Secret Women's Business

"If your understanding of God is radically false, then the more devout you are the worse it will be for you" - William Temple What makes for human individual and corporate thriving is a fascinating question for me. What gives life and joy and inner peace for individuals and harmony in society? Any religion that teaches people to serve others obviously has some benefits for society in contrast to narcissism and competitiveness. But it can be a problem for individuals IF the god behind it is harsh and demanding, if no matter how much you give and serve, it's never enough. That's an anxious and oppressive space to live in... you're better off psychologically being an atheist than believing in that kind of god. The image of God that has been sitting with me powerfully lately is around that primal wave of love most (reasonably healthy) people feel when they hold their newborn child. To me this gives a profound insight into the theological claim "God IS love...

One of the sobering things about the study of history is to realise that ordinary, well-intentioned people have often cooperated with deeply inhumane practices. There were well-intentioned people who were involved with, or who at least failed to oppose, the horrors of the slave trade. There were well-intentioned people, both male and female, who opposed women’s suffrage and the rights of women to own property, to access bank loans, have equal pay for equal work and so on. There were well-intentioned Germans who felt that handing Jews over to the Nazi authorities was for the good of society. There were well-intentioned Australians who took “half-caste” indigenous children off their parents. Others who forcibly took children off single mothers for adoption. There were well-intentioned people who supported apartheid in South Africa. All of these actions, with the clarity of hindsight, involved cooperation with evil systems. Yet with that hindsight, they are exposed as profoun...

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus, John 8:12 The clearest revelation of the nature of God arrived in the most unexpected fashion. There was no writing in the sky nor blinding lights… God’s revelation came as a human baby. A living, breathing, flesh and blood human being, who experienced all the joy and difficulty and frailty of being human. This baby grew up to be an unremarkable human in an obscure pocket of the Roman Empire. And yet… he was remarkable in another way. He touched lepers and healed the sick and spoke words of grace to broken-hearted people. He cooked fish on the shore for his hungry friends, he washed their stinking feet, he graciously endured (and corrected) their interminable whining. He was remarkable in claiming “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (God). Remarkable in confronting hypocrisy, in courage, in integrity. Remarkable in teaching of love, even for one’s enemies an...

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Frederick Buechner One of the deepest joys of my life is helping others discover their vocations… what has God put them on earth to be and to do? What has God uniquely wired them for? What interests and passions and gifts has God planted within them? Not only does this quest give me great joy, but it releases great joy in others. It seems to me that living out one’s deepest call (or vocation) can release a deep sense of “rightness”. James and Evelyn Whitehead write that: “The delight of a vocation is rooted in a sense of its goodness and ‘fit’. I delight in the shape that my own life takes as I experience the way it fits my particular gifts and limits. It is not just the right thing for me to do with my life, it is good for me as well.” Terry Walling describes the mature Christian as involving “the coming together of ‘who’ God has shaped an individual to be, and a sense of ‘for thi...

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive” (Eldredge) One of the things that ignites a fire in my belly is the desire to see people step into their true vocations… to be authentically themselves, and to do the things they were put on earth to do. This feels to me like a win-win situation… the person living out their true vocation becomes alight with joy and purpose, and the world becomes blessed by their unique contribution. Whether that contribution is through the arts, science, business, education, community service, ministry, practical deeds, parenting, or through a million and one different ways… the world is a better place when people embrace and live out their God-given vocations. Assisting others in the business of vocational discernment releases deep joy for me. Many writers reflecting on “true vocation” suggest clues are often found in our early dreams and yearnin...

The early chapters of Genesis have caused endless debate over the centuries… was Adam more a saint who fell (Augustine) or an innocent who was deceived (Ireneus)? Are the creation accounts allegorical (Origen) or literal (St Basil)? And so on… please note these are names of early church fathers! The current squabbles between Creation Scientists (literalists) and those who view the first chapters of Genesis more as stories rich in theology, demonstrate there’s nothing new under the sun. But I shall bypass all of that, and leave those discussions to others more skilled in the dialogue between science and theology, the languages and norms of Ancient Near East literature, theological scholars, and so on. Because however else you interpret the creation accounts, they can ALSO be viewed as a universal psychological drama. We are all born naked, and unashamed. Most of us were born to a functional enough mother who was close, nurturing, warm, and safe… a god-like figure of intimacy and love....

The nature of God is probably the most important theological question of all. The New Testament comes up with a truly stunning answer to this most profound spiritual question: God is like Jesus. Jesus Christ claimed "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (God) (John 14:9). Jesus best friend on earth ("the disciple Jesus loved") walked and talked and ate and drank and spoke with and listened to Jesus constantly for three years. When reflecting on what God expressed in Jesus Christ looks like, he wrote a simple and profound phrase: "God IS love". (I John 4:16) God IS love. God is like the perfect parent. God is like the father in the prodigal passage, straining his eyes looking out for the longed-for homecoming of his son. God is the one who pours out abundant and amazing grace through Jesus Christ. I have just read a most thought-provoking blog post from the wonderful Rachel Held-Evans. She is absolutely right about this: while Christians might...