All ears

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

The message of this hymn is clear – nature testifies about God. But I want to take the idea a little further. If this is my Father’s world, then what about the humans he put on it? Can humanity and all that it is (and isn’t) somehow point towards God too? But man is fallen, you say. The world is proud, worships idols and is self serving. True.

But although this hymn portrays nature in all its glory and emphasises its beauty let’s not forget that creation is fallen, along with man. Sure, creation may not worship idols, but my cat still takes pleasure in catching, mutilating and they playing with baby mice. Horses will die horrible deaths from mosquito-borne viruses and it only takes one fungus to destroy a whole crop of fruits.

The whole of creation, man and beast included, is sin-infected. Yet this is our Father’s world, he is the ruler yet. And I believe that we can hear him – in the songs of nature and the symphony of humanity…. If we listen hard enough.

Behind the shutters

Waiting for the lavatory on the plane to South East Asia, I opened the shutter and looked out the window. The stream of light that poked through suprised me - so many people had their shutters closed that I hadn't realised how bright it was outside (perhaps that was why they had their shutters closed). It was beautiful out there: tufts of clouds meandering across the perfectly blue sea. I could have stared out the window for much longer if I didnt have to stay in line. Flip, Ive been on this flight for 7 hrs already and I never noticed whats outside, I thought. I had been too fascinated with the 994 media channels at my disposal and all the food choices; too occupied with learning mandarin, playing with the lights and scoring free cards and cocktails. But on seeing that incredible view, everything dimmed in comparison. A bit like life, you think? How often are we so strapped in our own little airplane seats - study, work, friends, family, the rat race that we cant see the end of - that we fail to notice the sun shining? Sometimes its good to get out of our seats and lift the shutters to see where we really are. Sometimes what we see isn't so glorious. Haiti has an earthquake and suddenly all the world knows of its existence. Its the poorest country in the western world - but for much of the western world its been behind the shutters until now. I guess thats part of my reason for travelling. I dont know enough about the world out there - mine is terribly small. Whether it be storming or sunny, I want to open the shutters.

Just to prove Hillsong and I have no hard feelings

‘Being more broadly human and less narrowly Christian’*

I’ve been a Christian ever since I can remember. I associate God with family, church, OCF, daily devotions and Hillsong music. Oh and maybe study if you’re lucky. But if‘the earth is the LORD’s and everything in it’, surely he can be found in other contexts? In other types of music, in other non-western cultures? If ‘the world is the LORD’s and all who live in it’, can He be learnt of from other people (irrespective of their religion), observing their way of life? Can travel and everything it involves grow me as a disciple? I suspect yes; I go to find out.

Thus I travel to find God ‘over there’, to seek him in contexts I’ve never seen Him in before. I don’t want to be a Christian that forever sees God in only church, ministry, bible studies and Hillsong music. By no means are they not important – on the contrary (bar the Hillsong music) I believe they are fundamentals. But not the limits of His revelation to mankind.

*quote stolen from Mark Grace

To travel

I came to Massey to study. And I like to think I have not only studied well, but learnt and lived out what it means to study for His glory. To integrate my faith into my studies, ministry aside. A Christian student, rather than a student who –by the way - happens to be a Christian. Next year, provided the great depression II hasn’t set in, I will enter the work force. I want to work for His glory. Serve Him with the veterinary skills and ability he has gifted me with. I want to integrate the gospel into my work, approach it from a worldview different to that of my colleagues. But in between graduating and working, I want to slip something else in. I want to travel. Whilst studying and working is a given, travel isn’t. Should Christians travel? Is it important? What eternal significance does it have? I’ve struggled with whether to go or not, where and why. So why travel? I think travel can be seen as ‘ungodly’ (no one would ever say that, but if they could, I'm sure they would) because Christians have never stopped to think about it deeply – how it relates to what Christ has done, where it fits with into our worldview and how it can be something more than just ‘a holiday’. So this is I want to do. I’m convinced that Christ died to reconcile every aspect of life to God. I want to explore what it means to travel for His glory, because I think it’s possible.