God in a box

It's Christmas time! Everywhere I go there are decorations, Christmas music and uplifted spirits at the idea of seeing family, sharing gifts and eating plenty on and around 25th December. It's the same every year and we're familiar with the format. The video below sums up Christmas nicely, and I'm sure you'll be able to identify with some of it!

If you watched the video to the end, you'll see that there could be so much more to Christmas than just simply the commercialism and great expenditure we are used to. It celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, and I see in society around me that Jesus is dusted off temporarily over the Christmas period and features on the odd card or two and is sung of in carols on the doorstep. But come Boxing Day, it's time to pack him up again until perhaps Easter when Jesus might get a mention alongside the bunnies and the eggs.

I find this tragic.

The UK now would probably class itself as a multi-cultural, multi-faith society founded on Christian roots, and I don't disagree. But whilst there are many devout followers of a huge array of religions and faiths present in the country right now, I'd still say that the majority fall into the category of "Christian apathetic". What do I mean by that? I mean that a significant percentage of the population would tick Christian on the census, tell people they believe in God and see themselves going to heaven one day because they've tried to be decent people, but otherwise Christ has no bearing on their lives. God comes out for special occasions such as Christmas, weddings, funerals, christenings and Easter. He also features in conversation when someone needs to assign blame when there's no one else to point the finger at, or when we're in need of help or comfort. Suddenly someone who otherwise had no time for God begins to pray and begs for answers.

God loves to hear our prayers and does answer them, but He is not a genie, there when we want Him and then disappears once our wishes have been granted. To know and love God requires more than just attending church once or twice a year (or even 52 times a year!), being in possession of a Bible or being related to a vicar. It is a personal commitment that each and every one of us makes independently of one another, but which is open to anyone and everyone regardless of what's happened in the past or how bad we've been.

But making a commitment to Christ - being a Christian - is so much more than just acknowledging that perhaps God exists, and getting Him out of His box at seasonally appropriate moments. Jesus called us to take up our crosses and follow him (Matt 16:24) which means more than just having a vague sense of the divine - it means going out of our way to live for Him and inevitably even suffer for Him. It's not an easy request, but Jesus also said "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it". (Matt 7:13-14) He knew that He was asking a lot but it is such a worthwhile commitment because its consequences are eternal. Contrary to popular thinking, heaven is not a reward for good behaviour but a totally undeserved gift. It's offered to you right now, but you cannot just have God on your terms when it suits you. Look to Christ, read what he says about himself and about his Father in the gospels and see if he can meet your needs better than anything this material world can offer you.

A dog thinks it's human; a cat thinks it's God...

I have heard it said before that "A dog thinks it's human; a cat thinks it's God", and on the whole I can certainly see where that thinking comes from! Generally we have the picture that dogs love to please their owners. They are easily delighted, loyal and friendly. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule! Cats on the other hand can be a bit snooty, arrogant and self-sufficient - or they like to think they are. I used to have a beautiful tortoiseshell cat called Summer who reached the ripe old age (for a cat!) of 18. She was very loving and enjoyed cuddles but definitely had an air of importance around her and wanted everything to be on her terms.

A lot of the time it was fine for things to be on her terms. She knew what she wanted and we as owners were happy to let her have them because they resulted in a contented cat and a lot of purring. The problem was that what she thought she wanted to do was not always beneficial for her. For example, she went through a bit of a habit of climbing on the kitchen work surfaces and walking across the cooker. Whenever she would do this, I would raise my voice and tell her to get down. If she didn't, I would scoop her up and put her on the floor. If she did it again, I would repeat the process. This made her irritable. I had vetoed something she wanted to do, and it made her want to do it again. Eventually she got into the habit of not going up there and didn't attempt it again. The purring recommenced.

So what's my point? Cats do not understand English or any other language. They may get the general gist of what we are saying to them by our actions, tone of voice, and may even recognise a few words, but you cannot hold a meaningful conversation with a pet. In Summer's mind, my getting angry with her when she walked across the cooker was irrational and the action of a killjoy. I was simply telling her to get down because I could. What she never realised was that there may one day be an occasion when we went to walk across the cooker and it was still hot from when it had been on, or perhaps there would be a boiling saucepan on it. My concern for her was that she would stay safe and avoid obvious danger. I didn't want her to hurt herself and warned her against it. She never understood why I did what I did or how close she came to getting hurt but grudgingly she obeyed and respected my wishes.

In a similar way, we humans can rage against God when He tells us not to do something. We can say that He is being a spoil sport or exerting His authority where it is not wanted, but God does not tell us to do or not to do things for no reason. If God tells us in the Bible that something is wrong and that He will be displeased if we do it, it doesn't mean He doesn't have His reasons. Just as Summer never fully understood why I behaved the way I did, we are not on par with God and cannot fathom all He tells us, but we are reminded constantly in the Bible that He does things for our own good and for our benefit. His anger is short-lived, He forgives quickly and guides us back to how we should be. When he is displeased with us, He still loves us more than we could ever know - and certainly much more than I ever loved my cat, or even members of my family.

God gives us a lot of guidance in the Bible - some instructions are black and white but a lot of it requires wisdom and judgement on our part in order for us to apply His instructions to particular situations. Even with the best of intentions, we will get it wrong but most of the time our intentions aren't right anyway. I find it hard to trust God to know best when I think I can see how I want my future to be. When He closes doors in my life and I just don't get it, sometimes later on I can see why - He was holding open a better door. Other times, I will not know why things have happened until I die. But knowing that God loves us as much as He does, enough to sacrifice His only Son for us whilst we are still rebellious and sinful, I know that I can trust Him even if I don't know what it is He is doing or where my life is heading. When it comes to my attitude towards God, I should rein in my cat-like arrogance and adopt the delight and obedience of a well-trained dog, knowing full well that my Master will look after me and give me everything I need.