A sadness about the peripheral world

13th December 2006

I am continuing to feel a sadness about the peripheral world – ever losing faith in it. I suppose “faith in the world” is self-evidently stupid for an Evangelical Christian anyway, but it just seems like the failings of the alternative system of Men have become so obvious, plan to see, that I despair for a world without God. I know there is some good in this place, a portion of glory in the law like a warm afterglow of a godliness long since passed – but it seems so apparent to me that ultimately, even presently, (and at present: immediately) there is no hope outside of the Church.

So what is to be done about it? I do have faith, in God and His Church, so this is no maudlin suicide note where “all is lost” and “there is no hope” – because all is found and restored by the grace of God in Jesus. But how do I go about telling others about it?

How do we establish a world based on Acts 2:42 without becoming a cult or something peripheral? We are not supposed to “do community well” off to one side: that is not “well”, and it is true that the eyes of the world are focussed in the wrong direction, looking intensely at the peripheral and seeing the centre with a side-ways glance.

Help me to be inventive and prophetic Father, without it being about “who can I get to pay me for this?”

Confident that God is my provision:
1. I don’t want to squander this wealth, but choose instead to learn how to honour God with every penny. (Proverbs 3.9)
2. I want to continue to seek after His truth in knowing what the centre looks like and how to point people towards it. To bring people to Jesus and also connect them to His Church.

I need to be connected to His Church.
I need to be brought closer to Jesus.
Then others can come with me.