Janice Linden a South African from KwaZulu Natal was arrested at a Chinese airport in November 2008. She was carrying 3kgs of crystal methamphetamine. So began a journey that has lasted for three years. In 2009, Janice was convicted of drug smuggling, an offence that carries the death penalty in China. Various appeals were made on Janice’s behalf, but the journey ended today with the delivery to her family’s home of a plain brown cardboard box wrapped in masking tape with a DHL sticker. The box contained Janice’s ashes. It was handed over by members of the South African Police Service who had arrived in a small convoy (The Witness).
What an infinitely sad waste.
A life sacrificed on the altar of greed.
I wonder how many people are doing exactly the same thing without realising it. Perhaps you are. You may not have broken the law. Maybe you work very hard. But what will your possessions count for at the end when they pour your remains into a little urn? You sure won’t be taking them with you.
It was for good reason that Jesus said: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
However, there is a way to make your life counts beyond the grave, to make investments that outlast the crematorium’s fire. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,” says Jesus, “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33-34).
Cheers for now - Ian
.jpg)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Lessons from a pulverised bridge
An excavator on a low-bed lorry is somewhat lofty – a fact that should not be overlooked by the driver of the lorry. About ten years ago, my boss and I were asked to visit a pedestrian bridge spanning a major road, a request which - in itself - was not terribly remarkable. However, the bridge had been driven under by an excavator on a low-bed with effects that did turn out to be quite remarkable. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that the bridge had been DRIVEN THROUGH rather than DRIVEN UNDER. It was not a pretty sight. More to the point perhaps, the bridge now constituted a considerable threat to the cars and pedestrians that were passing underneath the ruins - with completely unjustified gay abandon I might add!
Standing at a safe distance, my boss and I wondered how we might secure the bridge until it could be repaired. The obvious solution was to block the main road, but a convenient detour was out of the question.
In the midst of our ponderings, my brain was ambushed by an anxious question: “forget securing the remains of this bridge, how on earth are we going to repair it in the long run?” I verbalised the question, so my boss began drawing animatedly on a clip-board.
“These are the buttresses, right? They seem to be fine. So what we could ...” Suddenly, he stopped mid-sketch with the look of an angler that has just pulled a red herring out of the water.
“Hang on a moment,” he said, “repairing the bridge is tomorrow’s problem. Today’s problem is securing it. Let’s get that sorted out first.”
He was right of course. But how often do we neglect the challenges of the present whilst fretting about the future? Fretting about tomorrow is utterly unproductive, and it cripples you today.
In the words of Jesus, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:34).
So let us ask ourselves, “What is today’s trouble?” What does God want you to tackle right now? When walking, it is physically impossible to take more than one step at a time. Life is usually the same. God will give you the grace to deal with tomorrow’s problem tomorrow. When the time comes to jump, do it! And only then the safety net will appear. God will not provide the safety net today because you do not need it yet.
Cheers for now - Ian
Standing at a safe distance, my boss and I wondered how we might secure the bridge until it could be repaired. The obvious solution was to block the main road, but a convenient detour was out of the question.
In the midst of our ponderings, my brain was ambushed by an anxious question: “forget securing the remains of this bridge, how on earth are we going to repair it in the long run?” I verbalised the question, so my boss began drawing animatedly on a clip-board.
“These are the buttresses, right? They seem to be fine. So what we could ...” Suddenly, he stopped mid-sketch with the look of an angler that has just pulled a red herring out of the water.
“Hang on a moment,” he said, “repairing the bridge is tomorrow’s problem. Today’s problem is securing it. Let’s get that sorted out first.”
He was right of course. But how often do we neglect the challenges of the present whilst fretting about the future? Fretting about tomorrow is utterly unproductive, and it cripples you today.
In the words of Jesus, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt 6:34).
So let us ask ourselves, “What is today’s trouble?” What does God want you to tackle right now? When walking, it is physically impossible to take more than one step at a time. Life is usually the same. God will give you the grace to deal with tomorrow’s problem tomorrow. When the time comes to jump, do it! And only then the safety net will appear. God will not provide the safety net today because you do not need it yet.
Cheers for now - Ian
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Why men should never ask for directions
Some years ago - and this is very hard for me to admit – I got lost. Yes, reader, it actually happened to me. I was driving my family from Durban airport to Umhlanga, and I knew where I was going, but due to some strange warp in the universe no matter where I turned we would end up at either the Millennium Bridge or a Shell garage close to Gateway Shopping Mall.
Finding myself crossing the Millennium Bridge for the millionth time, I executed a terrifying, high-speed-u-turn thinking that surely this would free us from our eternal ping-pong between the bridge and the Shell garage.
Shortly afterwards we pulled into the Shell garage.
“Dad, I think we’ve been here before. I recognise this Shell garage,” said Katherine. She really is the bravest child I know. Then Gail sweetly asked the dreaded question: “Love, don’t you think it would be a good idea to ask for directions?”
Here’s why I don’t think it is a good idea for men to ask for directions: firstly, men are mentally incapable of remembering directions. By the time I have been told to “turn right at the tee junction, after which you will see a Nandos at three O’clock”, I have begun nodding my head sagely, but nothing, absolutely nothing, is registering in my mind. I learnt this skill in form 1 maths class with Mr Manley. Come to think of it, I did not need to learn the skill – it is a natural, male ability. Ask your wife and she will tell you of numerous occasions when she asked you to do something, but though you appeared to be listening, you definitely were not.
Now the problem with the male inability to absorb directions is the fact that women CAN remember directions. This fact might seem non-threatening, but believe me it is not. The implications of this small and seemingly innocuous fact are truly sinister. Because my wife can remember directions and I can’t, I am no longer in charge. She is in charge. So she gets to tell me where to go, and I must obey – unless I want another view of the not-so-impressive Umhlanga Millennium Bridge. Further, I have to trust someone else to get me to where I want to go.
A sermon by Scott Marques has helped me to see that this traumatic experience brings into focus two of my biggest problems with Christianity. To begin with, I do not like allowing anyone else to take charge, to tell me what to do. But Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me (John 6:38)”. If Jesus did only the will of His Father, surely I must too.
So I struggle with the fact that Christianity is about letting God take charge. But there is more. Christianity is also about trust, and I battle to trust. When I am in charge, I need only trust myself. When Jesus is in charge, I must trust Him. In fact, the Bible says, “without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)”.
So, God, help me to pray “your Kingdom come; your will be done” every day. And help me to mean it! And please help me to see that when Jesus is in charge and things are beyond my control so that I must trust Him, I am living in a way that pleases you.
Cheers for now - Ian
Finding myself crossing the Millennium Bridge for the millionth time, I executed a terrifying, high-speed-u-turn thinking that surely this would free us from our eternal ping-pong between the bridge and the Shell garage.
Shortly afterwards we pulled into the Shell garage.
“Dad, I think we’ve been here before. I recognise this Shell garage,” said Katherine. She really is the bravest child I know. Then Gail sweetly asked the dreaded question: “Love, don’t you think it would be a good idea to ask for directions?”
Here’s why I don’t think it is a good idea for men to ask for directions: firstly, men are mentally incapable of remembering directions. By the time I have been told to “turn right at the tee junction, after which you will see a Nandos at three O’clock”, I have begun nodding my head sagely, but nothing, absolutely nothing, is registering in my mind. I learnt this skill in form 1 maths class with Mr Manley. Come to think of it, I did not need to learn the skill – it is a natural, male ability. Ask your wife and she will tell you of numerous occasions when she asked you to do something, but though you appeared to be listening, you definitely were not.
Now the problem with the male inability to absorb directions is the fact that women CAN remember directions. This fact might seem non-threatening, but believe me it is not. The implications of this small and seemingly innocuous fact are truly sinister. Because my wife can remember directions and I can’t, I am no longer in charge. She is in charge. So she gets to tell me where to go, and I must obey – unless I want another view of the not-so-impressive Umhlanga Millennium Bridge. Further, I have to trust someone else to get me to where I want to go.
A sermon by Scott Marques has helped me to see that this traumatic experience brings into focus two of my biggest problems with Christianity. To begin with, I do not like allowing anyone else to take charge, to tell me what to do. But Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me (John 6:38)”. If Jesus did only the will of His Father, surely I must too.
So I struggle with the fact that Christianity is about letting God take charge. But there is more. Christianity is also about trust, and I battle to trust. When I am in charge, I need only trust myself. When Jesus is in charge, I must trust Him. In fact, the Bible says, “without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)”.
So, God, help me to pray “your Kingdom come; your will be done” every day. And help me to mean it! And please help me to see that when Jesus is in charge and things are beyond my control so that I must trust Him, I am living in a way that pleases you.
Cheers for now - Ian
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Oh for a one-track mind
Professional marathon runners have one-track minds. Everything they do - whether before or during a race - is aimed at completing the course in the shortest possible time. If you see a runner relaxing on race-day, he has either completed the course or has given up. Complacency, lethargy and apathy are adjectives that do not describe marathon runners.
I wish the same could be said of Christians. We often lack the single-minded passion of marathon runners, acting as though we have arrived when there is still a long way to go. Getting to know Christ Jesus your Lord is the work of a lifetime. But does your life create the impression that you have arrived? Beware! You may be deceived into believing that you have. In which case you will have stopped running the race.
Reflect for a moment on the passion with which Christ took hold of you. From eternity past, you were in the mind of God (Ephesians 1:4-6). Jesus set His sights on you before the dawn of time. Then He was tortured beyond recognition and crucified on a cross so that you might become a child of God.
Will you exert even a fraction of the passion Christ showed to take hold of that for which He took hold of you: to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord? You have not arrived. There is a long way to go. In the words of the Apostle Paul: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:12-14)”.
Cheers for now - Ian
I wish the same could be said of Christians. We often lack the single-minded passion of marathon runners, acting as though we have arrived when there is still a long way to go. Getting to know Christ Jesus your Lord is the work of a lifetime. But does your life create the impression that you have arrived? Beware! You may be deceived into believing that you have. In which case you will have stopped running the race.
Reflect for a moment on the passion with which Christ took hold of you. From eternity past, you were in the mind of God (Ephesians 1:4-6). Jesus set His sights on you before the dawn of time. Then He was tortured beyond recognition and crucified on a cross so that you might become a child of God.
Will you exert even a fraction of the passion Christ showed to take hold of that for which He took hold of you: to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord? You have not arrived. There is a long way to go. In the words of the Apostle Paul: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:12-14)”.
Cheers for now - Ian
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)