archives: october 2011...

editorial...

Ever want to be somewhere other than where you are? Me too. I was on holiday last week in Scotland with a few mates. I’d like to be there now, but instead of being surrounded by mountains, I’m staring at a computer screen with a view of north Watford rooftops from the window. I prefer mountains to rooftops.

Monday mornings always make me feel like I’d like to be somewhere else. It’s not that I hate my life; it’s just that I like day dreaming… I find myself looking back or ahead more than I look at what’s going on now. I suppose it’s a bit of an escape.

Looking back, it’s not just Monday mornings that make me feel this way; it’s been a bit of a lifetime distraction. When I was at school, I couldn’t wait to get to college. When I was at college, I was all about getting to uni. When I was at uni I couldn’t wait to get a job and earn money. Now I have a job, I keep thinking it’d be nice to have more money, more time and more fun. 

So, this morning I challenged my Monday blues with a little look through the Bible. This is the passage that stood out (it’s a bit of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave, as interpreted by the Message):

“You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought”.
Matthew 5v5

Here, living in the West, with a certain degree of wealth and freedom, there is always ‘more’. There’s always a new experience to chase, product to buy or stage of life to get to. That’s our culture, and more often than not my appetite for what it can offer is insatiable. Of course, I’ll be much happier if I can get more cash, better clothes, a nice car, a bigger house… Of course I’ll be happier when I finish education, get a better job or enter the next stage of my life.

But that’s not the kind of wisdom Jesus offers us. There’s a secret to learning to be content with where we are and what we have now. How we get to where we want to be is just as important as actually getting there in the end. God’s plan for me isn’t going to begin at some future point when I’m old enough, wise enough or forgiven enough… it’s already started. Most likely he’s asking me to be content with where I am on that journey, to listen to his voice and be prepared to act on what he says.

Knowing that Jesus loves me, has forgiven me and has given me a relationship with God is the only thing that will keep me content. It's never bad to look forward to the future, but God wants to use us where we're at, in the here and now, not just in a few months or years time. When we know how much God loves us, it's much easier to be content!

Have a read through some of the other thoughts we have on offer this month. There's a look at simplicity, a talk about dysfunctional families, stuff on short term mission, a pant-wetting confession from Robbie and some ideas and experiences of learning to live a naturally supernatural life!

Have a good month.
editor@soulsurvivor.com