transparency and, food

i notice within myself and others that sometimes there is a wish that jesus never said anything about the great comission; "go and make disciples of all nations" - this bears the unfortunate coincidence of us needing to be transparent, and being willing to share your faith. "please lord, send someone else"! is the cry..

the reason it comes as a challenge for me sometimes is that i do not want people to look too close at me and scrutinise the things i do - sometimes i would mimic the advice dad would give me, and implore people "not to do what i did!". i am being challenged by the god's word to live a life that represents Christ, i know that i won't always, and even if i always did live the life, people will often see only what they want to see.

but this fortress of negativity can be trumpeted down to the ground, when we realise that what we have been asked to share is, not inherently ourselves, but Jesus. God didnt think that it would be cool if people knew about Me especially, that thered be a humdrum of people that would follow "jethro's way", but he did think it cool that people would know about the spirit of christ in me.

in other thoughts,



lately i have been thinking of the good news of jesus christ and his incredible love as a bit like a dinner that is monstrous in size - the kind that i like to make when i get very hungry, the "mount doom" of chilli or the bottomless pancake mix. just by yourself it seems a bit silly, because, in reality, you cannot physically eat all that much, its illogical to try and fit it all in. you can enjoy it, and get pretty bloated on its deliciousness. however, it makes much more sense to give some chilli to your housemate. then you get the magnified experience of someone else enjoying it, also, the dinner's goal has now reached out futher than just meeting my needs, the purpose of it becomes more well rounded. the significance of the meal increases, yet, theres some more left over..