Day #9

So! Relaxing Saturday Morning. Hah!

Had a pleasant meeting with Nick and the boys at Chris Law's place. Had quite a feast going, smoked salmon and freshly brewed coffee and spinach leaves and assorted nuts and some wraps - oooh toasted raisin bread too - and we gathered around the dinner table munching away.

We took turns sharing how our past week has been (both physically from the fast and spiritually from the daily devotions) and it was heartening to hear from other people, especially how they 'suffered' as well - I guess there is joy in sharing a common suffering, after all - and also a great encouragement to hear testimonies about how God was moving in us, slowly and slightly but surely.

I daresay the food was heartening as well (the glass of water I had was proof enough hahaha), everyone else had fun digging in, and feeling up random nuts while making up spontaneous names for them whilst blindfolded (okay only one person did that, to be fair).

On a more 'serious' note, our discussion ended with what should we focus on for our second readthrough the book of Ephesians. Nick decided, since we had already read Ephesians in the context of 'what does it mean to us to be heirs to the kindgom', perhaps we should go on and focus on 

What does the kingdom of God look like?

And at this point, Isaac brought up a very interesting comparison between the Kingdom of God and, of all things, the Mafia (secret society with highly ranked members in important parts of society, read : Godfather type scenario etc)

1a. The mafia lives amongst normal people leading normal lives, right under their noses, if you like. Some of them may stand out, some don't. The mailman might be an important officer in the Mafia, so might your professor at uni or that police inspector. The point is, they are not part of this 'other seperate realm' which we do not have contact with. 

1b. And the same goes for the Kingdom of God. We are not part of this other 'supernatural realm', but the same reality as every other human being. We are part of society, whether they recognize us for who we are or not. 

2a. The way someone is 'drafted', so to speak, into the mafia is they get a letter from a highly ranked official of the Mafia telling them to set down everything they have at present, and become one of the gang. 

2b. In the same way, Jesus calls each and every one of us individually to follow him, and become part of the family of God.

3a. When one is part of the mafia, there is a certain sense of calm and confidence, that whatever problems you encounter (eg traffic summons), there will be someone greater than us who will be able to help us solve that problem (eg traffic police constable who will be attending a mafia dinner meeting tomorrow). There is less apprehension and anxiety associated with being part of the Mafia.

3b. Again, similarly. We as children of God, have our Father's promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and that all our cries are heard by him. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider of all our needs, according to the riches of His glory. If God is for us, who can be against us? The same feeling of calm and less apprehension is also present amongst the sons of God, for we know that 'He who is in me, is greater than he who is in the world.'

4a. The Mafia have their agents cleverly placed all throughout society, in roles big or small, for very direct and simple reasons - keep their enemies at bay, expand their territorial influence. 

4b. Well the Kingdom of God has that as well! We have brothers and sisters in Christ placed all over the world, in every location imaginable - and that is a blessing! In that we are always aware, there are people who have the similarly ordained destinies, and who are going through this journey together with us. And that alone, is worth being thankful for, don't you think?

Prayer : Dear Lord, I give you thanks and praise for placing me in such a wonderful environment to bond and to grow, together with Nick and the rest of the boys. Indeed I have enjoyed and cherished these times of fellowship together just as a bunch of boys working out what life and Your calling means for everyone of us. They have been such an encouragement to me, as I hope I have been to them. May You hand of guidance and protection be upon all of us, as we begin a new week. Amen.