I have been looking for the ‘best before’ date on the box of table salt in our cupboard.
Does salt really lose its saltiness and if so how?
I know a lot of wonderful ‘salty’ people. Degrees of saltiness might be a concern for the individual, but I see a much greater danger afoot. The salt mine.
“It is always clean and comfortable down here.”
There is a magnetic appeal of church meetings and programs for the like-minded. Where the taste in music and sense of humour are common, where the people will make me feel good and my prejudices will largely go unchallenged. Where my time, energy and resources can be expended outside of the secular reality and all of this attractively marketed in ‘cool’ packaging or religious sensation.
Church group leaders who seek to be responsible hired hands must tread carefully.
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7 comments:
In John 10 I think Jesus is using the Good Shepherd motif to contrast to the Pharisees in the previous verse. The OT prophets refered to themselves as Shepherds of the people, but now JC refers to them (Pharisees) as the evil Shepherds cf. Ezekiel 34.
Perish the thought that we should become like Pharisees in our meetings, in our little Salt Mines, how do we really know if we are being true to our Christ-centeredness or just being one giant Pharisiac community centre? In my walk with God I often find it easier to know what not to do than what to do if that makes any sense.
Ezekiel 34 is interesting. I'm sure the pharisees had it on their minds when Jesus was talking to them.
Since any role or position is difficult to define by lists of responsibilities alone, I think that what Jesus said in John 10 is very helpful in that he defined himself 'relative' to the roles of others.
The 'theatre' included sheep, pens, a theif, a robber, a gate, a shepherd, a watchman, a stranger, a hired hand and a wolf.
I find 'the hired hand' to be interesting since it best describes members of our church group who either (1) believe that their role is 'pastoral' or (2) other members of the group believe that their role is 'pastoral'.
The distinction is important. Otherwise the relationship is based on unrealistic expectations and might lead to burn out or pain or both.
The 'hired hand' is not a negative role. It's just a role. If you won't lay down your life for your sheep you are not a shepherd.
Not even Peter was expected to do this (John 21). Jesus said "Feed my sheep". He didn't say "My sheep will become your sheep". He wasn't making him a shepherd, he was making him a Hired Hand.
As for 'salt mines'. A cave that is painted white inside might be considered to be 'pharisaical', but I think that salt mines are full of genuinely beautiful salt.
I'm not sure I agree, Jesus says 'greater love has no man than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends'. His expectation was there would be trouble ahead for his disciples? Peter "eventually" lays down his life for his faith, I think he moved from "hired hand" to "shepherd" through time. I really think when Jesus says "feed my sheep", whether the recipent becomes "hired hand" or "shepherd" is largely down to the individual in question. J doesn't hand out the title, isn't it what you make of the role, run away or stand up and be counted?
Excellent paragraph about 'magnetic appeal of church meetings'. Sadly in our consumerist society the surrounding culture has entered into the world of 'church' whereby so many people now seem to choose their church by whether it makes them feel good or not, rather than 'can I have a part to play here as part of the body' Don't think this means we shouldn't do the best we can to make 'church' accessible to folk, but surely we shouldn't separate ourselves into our favoured groupings. I always love the imagery of a people from every tribe, and people and language and tongue, because of the diversity that it engenders - this ought to be reflected in our church gatherings - have been delighted at some churches I have visited where that has been seen.
Isn’t making ‘church accessible’& appealing, etc just feeding the consumerist notion? I mean – to be facetious – most people know where to find the front door.
In my view there needs to be undiluted teaching that does not hide from tough questions, there needs to be agreement in worship, there needs to be love and, unless God is silent and inactive, there needs to be power.
Without these we have a social club. With these (and these days word travels fast) surely people will break through inaccessibility and care less about the wallpaper.
As for a group representing every tribe, etc. This is fundamentally difficult because when most people imagine a field grown from ‘grass roots’ they envisage a lush green level field and not the resulting uneven ill-kept wild overgrowth. Everyone wants to be a lawnmower; it’s in the sinful nature of man.
Does anyone know what the "Salt covenant" was? 2 Chron 13:5
no, apart from what i've read in links from google_search_page _1. do you?
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