Political rant.

I have an on again/off again interest in Australian politics. I think it’s important to have, at the very least, a vague idea of who is running the country, what their policies are and what progress they have made while serving in office. My knowledge, if I may call it that, is furnished by a daily reading of The Australian (chosen because it is 75 cents on UNSW campus and because I believe it to be superior to the Telegraph except for the impossibility of attempting to read it on the train. Honestly, I could wallpaper half my house with just one page of The Australian) and sometimes switching on ABC1. Yet every time I insist on following politics and trying to develop some concrete political views of my own, I become intensely frustrated. Is it ever possible to find impartial reporting on the government and the opposition? I want to know who is standing for government, what they stand for, what policies they will introduce and what the consequences of their actions will be and I want to hear it from a source that isn’t already polluted by the author’s/producer’s own personal left or right wing bias. Impossible. It is impossible, I tell you. I think I understand where Descartes was coming from...

I also tend to stop following politics when I decide that I’ve just read too much about how flaky and just plain stupid politicians can be. I get disheartened and give up. I think, ordinarily, I’d be coming back to that point after trying to follow leadership fiascos in the federal opposition and state government and in the aftermath of Copenhagen still wondering whether Rudd is full of anything other than hot air and whether or not he has done anything significant since being elected (I think the verdict is still out on whether or not his stimulus package will be beneficial to Australia in the long-term, but even as I type this I’m wondering what source of information has been feeding that thought).

BUT, I have decided this time not to revert back to ignorance. Goodness, I still know very little but I hope to at least be anything other than completely ignorant. No matter how ridiculous and uninteresting politics may seem, I am extremely thankful that we do have a government that, for the most part, works for us. Nowhere in Australia will you find a politician culpable for the murder of 57 political rivals, their families and journalists. Nowhere in Australia will you find images of people fighting for the freedom of a democracy. Nowhere in Australia is the idea of an election synonymous with curfews and intimidation. People in the world today are willing to die for the freedom that we have – for the privilege that it is to scrutinise candidates and keep them honest, enter a polling booth and say without fear “I choose you”. Not to mention the insult that I personally think it is to the suffragettes of the early 20th century to turn around as a woman and care nothing for my vote.

I’m just terrified of being ignorant and taking for granted all of the freedoms that I have and I wish that more people felt the same.

An unusual dress code for a wedding.

Barefeet.

Yep. No shoes, please. And in Liverpool of all places. But my goodness it was a fantastic wedding. The first one I'd been to where the couple getting married were my peers and my friends.

For the first time, I came away from a wedding feeling encouraged. I was so happy for them, so thankful to God and so amazed by the blessings we have from him. He's just so good was my resounding thought. I was really happy that I felt this way, that I left content and praising God rather than lamenting the fact that I had no prospect of getting engaged in the near future. I'm only 20 years old, honestly, I have the rest of my life to be married to someone. I once read though that what most people want is a wedding. They want a day - a party, a dress, a walk down the aisle, friends and family and the anticipation of a wedding night. Marriage is another thing altogether. That's the part where you realise that that person is actually going to be there everyday and you need to love them, all of them, for as long as you both shall live. Girls fantasise over colour schemes and flowers and the music they'll dance to, not necessarily about what it looks like to submit to, respect and honour their husbands. I'm not sure if it's common for girls to daydream about marriage.

That being said, it's still a wonderful gift, a beautiful way in which two people can witness Christ's love for us and I'm looking forward to it - if it is God's plan for me.

Thinking about death.

I just came back from a memorial. A memorial for one of the girls who was in my sunday school class and in my group of youth group girls. I found out about her death while I was away. Horriffic circumstance. Yet, just now... I'm happy. maybe not happy. I don't know. Oh yes time to break out one of my favourite words: joyful. I'm joyful and I'm content. I mourned her loss. But I can't feel sad when I know the truth: to live is Christ and to die is gain. There was no need for sadness. Well yes, she won't be around to liven up my sunday school class anymore, but she trusted Jesus, his victory over death is now hers.

When I first found out, I went straight to scripture for comfort of course. 1 Corinthians 15: where, O death is your victory? where, O death is your sting? Those triumphant words. I could recite them all day long. The freedom and comfort they provide is inexpressible. A Christian funeral is a celebration.

And so I feel a great burden now. There are people very close to me, whom I love very much, who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I don't know how I'd react to their death. I'd be a mess. I'd feel like I'd failed them. I can't ignore the reality any longer. There's no comfort in their death.

And so I'm encouraged, but it feels like I've also been reminded - or warned, almost. Life is short. Our purpose is to know God and serve him and once we do, we must spread that message. We are responsible.

So what am I doing about it?

Should we prioritise social justice or evangelism?

Some bloke named Steve Brown:

That’s a false dichotomy.

A follower of Christ doesn’t put on a “social justice” hat and then an “evangelism” hat and then try to discern which hat to wear the most and which hat is the most valuable. Why? Because it isn’t a hat; it’s the head and the heart. You can’t exchange either. They are integral to the person.

When a Christian sees someone who is physically hungry, a Christian feeds the hungry person. Why? Because hungry people can’t understand the plan of salvation? No. Simply because that person is hungry. That’s what Christians do. And if a person is spiritually hungry, a Christian becomes “one beggar telling another beggar where he or she found bread.” Why? Because that’s what Christians do.

Found amongst other opinions collected here.

Just random stuff I wanted to share.

1. I missed out on NTE but I certainly didn't miss out on mission. Even if I'd trekked out to Canberra, I'd definitely have come back to Fairfield for mission because so much was happening. For once I was on the outside though. I watched the team of 18 from Townsville/Northern Territory work their butts off. I could hardly believe it. I know that's what you do when you're on mission. You throw yourself into it, you're of the mindset that you can rest when you get home. But it still blew me away how determined these students were to serve us. I know how exhausted they must have been, yet they were completely self-sacrifical. Can you get that apart from Christ?

2. One person in particular who was on the team humbled me very much. Her name is Esther Staines. If the name Graham Staines means nothing to you, Wiki can provide a quick overview here. I couldn't believe it when I saw her name listed among the students. Surely it wasn't the same girl... The same girl whom I'd heard quoted by everyone from John Piper to Carmelina Reed. But after several conversations with her and others my thoughts were confirmed. I couldn't bring myself to ask many questions about the situation but we did share what we loved about India and all I really had to do to be encouraged by her was... watch. Everything from the clothes she wore to her interaction with others to the way she would stick it out handing out fliers while everyone else had gone to sleep in the sun - she is a woman of God, through and through.

3. A little discouraged by the reaction of yrs 7-9 at Bossley Park High today to our Christmas assembly. I guess it just made me aware of how serious it is to turn your back on God. Unbelief is truly a sin. It hurt so much to hear and see people totally reject the Gospel.

4. But still really excited about ministry in Fairfield in general: the Scripture teachers who will be employed to work full-time in the area in 2010, our assistant minister Steve Frederick starting his multicultural church plant in Fairfield next year and all the contacts he is making, the South West theological college and conference getting off the ground, how supportive Fairfield markets has been and God providing us with free stalls over Christmas... Barneys in Bossley Park is seriously a powerhouse I'm so blessed to be there.

That's all.

Vent.

I've hit a wall. Frustratingly enough, I feel that NTE09 would have helped me to smash through it. I need to be pushed. I need something to engage with. I need a challenge. I need a reminder. I need perspective. I need to examine my heart. Rather, I need God to do so. I need... ?

A BA is good for something.

I miss intellectual stimulus. I actually miss philosophy. It stretched me. It forced me to read and research because my beliefs were attacked from all sides. I needed to know why I should stick to them. I don't have much to blog about these days. What can you post about when your mind has gone soft?