Chapter 2 - The Cross - Introduction (well, half of it!)
What a huge topic this one is!
We talked around the story of the girl in the china shop for a while. Many of us felt that her attitude towards her father would have changed once she understood what he’d given up for her. Perhaps his actions made her think harder about the consequences of her own actions and about how she behaves towards others.
Simon made the point that perhaps the father hoped the daughter would be grateful and thank him. But this is not why he did it. Of course, God loves it when we do thank him, but that’s not his motivation. His motivation is pure love.
We all felt the phrase which Philip uses “We are not the people we want to be” perfectly sums up what it is to be a ‘sinner’. We do, think and say things that we wish we hadn’t. Then we feel guilty and shameful. We talked a lot about sin, about nature vs nurture, about free will and came to the conclusion that it boils down to control… that we undervalue what God has done for us and think that we know best! If we relinquish that control, and have the right attitude and heart, God will guide us to what is best for us.
Some of us found this a bit of a scary prospect! What does it actually mean to give up control of our lives? Isn’t that a bad thing? Aren’t we copping out? But Dave put it beautifully (doesn’t he always?!) – it’s much easier to steer a moving car than a stationary one. It is only when we start to move towards him, through prayer, worship, acts of service, that God can begin to guide us in the right direction.
Something I found really helpful at a retreat I was on this weekend was the phrase “God looks for steady growth, not instant perfection”. How comforting is that?!
Would love to hear what you made of it all... I've emailed you an invitation to become a blog author so you can add posts yourself!! Let me know if you have any problems with it x
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