowing that our God is supreme, all-righteous and knowing that he loves us! 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans chapter 8 verse 28

    This is something which is so unimaginable to those who haven't experienced it. The King of the whole universe actually loves us and cares for us. Despite our initial doubts, the bible is positively bursting with reminders of God's love; here is just one example:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?... 

...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   Did you know that an entire book of the bible is dedicated to the matter of Jesus' love, and is written through the medium of a huge love song?

      At its most simple, Song of Songs is a collection of songs written by the Israeli King Solomon- his #1 albumn: "Solomon: The Golden Years". The songs are sung between a young Solomon and his first-love, a poor but beautiful girl. The girl is assisted in her singing by a 'backing band' of maidens. The imagery used is poignant and powerful, talking in highely poetic language about intimacy and love. The topics discussed are ones that, even in our unbashful contemporary circles, we would be too modest to sing or talk about. This book, contained right in the middle of the Bible, is a beautiful look at sexuality in marriage.

   But its more than just that! Looking deeper at Songs, it is a rich and beautiful metaphor, whereby its prose and story reflects the depth and purity of the love in which the Lord Jesus loves us, his church and chosen people. The Church is pictured as the bride of Jesus, the bridegroom. 

    As we read through it, we first learn about the couple's courtship and the desires each has for one another, then we see the grandeur of the wedding ceremony itself; finally we enter the honeymoon chamber and witness the secret love between the bride's 'my beloved and my friend' and the groom's 'most beautiful of women... a lily amongst the brambles.'

    

    Did you know that God actually created marriage as a way to show how deep and secure his love for us is? Marriage is a visual reminder- with which we are faced every day- to remember  just how sure God's passion for his people is. The Song of Songs helps us to begin to understand the way God feels about his church.

    When I think about my own conversion, I see that I wanted the freedom of Jesus. However I failed to fully grasp- as I continue to fail, even today, 6 years later- the depth, riches and pure mouth-opening wonder of God's love for me. 

    In earlier blogs I have described the joy of being content and the joy of being free, now I add to those the joy of being loved! 

   

• The Joy of Freedom! 
• The Joy of Contentedness!

Freedom

   I live in a peaceful middle-class village in the commuter-friendly no-mans-land somewhere between London and the Midlands. On the whole it is a respectable society. There is, however, one young man who tries to break the trend. Lets call him Marcus.

   Marcus and I went to lower school together and while not really 'friends' we probably classed as 'friendly acquaintances' (although no 7 year old has ever used that phrase, to the best of my knowledge!).

   Marcus changes fashions and stereotypes more often than I change my socks. One week he will be seen skateboarding down the main road, the next he will be skulking under a lamp post with his hoody up. Another week will see him in a long leather coat.

   I have some respect for Marcus. It takes no small bravery to bring the urban-life into a backwater middle-england village. However the slogan on the back of his t-shirt today, which I spotted as I drove past, really left me surprised. It was probably a line from a rock song or a film maybe- but I certainly have never heard it. It said:

In the tomb there is freedom

  That takes some thinking. I pondered for some time over the line. What sort of freedom exactly am I being offered? Presumably the world-view behind the statement is that of an atheist: death is the end, nothingness, no more, zip, throw away the key. The particular brand of freedom on offer, therefore, is simply an end of oppression. Its better to no longer exist- mentally/ spiritually/ consciously- than to be subjected to life on someone else's terms. There is nothing to be gained- in a positive sense- through the tomb, but something can (supposedly) be escaped.

   As am typing this post, Libyan rebel forces are streaming into their capital city, Tripoli. Colonel Gaddafi's 'loyalist' troops are on the retreat; the dictator himself having vanished earlier today. Courtesy of the BBC I can see clips of young men in the back of pick-up trucks waving their semi-automatic weapons and making 'V' signs: victory. They claim to have won freedom from an oppressive tyrant. David Cameron stated that 'the Arab Spring is... one step closer to democracy." and Barak Obama declared: "The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator". (Quite good that!)

    In the case of Libya it is obvious who the oppressor was. It is harder to establish who the oppressor is in the curious case of Marcus' shirt. I will take a stab in the dark and guess that the combined iron fist of social convention, 'the establishment', moral principles, old people, bosses and managers is the intended 'tyrant'. Or maybe it is talking about the dark corners of a person's own mind? The mental prison in which some are incarcerated? I don't know. But I know this: if the only freedom we can hope for is that of death (in the common worldly sense of death) then it is a hollow hope indeed.

    The God of the bible offers us a different kind of freedom. Its two-fold. And it also involves a tomb.

    The great news of the Christian faith is this: although we are all bound in slavery- a slavery to our own wickedness and sinful inclinations- God sent his only son, who became a slave for us. In ancient Israel there was a legal principle called redemption- it basically allowed a slave to be 'redeemed' by someone else paying for them. Jesus Christ, the son of God, did just that for us. He paid the penalty for us going free. He was crucified, a barbaric form of execution used, but eventually outlawed, by the Romans. Now we are free from slavery.

   This freedom is two-fold. Firstly, we have freedom in death. Our redeemer- Jesus- was killed, but the tomb couldn't hold him. He was resurrected! Likewise believers will have eternal life. The bible promises that God will create new heavens and a new earth to be inhabited by his people. The bible contains these great words:

• So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
  
  

   Secondly, we have freedom now! Freedom in our everyday lives. It is an amazing thing to be re-acquainted with the Christian freedom we enjoy. Two weeks ago I went to St Ives as part of a group called 'The Beach Team'. Every summer across the UK and Ireland UBM sends hundreds of Christians to tell the holiday-makers about the good news of Jesus Christ. Talking to strangers about Jesus is a scary thing, but throughout the week I learnt to trust and rely on God. Rather than relying on myself I learnt afresh to give God the steering wheel. It isn't my charming personality or clever wit which persuades people of God's love, rather it is the Spirit of God working in their hearts. The bible says this:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

    Knowing that we have a totally almighty God who loves us and who is preparing a home in heaven for us really takes the pressure off! Worries about money, mortgages, unemployment, illnesses and the like- while still important things- do not overwhelm us. God is on our side. Paradoxically, surrendering to God brings total freedom right now!


    If you are looking to the tomb for freedom then be warned: it is a hollow dream. The tomb is empty- Jesus has risen and conquered death. Go and find him instead. When I was searching for an answer to my slavery I was pointed to these great words in the bible, and they didn't fail me:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.