Today we said goodbye to Jane, Mark & Emelia who had been visiting for the week. When you live abroad it’s wonderful to get these occasional visits from friends and family. It’s always a little tough though when they leave and you’re back to just your own little family again. This is especially true for Sian as she has spent the last few days with a new friend as Emelia is almost 2, and her god-parents.
However, the time we spent has been great with lots of talk about the past, present and future, and most importantly sharing our faith together!
I’ve spent my whole adult life praying for The Salvation Army and wrestling to get to grips with understanding this special mission that God has called us to. Over the last 10 years my heart and mind has cried out against the major injustice we see in the world today and again have tried to understand the root causes and what God has to say about it.
In the two decades since I signed my Articles of War I’ve soldiered at 9 different corps and in only one of them was challenged to seriously think about my faith and study! The rest of the time its been through my own motivation.
You might be thinking where am I going with this post? I remember several years ago hearing John Gowans speak (I think when he was TC in the UK) and challenging people to read books that challenge the mind. After all Jesus himself said that the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37
)
The Western mindset is no longer really satisfied with the simple answers to the questions they ask. These are often the only answers that most Christians seem able to give. Gone have the days when people will accept the simplistic response like the old chorus suggests, “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart!”.
Encouragingly we finally seem to have caught onto this and now the internet seems to be full of Salvationists who are thinking seriously about their faith and its outworking through The Salvation Army. I think of the Journal of Aggressive Christianity now into its 7th year and the new and superbly challenging theRubicon.org and celebrate the breath of thinking. There are also countless blogs where people are doing the same thing.
If you don’t read them then I urge you to do so and start loving God and worshipping Him with your mind as well!
Latest Comments
Brian Rowe
Brian Rowe
Sarah
Graeme, jake clanfield, Phil, Zoe
jake clanfield, Graeme, Sarah, Graeme, sarah
John Ager, Graeme, Henrik