Please, no noise!

I never took offense to people with noisy cars before I had children. 

They were certainly unimpressive. Flaunting their powerful engines as they took off down the street. But now I get so incensed by our neighbours revving their engines in the driveway during baby sleep times that I feel myself get hot. That's a frightening level of anger. Especially towards someone who has no idea that there is a baby in the house near them. 

They don't realise (and neither did I until Avy arrived) that kids are quite sensitive sleepers. If they wake up and it's too hot to get back to sleep/ too noisy/ they're hungry/ they see an interesting toy, then that's it for the day. You can be assured that the remainder of the day is filled with a tired Mum (from little rest) and a grumpy child whose body begs for sleep, but who won't go back, no matter how much patting, milk bottles or shushing you do. This often leads to injury from tired little legs plodding around the house in an uncoordinated way, several tantrums from Mum saying 'no' to things they know they're not allowed to do and a general misery fills the house for the next 5 hours.

Then another attempted sleep time starts and this tired child is now over-tired and will not go to sleep unless you cuddle their heaving, wretching and shaking from sobs body almost to sleep. (This is not something I practice normally and am not keen to start accustoming myself to being 5 months pregnant.) A tired Mum, a tired baby and a very drawn out sleeptime leaves the whole house in a shambles for the rest of the night. Once she's finally asleep at 8.30, there's no way I have energy to do much healthy cooking or any cleaning to prepare myself for the following day.

These boys have no idea how their lives have collided with mine. I've never spoken a word to them in my life, but their actions have caused me suffering. And they'll probably never know it.

It makes me wonder whose lives I've impacted on negatively without ever having met them. If you're reading this and you think I might be that person- I'm sorry!

Why no boy angels?

It has recently come to my attention that the only angels we have heard about in the bible are boys/men. Well, who knows if they have the attributes of an earthly man (assuming not) but they have been given man names; Gabriel and Michael.

In light of this I pose that we rethink our church christmas nativity scenes. Girls are usually the ones to dress as angels and of  course, the role of Mary. The boys traditionally go for shepherds and wise men and Joseph. 

I'd be pretty happy if next year I saw even one boy dress as an angel with the head tinsel get-up. I think it would add some more realism to our Christmas events. Sure, the role of Mary may become even more coveted a role, seeing as how she'd be the only female role left, but what the hey? Girls would totally own the role of livestock.

Cotton-balled-self-esteem-Christianity.

So I guess the lack of posts on this site shows you that I am either uninspired or have had relatively few thoughts. Both of these have some truth as pregnancy seriously diminishes my brain power daily.

But mainly, it's just because when I think of writing something, I notice that those interesting thoughts have left me throughout the day. All that's there when I sit down here to type is a list of unfinished jobs around the house and the thought of what to cook for the evening.

But here's one for you.

(Aside- I probably haven't explained my view on this at all well. So I apologise for my crude thought process.) 

Several Christians have said recently comments along the lines of "Just because someone doesn't want to hear what you have to say about Jesus doesn't mean they're rejecting you. Don't feel bad about it. They're just rejecting God." 

Lunacy, I tell you! I think these phrases have been passed around a little too liberally in our Christian circles, given that they are absolute rubbish. 

We try to make ourselves feel better about being rejected by friends or colleagues by offloading their rejection so that Christ is separate from us. But if we are in Christ, we are united with Christ. 'I no longer live, but Christ lives in me' (Gal. 2:20) 

This is the only way I am saved from my sin. I am in Christ and he has suffered for my sin.  Me and Christ are together now. No longer separable. This is how salvation works. We are NOT Christ, but we are so linked with him when we accept him into our hearts, that the bible talks as us as being united with him. 'God made him, (Jesus) who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.' (2 Cor 5:21)

We are also united with Jesus in his resurrection. Christ is raised on high, and I am raised with him. "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear WITH HIM in glory" (Col 3:4) 

I want to love this rejection from man! This is part of our fellowship with Christ, we shouldn't distance our participation in it or take us out of the equation! Paul explains in Philippians 3:10 'I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.' 

Moreover, part of Christ's suffering's was his rejection from man ' He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering' (Isaiah 53:3)

And Jesus explains clearly how we are to take this rejection from man. 

Jesus instructed seventy two of his followers to go into the towns before him, proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is near. He directs their thoughts to the outcome of those words "He who listens to you, listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me". 

Nowhere in this great speech does he say, "but don't worry, if they reject me, they aren't rejecting you. Don't take this personally or let this little growth opportunity damage your self-esteem, ok?" That sounds to me like our cotton-balled Westernised culture coming through, rather than the reality of the situation.

The thought of people rejecting Christ, but not myself who is preaching Christ, is an entire fabrication and quite offensive to God. They cannot reject Christ without rejecting ME. We can't be torn apart like that, and why would you want to do it anyway? This kind of talk reminds me of what Peter, a friend of Jesus, spouted at Jesus' capture. He tried to distance himself from his friendship with Christ in the same way that we do today to prevent the same rejection of man. 'A servant girl saw (Peter) seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said "This man was with him." But (Peter) denied it. "Woman, I don't know him." '

If only our response was the same as Peter's when he realised his insult to God. Because Peter "went outside and wept bitterly." (Luke 22:62) We sometimes look at examples such as Peter in the bible and we think "Man, that guys loser. Jesus, our Lord was right there with him, and he still rejected him. What an idiot!" But this man didn't have Jesus living inside him. The spirit had not been poured out. How much more should we be ashamed of ourselves when we think or say stuff like this, with God's spirit living IN US. We should be ashamed and weep bitterly over our sin. And as we do, bring it before the Lord of all so he can carry our burdens and relieve us of our suffering. 

What an excellent God lives in us!