No, our faith is not the same!

My daughter was playing in the mud on our allotment the other day and got a really muddy face, hands, feet etc... I could've just said to her that she must clean herself up, she is very dirty, and then left her to it to see how she does. If she gets it right I could be her friend again, but I will not talk to her until she sorts her dirtiness out There are many different beliefs in the world, but the message of the followers of Jesus is unique in this... The God of the universe didn't remain out of reach and distant, but came into the midst of our problems and got dirty in order that we could be made clean. It is easy for me to clean my child, and afterwards I merely wash my hands (and hers). How is your God going to fix your problems if He/She/It isn't able to get involved with your life? How loving is it to clean my baby rather than to leave her in her mess and expect her to sort herself out? Christianity is unique and radical. It is unlike any other belief. It is worth investigating even for this reason alone.

We need you!...TRULY!

There are some people that I have met at the Café, people that are unusual, and through time and through relationship they have joined our church. All along we may have had in the back of our mind, this person really needs to come to church, and now, finally, they are in. I have discovered that the reason they really need to come to church is not because 'they' need to come, but because 'we' REALLY need them! I am thinking of a few people who bring so much life and vitality, so much joy, honesty and humanity that without them we'd be so completely boring! They may have seemed weak and broken and we might think this relationship could be hard - no further from the truth! The hardest thing is finding in ourselves our own pathetic stigmas, prejudices and unfaithfulness. I was in ASDA the other day, some friends greeted me... from across about 6 aisles! I cannot tell you how welcome I feel and how loved! It is true that the weak things of this world are used by God in order to shame the strong.