So guess what I did last week? More driving!! I feel like I know the intricate nuances and noises of my car more than the cryptic toddler declarations of my son Malachi when he's singing 'Our God is a great big God'. I was stuck on the A47 to Peterborough (again) last week. The A47 is one of those roads in which your sat nav believes you will get there in just over an hour, but thanks to wonderful automotive vehicles such as the HGV, Tractors and Toyota Pirus', you end up losing an extra hour of your life into the abyss known as the East Anglian Road system. Last week the vehicle being used by the abyss was in fact a van.
Now vans normally come equipped with dare devil stunt drivers who believe their vehicle is in fact the size of an old mini with the power and speed of a Bugatti Veyron, but for some unknown paradox in the universe this driver was more James May than The Stig. Said van driver would consistently do 10 miles under the speed limit and never overtook, even the tractors that only have a single speed of 'slower than a mobility scooter' were happy to have cautious van man sitting behind them until they decided to pull over. Man was it infuriating and boring. On my long and monotonous journey I noticed that the van in front had one of those 'How am I driving' notices on the back. You know the ones with a number to call in case the van driver is in fact Evil Knievel who finds all manner of death defying ways to over take you on a country road. And this sign got me wondering. What if when we became Christians we too where given a sticker to be visible to others asking the question 'How are we living?'.
Would all of our skeletons be exposed, would every bad word, curse, frustration or lack of holiness be brought to account? Would the church be a much more holy and Christ like place if we were publicly called to account through the 'How am I living? scheme'. How great would it be if we were all to have these stickers. Then the lies, hypocrisy, gossip and damaging ways of the church could be dealt with and Christ could be evident in his body. I continued with this train of thought for a few days, thinking through how this sticker scheme could transform the face of the church and how the motivations of many would be turned back to Christ and Christ only. I was proud of myself for hearing God's challenge to live as though we were a part of the 'How am I living' scheme and giving me an insight for my next blog. However I was to find out I had got it wrong!!
At church on Sunday we spoke about the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11-12. We could of focused on David's actions, his rebuking by Nathan, his adultery, lack of holiness and need for the 'how am I living scheme'. But we didn't, we looked at the faithfulness of God, the love of Christ on the cross and the acceptance given to us which is undeserved and totally unwarranted. And in amongst this story God corrected my thinking. You see by creating a way to scare people into living the way Christ calls us to is not the way a loving father wraps his arms around the prodigal sons and daughters who return home. To condemn people for how they live is not the way of a loving friend who welcomes all, including the prostitutes and the dregs of society, and loves them first and foremost above everything else. To ask people to call 0870 -TELL GOD every time another Christian Brother or Sister steps out of line is not the behaviour of Christ's loving body.
This is not to denounce accountability or challenge, the holy spirit holds us to account as does the body of Christ, his church. But God challenged me to see that the man driving the van maybe wasn't driving it safely because that was his character and identity, but because he was fearful of those who may condemn him or rebuke him. God Challenged me with 1 John 4: 18, the love we receive from the Father through Christ drives out fear, and that this love, not fear, is the basis of seeing change in people and forgiving them when they don't. This love is the foundation of challenging the idolatrous whilst being loving friends with those Christians who have worldly idols. This love is about transformation of the believer not control of their behaviour.
I thought by the end of this blog I would be challenging anyone who reads these words to live as though you had a 'how am I living sticker' on your back. But I feel a harder but more fulfilling challenge, and one God has challenged me with, is to live in Christ's love as though you don't need one.
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