One day there will be no spoon: a meditation on image bearing and eternal life…
17 May 2007
In my small group last night, I led a reflection based on the seven “I AM†sayings of Jesus. You can read the full refection on my blog.
I was conscious when I was doing it that I often approach worship from where I am and try and spiral my way up to God. This can have the downside of making the worship very me centric and indeed I can end up worshiping a God who I have cast in my own image. I was therefore trying to find a reflection where the starting point was God and his self revelation that then comes down and picks me as part of his story rather than trying to make him part of mine.
Jesus, is for me, part of the ongoing self revelation of God. Reflected in Jesus saying things like: ‘if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father’, and, ‘I only do the will of the Father etc. Jesus, who is fully human as well as fully divine [altho emptied somehow, denying himself access to the divine credit card], was empowered to live this life through the Holy Spirit. In that way Jesus is the perfect human, the untainted image bearer, who reveals what true humanity is like.
When it comes to being swept up and part of God’s story it is not that my needs, desires, fears and brokeness is ignored or glossed over. Jesus, understands all too well the emotions, needs and wants of humanity as he has experienced them, from birth to death, through learning, laughter, friendship, pain and sacrifice. The eternal son, has one arm around my shoulder and the other around the Father, I am seen through Jesus even as my life surrendered to him makes me his co-heir and brother.
When I lead the reflection I was struck in particular by the words of Jesus in John 11:25-26:
“You don’t have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?”
In one of the actions I had given everyone a spoon and asked them to look at their reflection in it. To look and see how in the spoon we could see someone who looks like us but not like us. In the spoon we are distorted, warped, disfiguted and changed. I then put a mirror on the floor with a cross on it. and asked people to look in the mirror and see their reflection, that now that through the life, death and resurection of Jesus, our life, our humanity is being restored – in, through and with Jesus, the perfect image-bearer, we are become clearly recognisable as human.
For me that was a powerful reminder that although my humanity may currently look/feel warped like a spoon reflection – in the eyes of the Father, seen through the Son, who with the Spirit is praying for me – I look like I will when my humanity has been fully restored. Even more, God loves me no more now than he will them. As I can recognise myself even in the warped image of the spoon so we will be recognisable when our humanity is fully restored, our tarnished image bearing nature fully restored in all its created glory. In the same way that the resurected Jesus was fully recognisable and yet at the same time transformed as well.
When we think of death we (I) as christians can often focus on hell - but how often do we think of eternal life through the words/images/invitations of Jesus – that we can have a life lived in the fullness of our humanity, the full life that we were always destined to have?
Jesus us invites us to make our stories part of his story, to make him the central character rather than continue to live as if this story was about us. In him our stories will live on forever…
One day there will be no spoon…
Your thoughts?
What happens for you when you begin to mediate that:
- this life is lived in preparation for the one to come, who we are and who we become counts for something in our eternal identity?
- God is concerned with our whole beings [including our bodies] not just our souls?
- we will be recognisably ourselves – restored and no longer distorted?
Tagged: eternal-life, Heaven, humanity, image-bearer, Jesus, Salvation
11 comments
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Comment by deacon steve bailey
9.12 pm on 17 May 2007
Hello:
I discovered this site today through a link on “Emergent Church”. I’m glad I found it. Paul – your words certainly resonate with me. The spoon meditation is a powerful and meaningful exercise. We ’see more darkly through a glass’ than we have to because we do not get swept up into God’s story — we muddle around in proposition and intellectual systems.
I look forward to exploring this site further.
Comment by Paul
9.31 pm on 17 May 2007
thanks steve, Jase is a top guy and is site is really awesome. When i first turned up i found it both really healing and really hopeful about church. Hear I am a few yrs later as a guest poster having the pleasure of participating and welcoming others :)
Glad you liked the reflection too. It is something that I am finding myself asking – how much is it about me just wanting God in my story and how much am i willing to be swept us in his…
Comment by steven hamilton
10.14 pm on 17 May 2007
wow…some powerful reflections made more real (cause i went and got a spoon and a mirror). paul, that is a really great way of expressing this…and the john 11 passage. at once it makes me wrestle with both the weakness and cowardice of my own heart…and in the next moment i feel like i could be martyred and hold to the testimony of christ…so that even if i die, i will live…
thanks man
Comment by Paul
9.54 am on 18 May 2007
thanks Steve, yes it is very impacting for me too getting a spoon and a mirror and reminding myself again…
there is such continuity and discontinuity happening at the same time, and i know how you feel.
Comment by dan brown
1.23 am on 18 May 2007
Thanks for the interesting post. This coming Sat. I will be facilitating our group on journaling as a process of becoming more intimate with the Lord. The plan was to use, “I am the vine” verse in John 15; 1-10 to move from abiding in God to being enabled by God and allow the scripture to prompt our journaling. I will attempt to introduce the other I am verses into our session…Peace
Comment by Paul
10.10 am on 18 May 2007
thanks dan, all the best on saturday. Sounds like a great session, i wonder if if is transferable for us who blog/think/journal?
Comment by dan brown
2.08 pm on 18 May 2007
It is definitely transferably. I have been keeping notes on our twice monthly sessions of 1 1/2 hours each. There are some reading assignments between get togethers. Then the slow process of getting men to trust each other enough to share their prayer requests not only with God but with each other. We are planning to have a 9 month program, we are about half way through.
Comment by Paul
3.28 am on 19 May 2007
thanks dan, sounds like you are really cooking with gas – what changes have you noticed in you and others?
Comment by dan brown
12.33 am on 21 May 2007
In the beginning everyone was a little tentative with each other. It was difficult for some of the members to pray out loud in the presense of others. Some are more introverted and it takes more effort to draw them out. A few have some real issues as a result of upbringing, marriage concerns or just not feeling loved. Recently there has been real progress in the quality of our group prayer.. we seem to be moving from just prayers about sickness, health and altruistic issues to concerns that are more personal, the way we view things, frustrations at work, challenges with mates. There is real growth taking place and a sense that the Lord is working and showing His grace and we are showing our grace to one another. Thanks for asking!
Comment by Bryan Riley
5.39 pm on 19 May 2007
Nothing to add, I just really appreciate you submitting to the Father and writing this. Great stuff.
Comment by Paul
6.13 pm on 19 May 2007
Thanks Bryan, much appreciated :)
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