On holiday...

It's been a cold few days here in Auckland. Summer seems to be hiding her face. I don't imagine she can hide for long though.

Christmas is synonymous with Summer here. Christmas is synonymous with holidays here too.

This Christmas and into the new year, I have decided not to do much. I usually scramble around, organising events and gifts and inadvertently, my calender fills up quickly with lots of festive events, food and socialising.

This time around, I've decided to take it easy and be somewhat of a recluse.

I will read. A lot.
I will pray. A lot.
I will spend time with people that matter.
I will write with purpose.
I will spend one day having a BBQ.
I will still go to church (of course).
I will mope around the apartment.
And I will reflect on a year that's had more ups than downs.

Why the confusion?

Sometimes fences can be funny.  It's unclear if we're fencing things out or if we're fencing ourselves in.

A recent conversation topic that I've been having with a few friends has centered around the meaning of salvation, what it means to receive Jesus and the gift of salvation and what life should be like after we are saved. The obvious questions came up. Can we lose our salvation after we receive it? What if I remain faithful and holy and then, at the last minute, I curse someone or hated someone and almost immediately got hit by a bus, would I lose my salvation? How can one be saved properly and what does it mean? Etc etc....

I do not intend to answer any of the questions above as I believe it warrants a deeper and more well thought out discussion. However, I will say this though. If salvation becomes something that fences you in, dis-empowers you or makes you fearful as opposed to joyful, you'd probably need to re-evaluate your perceptions and thoughts about salvation.

I believe salvation through Jesus Christ is a gift that empowers, encourages and gives life. It is a miracle of faith that transforms an individual to submit, joyfully and willingly to the will of God. In other words, salvation enables us, through the power of the Holy Spirit that comes with it, to be slaves of righteousness. When we become slaves of righteousness, sin and its effects, no longer have a hold on us. Sin no longer has power over us and we stride confidently and assured into the world, to partner with God and tackle the myriad of issues that breaks His heart.

Salvation is the fence that let's sin know that it can no longer have dominion or hold on our lives. Salvation, however, should never be the fence that contains us and the life that God is giving us through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Yes, I take things for granted

I see this on my desk in the studio every morning.

Every single morning, without fail, this cup magically arrives at my desk. The contents within is a dark dark liquid that can taste somewhat bitter and sour but packs a punch to get me going.

And yes, as the title would suggest, I take this for granted. What does taking something for granted really mean? Well, firstly, I think it's something you expect, all the time, without question. Secondly, you get extremely used to it, almost to a point of desensitization, and it becomes part of a routine. Thirdly, you increasingly fail to appreciate it. And lastly, you almost start to get annoyed at it.

Yes, this cup that appears on my desk every single work day for the last 12 months ticks all those boxes. I certainly expect it every morning, I am very used to it (the bitterness and sourness almost tastes sweet to me, and the `kick` is losing its effect), I don't appreciate it anymore (well, at least compared to when I first saw it appear magically on my desk) and I am actually starting to get annoyed at it (I mean, I sometimes want to drink something else, in a different looking cup!).

Of course, life is more than just a good cup of coffee but the realisation of taking a simple cup of black liquid for granted made me ask myself of other more significant things I take for granted.

The life I lead for instance is pretty sweet. I have a secure job which I enjoy immensely, a wonderful wife, am surrounded by great people, my health is good, I have enough money to do what I want and eat what I want, I drink coffee every morning, I have been saved from my sin by a loving God who called me to live a better story and I am loved. Yet, I can sometimes be unhappy with my life and those moments are usually found when I fail to appreciate what I already have.

A friend recently sent me an email with some attached photos highlighting the life of people who live around rubbish dumps in Cambodia in order to forage for food in order to live. I looked through the photos and read the accompanying narrative. Instead of actually feeling sorry for them and going through the whole, 'oh look at these poor sods, what terrible conditions! Look at me, I live in luxury, I should be soooo thankful', I began loathing my terrible mindset. I did not like the fact that I was using someone else's misery to make me feel better about myself and my life.

No, if those images do not illicit something more than just false self evaluation, I think I've failed to love.

If all I can think of after seeing this photograph is how I should appreciate and not take for granted my coffee, I've failed in the compassion department.

I think most of us avoid these issues and look at these photos with a lack of compulsion to action because we don't like to feel guilty or we just don't care. Or perhaps we don't even know where to start when it comes to addressing the issues. I certainly feel this way at the moment but am determined to overcome my lack of love and do something.

I am compiling a team of like-minded individuals who would like to make a difference and hopefully with Godly inspiration and guidance, we can do so.

I just hope I never take for granted my abilites and resources to make a difference no matter how small or large it may be.

Telling the truth about people I like.

There are times when I’m not in a good mood and I really couldn’t care less about the people around me and all I feel like doing is to shut myself away and read. Yes, that is the truth. You see, there are times that I find people exhausting and thankfully, I am currently surrounded by people that don’t tax me as much.

It really isn’t the case of me hating people. In fact, I do actually like being around some types of people (emphasis on the word ‘types’).  So here’s the truth and my list of qualities that I find in people that I like.

1) They are not try-hards.

2) They tell the truth, all the time. And they tell you the truth, even the hard stuff.

3) Closely in line with point 2, they mean what they say.

4) They pick their battles and know when to fight for something that really matters.

5) They’re stable.

6) They’ve got character and a sense of style.

7) They’re opinionated, in an intelligent sort of way.

8) They’re humble and challenge me to be more humble.

9) They’re not remotely jealous about anything. 

I am aware that having a list like this probably opens me up for a whole lot of criticism. Firstly, you could perhaps accuse me of not living up to the standards on this list. Or you could almost say that I am acting obnoxious or sounding obnoxious by having a list in the first place. After all, what gives me the right to have a checklist of qualities that I like in people? Am I that likeable anyway?

Well, if you have those thoughts or are in anyway offended (even in the slightest), you’re probably not going to get along with me or like me.  That’s ok, we can’t like everyone nor expect everyone to like us. 

I think it does pay though, to understand that whilst we can’t necessarily like everyone, or expect everyone to like us, we have a duty to look beyond our likes and dislikes and attempt to love everyone regardless of their disposition, mannerisms, values, appearance and idiosyncrasies. And to help facilitate this love, we must realise that sometimes we do have to put up with and serve the ones we dislike.

Hopefully, over time, as we exercise more of this love, we can grow to accept more types of people and look beyond our likes and dislikes. I don’t necessarily think you’d like them more but you’d accept them, be patient and understand that at the end, we’re all unlikeable in some way or another and could do with a break.

If Love were dictated solely on ‘likes’, I’d say we’d be in a whole lot of trouble right now.