Saturday, January 2, 2010

Dr Who and reward theology


Good morning God,
I really enjoyed Dr Who last night -
it provoked me into wondering whether or not there is a 'reward' for being good.. and if so, what it should be.. The Doctors reward for being willing to die to save one 'insignificant' life, was the ability to go back in time and change the lives of his friends... for the 'better' of course.. except who is to say which future was the 'better' future..?
The reward was the answer to the cry of 'its not fair'

But life isn't 'fair' - it never was - and was never intended to be. 'Fair' is the idea that if you do something good, only good things will happen as a result - but humanity is just too small to know what is good for it.  History suggests that humanity grows best when it is stressed, pushed, challenged and provoked into doing so. As a group, humans have a strong propensity for doing nothing..
But when challenged - or set a target - or best of all - when the odds are stacked against us - then we seem able and willing to rise above ourselves, we become motivated to reach for the spark of the divine in us and we strive to do the impossible.

Terrifying generalizations I know - but true nonetheless..

And with Christ - all things are possible..


Christ's reward for being willing to die to save each of our insignificant lives, is the ability to go back in time and change the lives of his friends... for the 'better' of course.. and who better than Christ to say which future is the 'better' future.. even if it is one we would seldom have chosen for ourselves!


Which is what makes the Christian life so full of surprises and challenges.
In Christ's company we discover the ability to experience all of what it means to be human. We learn to live life to the full, as a saving adventure, dynamically rather than comfortably, enthusiastically rather than timidly, determinedly and purposefully fighting evil and injustice - because no one is insignificant and every world and every person matters. Our eyes are opened to see how grand your creation is, and how we are an intrinsic part of it... We lose our smallness in you and so learn how to live in a world where things are bigger on the inside than they appear on the outside.

When we journey with Christ, we join in the task of making the impossible possible by  helping to answer prayer, by moving mountains and by transforming lives -  our own included.
We might not have chosen the new life that Christ creates for us but it could never be called 'dull'. It probably isn't 'fair' either,  but slowly and surely it can and does help to change the world - and us - 'for the better'.
Who could resist such a challenge?


It promises to be another exciting year...

1 comment:

  1. An exciting year indeed, with Christ! May 2010 see us and our beloved Methodist Church grow in every way as we enthusiastically and energetically follow where our Master leads us. Wishing you a truly wonderful 2010 because of the special grace being given to you in these days of trial.

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