'These Are a Few of My Favourite Things'

‘Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens…these are a few of my favourite things.’ Lyrics from the beautiful ‘Sound of Music’ of course! This is Maria telling the Von Trap children to sing about their favourite things when they are sad, and that will cheer them up. And this is, all in all, a great philosophy. When we’re feeling down, it’s really important to think of things and do things that cheer us up. Last night I made a ‘den’ in my bedroom. I’m 22. But I curled up in my den drinking tea because, at that moment, I needed to do something to make myself feel better.

But I think there’s a problem that we all face, and that’s when we immerse ourselves so much in our ‘favourite things’ that we become apathetic and ignorant to the harsh reality of the world outside. Take, for example, a current trend on Facebook. I’ve seen some of my friends post images of baby animals or flowers to stop the negative saturation of images on social media. I absolutely see the good intention behind this, but I think it’s actually really dangerous. Yes, there is a lot of negativity in the world, but surely social media is a platform in which these sorts of things can be displayed? I’m not saying have a full blown debate on Facebook, it’s not the right medium for that, but what I am saying is that it’s not wrong, more so it’s important, that we post truths  of what are going on in the world on Facebook. How do you think most organisations do petitions nowadays? And how are we able to point out issues, and raise awareness if we don’t expose ourselves to the truth? I do appreciate there is a lot of rubbish out there, and by no means am I saying ‘believe everything you read on the internet.’ That would be ridiculous. What I am saying is that there are some great sites with extremely insightful articles and blogs on them. Most charities have a Facebook page now, and UNICEF, Tearfund, Christian Aid, to name a few, post important articles which we should not shy away from reading! Are they nice reading? Not always. Is Ebola nice for the 10,000 people who’ve been affected? For the mother who is now widowed, and due to country laws has no rights over any of her husband’s possessions? For the children who have lost their parents? For the teenage girls being married off because they can’t go back to school? No it’s not nice! It’s horrific! But the least we can do is be informed about these issues, which hopefully provokes action of some sort, be it prayer, financial giving, or even volunteering. If we don’t inform ourselves wisely, and exploit a medium which millions look at daily, how are we going to see people rise up to stop these injustices?!

Another example is the response to the Sainsbury’s advert using World War One. Perhaps I am a scrooge and a bore for posting an article expressing the dangers of this ad, but I believe if we don’t share the genuine concerns we have, the truth will not be heard. It’s a dangerous advert which uses a horrifying event to sell chocolate. It doesn’t pay due to the hell of the trenches and it is, I believe, wrong. Some people have disagreed with me, fine, but it’s important that if I feel strongly that this piece is dangerous, I share that! Surely that is more important than a photo of a puppy?!

There’s an old expression, ‘ignorance is bliss.’ Perhaps. But it’s dangerous. If we choose to be ignorant to the situations going on around the world, we are as guilty as the perpetrators. If we choose to be deaf to the cries of the 27 million girls sold into slavery, we are as bad as the traffickers. Note what I am talking about here is wilful ignorance. Some people don’t have access to the news and updates, and that’s different. But choosing to hide behind a picture of a kitten when women are being raped in Iraq and sold into the sex trade, that’s just wrong. Ignorance is no excuse for a crime committed in a court. One day we will face the ultimate judge, Jesus. We can’t plead ignorant when we have the resources to know at our fingertips.

We know this stuff is happening! It’s not like we’ve never heard, we know about Ebola, about trafficking, about ISIS, about malnutrition, about malaria, about so many other issues. So if we know, and yet then we choose ignorance, what does that make us? 

Live Dangerously

Those of you who know me well might think this a slightly hypocritical title for a blog written by me. I am literally afraid of everything. You name it, it probably scares me or makes me nervous in some way. My idea of living dangerously is on-a-par with Miranda Hart, and the ‘seeing how many times you can walk past a hand-dryer without setting it off’, activity. Such fun! But as Christians I believe we are genuinely called to live dangerously. For some, being a Christian where they live is, by nature, life-threatening. Think of Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Nigeria, communist states. The list could go on. God calls us to dangerous lives. Someone like ‘Brother Andrew’ who smuggled Bibles into Soviet Russia epitomises that. If you haven’t read his book ‘God’s Smuggler,’ get yourself a copy and read it. If you have read it, read it again.

Not all of us are called to be Brother Andrews in what he did, fair enough. But we’re all called to live dangerously, it just takes different forms. I was listening to the song ‘Burn Like A Star’ by Rend Collective, and it really got me thinking. The words say ‘we are aching for the real thing.’ ‘Aching.’ That word does not hold positive connotations. Think about it, ‘toothache,’ ‘headache’, ‘earache.’ These are not nice things we would wish upon ourselves! But we are singing songs which literally say, I am in pain because I want more. I want more of Jesus, more of his Kingdom on this earth.

Paul writes that the earth cries out in pains as a mother in child birth as it eagerly awaits the return of Jesus.

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption and sonship, to the redemption of our bodies.’ (Romans 8:22-23)

Do we? As Christians we have a glorious hope that Jesus is coming back, and that this earth is not the end. But how much do we live in light of that? Or do we whip it out when we need a nice compact answer to the old ‘God and suffering’ question. We are living in a world that is not what Jesus intended, we are living in a world that is not yet complete. We should be constantly in agony over the brokenness of our globe, but how often do we just settle for what is now? How much are we really crying out in pain for what is going on in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria. For the children dying each day of preventable diseases. For the ten thousand people affected in some way but the Ebola virus. And coming out of our pain, our brokenness for this world should be action. Jesus was so devastated by the state of this world, he gave up the glory of heaven to come and die! When we have an earache, or a headache or whatever else, we seek relief. We seek treatment. Do we really do that with God? When we are so utterly devastated by the fact that every minute one woman dies in childbirth, do we actively seek an end to this suffering? By digging deep into our pockets, by getting our hands dirty. By laying aside other commitments to see healing begin, the same way we do when we get ill. Because that’s what Jesus asks of us.

Secondly, we need to think about what we are saying! ‘We are aching for the real thing.’ (Rend Collective-Burn Like A Star) is one example. Some of the worship songs we sing are incredibly dangerous to our own personal comfort. ‘Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t contain and I can’t control, I want more of you God.’ (United Pursuit-Set A Fire). What a song! But how dangerous, if we really mean it. A fire that WE can’t control? Giving up control so that Jesus can have it. I want more of you, LORD. The God who brought Israel out of Egypt, the God who raised Jesus from the dead, the God who appeared to Moses in a burning bush, the God who saw Ananais and Sapphira drop down dead. He is a dangerous God! As Mrs Beaver says about Aslan in C.S Lewis' novel: ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe:’ “Safe?! Of course he isn’t safe, but he is good. He's the

King I tell you.” What a beautiful comparison to Yahweh. Of course he is not safe. But he is good. And if we really mean it, if we really want to, he will come and inhabit our hearts. He will answer our cries for more of him. Just don’t expect it to get easier, or to be comfortable when he does! My personal experience of this comes from the fact that I no longer feel at home in the country I grew up in. I am aching to go and live in Africa now, because God has taken my heart and put a burden for that nation on it so strongly that I can’t ignore it. And it’s going to be tough. And it’s going to be scary. It might even be dangerous. But when we ask him, if we really mean it ‘we will receive.’ He tells us himself in the book of Matthew. (Matthew 7:7).

So as we read the Bible, and as we pray, and as we worship, let’s think about what we’re asking. Let’s dwell on it, and then let’s pray it, with all our might! Let’s pray dangerous prayers that God would raise us up into faithful people, Kingdom builders, willing to live dangerous lives. Jesus tells us to ‘carry our cross.’ That is literally to take up the thing that will kill you and go. Being a Christian is dangerous, sometimes even deadly. But it’s so worth it.

I end with this prayer. Dwell on it, and if you are ready, pray it. 

'May God bless you with a restless discomfort 
about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression,
and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for
justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may
reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that
you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able,
with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,
Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,
and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you
and remain with you, this day and forevermore.'