gner, brighton, and the prodigal son.
On saturday afternoon i travelled from newcastle to brighton, which was possibly the best journey i've ever had. Unlike my normal experience of gner (ie no one talking until the train breaks down, at which point righteous indignation bonds passengers to the extent that they swop phone numbers and become life-long buddies), i had some great conversations with people. The first of these happened between darlington and peterborough with a south african guy called elvis, who had only been in the UK for 3months and had just visited glasgow for the first time. Thanks to daniel having lived in south africa and alan living in Glasgow we had enough in common to start talking, but pretty quickly progressed past that and onto discussing the british culture (he said so many things that perhaps deserve a whole post of their own) and Jesus, thanks to discovering his dad talking was a pastor in johannesburg. He told me he was a christian but he didnt go to church very often, especially now he's in the UK, and had a lot of fights with his dad about it. So yeah, i had a chance to talk about my faith, and it was really cool - i was quite sad when he left after two hours, although i think everyone around us who'd had to put up with two hours of loud discussion about the aids epidemic, homosexuality in the british church and jesus weren't nearly so gutted.
Next up was an indian family who were travelling europe, and a couple, the guy who was from mexico and the woman who was from canada. We were all sitting around one of the table sections, and conversation just started up. We chatted about alan having been in india, the work the canadian lady did for charity, and the multiple languages the mexican dude spoke. I didnt get to talk to them about jesus, but it was great to find more people to talk to. But the best talk of the day was yet to come, and happened on thameslink station just outside kings cross. I was sitting waiting for my connection to Brighton (and as usual everyone was just sitting there in silence), when this girl about my age just started marching up and down the platform talking REALLY loudly about jesus on her mobile. My ears pricked up straight away, and pretty soon i was praying so hard she'd get off the phone before either of our trains came, cos i just wanted to chat to her so much! amazingly, she came and sat next to me, and i had the chance to. Her name was vanessa, she'd been talking to a friend about how as christians do we say that without jesus you are destined to life without God - ie hell. She said, and i agree, that it is probably the most unpopular message you can give to anyone - its offensive, it injures peoples pride, it makes christians sound self-righteous - its just NOT what anyone who doesnt believe wants to hear. And she said it didnt fit with the "compassionate jesus" she believed in - she said she wanted to believe everyone would go to heaven, including people of different religions - some of her family are muslim. So we were just starting to talk about God's justice and holiness (which cant abide sin) overriding even His compassion when our trains came. It was such a shame i didnt get to talk to her more, but i was really inspired by that five minutes - there ARE people all over the UK and the world who are passionate about Jesus and sharing the good news in our society here and now, and they arent all over 80 (although they can be!).
Anyway, i finally arrived at Brighton and was met by mike (as in kosova mike) who i hadnt seen since march, very exciting! big hugs all round. We had a really fab weekend, if it can be called that - i arrived 11pm on saturday night and left 6am on monday morning! we spent sunday on the beach, how gorgeous was that? aside from the fact that it was a pebbly beach and not a sandy beach it TOTALLY put our northern coastline to shame. Except for the fact that i burnt, which hasnt happened for years - chuh! see guys, you go south and look what happens? they give you skin cancer. Sunday evening we went to The Church of Christ the King, an evening congregation of hundreds of students who meet in a done-up old warehouse. It was a great service, the guy preaching spoke on 1peter, about unity and being brothers to each other (or sisters). So yeah, that pretty much rounds up my brief but lovely stay on the south coast.
Since arriving home, i've worked a lot, which is where i am headed next - got forty minutes from now to transform myself into a decent looking human being and arrive in the shop, which is no mean feat when you consider im still sat in my dressing gown looking like goodness knows what. Shock horror, it's 11:30! but just before i go, two more things. First off, the parable of the lost son - or prodigal son, which i like better. I read it yesterday at work and it blew me away. It's one of those stories that if you're a christian you'll have heard a thousand times over, but it hit me again today. If you dont know the story - basically, this guy asks his dad for all the money he would get when his dad died, and then leaves home and wastes it all on prostitutes and gambling and whatever. He ends up with no money, starving, and really depressed. After a long time of this rubbishy life, he decides he's gonna go back home to his dad and beg to be allowed to work for him - he wont ask to be treated like a son after what he's done, but he figures even the people his dad employs have a better life than he does now. So home he goes, anxious, ashamed, and not expecting much. But his dad is over joyed to see him back, throws a MASSIVE party, and generally just tells his son how much he loves him and wants him back. This story was told by jesus to show how much God rejoices when someone comes back to him - we are the son, and God is the father.
SO! i read this story again. And i realised something; when the son says to himself, "i will go home to my father and say "father, i've sinned against you and against heaven, and i know im no longer worthy to be called your son, please just hire me to work for you" that that is EXACTLY what i do when i fail God. I say to myself, "well, ive really messed it up this time, i just dont deserve God to love me anymore, and i wont ask Him for much again - i'll settle for him just kind of tolerating me". And thats SO wrong! cos like jesus explains through the story, God is just LONGING to have me back, to have me come home - it says in the parable that the father "saw his son while he was a long way off" - God see's me as soon as i recognise im in the wrong and start to turn back to him! it says the father was "Filled with love and compassion" - God loves me and cares about me! And best of all, the story says the father "RAN to his son, EMBRACED him and KISSED him". This is what we can expect from our Father in heaven when we return to him. Hallelujah! im repenting of my attitude that i'll come back and be only a hired servant. When i became a christian it was based on nothing i'd done, only on God's grace. And now as a christian, God's forigveness to me which i still need in my life is ALSO not based on anything ive done - it's His grace.
The last thing - and ive REALLY got to go - is that last night at work i asked steve, who i think i might have mentioned, to come to church :D i pray he comes!
Next up was an indian family who were travelling europe, and a couple, the guy who was from mexico and the woman who was from canada. We were all sitting around one of the table sections, and conversation just started up. We chatted about alan having been in india, the work the canadian lady did for charity, and the multiple languages the mexican dude spoke. I didnt get to talk to them about jesus, but it was great to find more people to talk to. But the best talk of the day was yet to come, and happened on thameslink station just outside kings cross. I was sitting waiting for my connection to Brighton (and as usual everyone was just sitting there in silence), when this girl about my age just started marching up and down the platform talking REALLY loudly about jesus on her mobile. My ears pricked up straight away, and pretty soon i was praying so hard she'd get off the phone before either of our trains came, cos i just wanted to chat to her so much! amazingly, she came and sat next to me, and i had the chance to. Her name was vanessa, she'd been talking to a friend about how as christians do we say that without jesus you are destined to life without God - ie hell. She said, and i agree, that it is probably the most unpopular message you can give to anyone - its offensive, it injures peoples pride, it makes christians sound self-righteous - its just NOT what anyone who doesnt believe wants to hear. And she said it didnt fit with the "compassionate jesus" she believed in - she said she wanted to believe everyone would go to heaven, including people of different religions - some of her family are muslim. So we were just starting to talk about God's justice and holiness (which cant abide sin) overriding even His compassion when our trains came. It was such a shame i didnt get to talk to her more, but i was really inspired by that five minutes - there ARE people all over the UK and the world who are passionate about Jesus and sharing the good news in our society here and now, and they arent all over 80 (although they can be!).
Anyway, i finally arrived at Brighton and was met by mike (as in kosova mike) who i hadnt seen since march, very exciting! big hugs all round. We had a really fab weekend, if it can be called that - i arrived 11pm on saturday night and left 6am on monday morning! we spent sunday on the beach, how gorgeous was that? aside from the fact that it was a pebbly beach and not a sandy beach it TOTALLY put our northern coastline to shame. Except for the fact that i burnt, which hasnt happened for years - chuh! see guys, you go south and look what happens? they give you skin cancer. Sunday evening we went to The Church of Christ the King, an evening congregation of hundreds of students who meet in a done-up old warehouse. It was a great service, the guy preaching spoke on 1peter, about unity and being brothers to each other (or sisters). So yeah, that pretty much rounds up my brief but lovely stay on the south coast.
Since arriving home, i've worked a lot, which is where i am headed next - got forty minutes from now to transform myself into a decent looking human being and arrive in the shop, which is no mean feat when you consider im still sat in my dressing gown looking like goodness knows what. Shock horror, it's 11:30! but just before i go, two more things. First off, the parable of the lost son - or prodigal son, which i like better. I read it yesterday at work and it blew me away. It's one of those stories that if you're a christian you'll have heard a thousand times over, but it hit me again today. If you dont know the story - basically, this guy asks his dad for all the money he would get when his dad died, and then leaves home and wastes it all on prostitutes and gambling and whatever. He ends up with no money, starving, and really depressed. After a long time of this rubbishy life, he decides he's gonna go back home to his dad and beg to be allowed to work for him - he wont ask to be treated like a son after what he's done, but he figures even the people his dad employs have a better life than he does now. So home he goes, anxious, ashamed, and not expecting much. But his dad is over joyed to see him back, throws a MASSIVE party, and generally just tells his son how much he loves him and wants him back. This story was told by jesus to show how much God rejoices when someone comes back to him - we are the son, and God is the father.
SO! i read this story again. And i realised something; when the son says to himself, "i will go home to my father and say "father, i've sinned against you and against heaven, and i know im no longer worthy to be called your son, please just hire me to work for you" that that is EXACTLY what i do when i fail God. I say to myself, "well, ive really messed it up this time, i just dont deserve God to love me anymore, and i wont ask Him for much again - i'll settle for him just kind of tolerating me". And thats SO wrong! cos like jesus explains through the story, God is just LONGING to have me back, to have me come home - it says in the parable that the father "saw his son while he was a long way off" - God see's me as soon as i recognise im in the wrong and start to turn back to him! it says the father was "Filled with love and compassion" - God loves me and cares about me! And best of all, the story says the father "RAN to his son, EMBRACED him and KISSED him". This is what we can expect from our Father in heaven when we return to him. Hallelujah! im repenting of my attitude that i'll come back and be only a hired servant. When i became a christian it was based on nothing i'd done, only on God's grace. And now as a christian, God's forigveness to me which i still need in my life is ALSO not based on anything ive done - it's His grace.
The last thing - and ive REALLY got to go - is that last night at work i asked steve, who i think i might have mentioned, to come to church :D i pray he comes!
posted by Glasgow Girl @ 10:54 am
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