the song again

she makes me want to sing again
there is a new melody

and that is all i know right now
that is all i care to sing

promises promises but cape town here i come

turning right in my rental
good friend by side
laughing, happy
the unexpected summit in front of me

anything but flat
the change is more than welcome
i say to the friend by my side:
before the year is up i will climb it

to climb it means i have to return
a promise i enjoy making

backgammon

triangular paradise
i face myself
the greatest opponent

mercy paid for me

my pulse rises
i buy
consumed by the thought of what i want
consumption began before i paid

my wallet is my power
if my world is this one only
if i am the judge then more is more

the fool looks to money
as the thirsty looks to water
money does not satisfy
drinking it makes you thirstier still

only fools look to money
the way the runner sees the finish
there is no limit, no end
the finish line ever advancing

"the economy of mercy
is where my soul began" - Switchfoot

the solution

last night i was going through my top draw looking for a pen or something. could have been a pencil. i noticed a tube of ointment. its fancy name as adco acyclovir- well at least that is how i say it. this particular ointment is a remedy for fever blisters. cold sores. the ugly things some people get on their lips. i remember thinking about the ointment for a good ten seconds before continuing to look for a pen. or pencil.

this morning i woke up with a fever blister. i find this ironic. but it also makes me wonder if sometimes the disease only becomes apparent once you have glimpsed the solution.

love

if love is letting go, then love we must
if love is holding tight, then love we must
oh God, to know your heart
to know You
to know wisdom
to know what love means

oversupply of the Gospel

It’s Christmas! Today is the day that so many kids have waited for and so many parents have dreaded! This year I’d like to think economically about Christmas and the gospel of Jesus coming into the world. That’s right... economically... it should be fun :-)

I will have to start from the foundation of supply and demand as an economic theory, the gist of which says:

- the higher the demand the higher the price and vice versa (if you really want something you will pay more for it)
- the higher the supply the lower the price and vice versa (if there’s lots of something it’s not really worth that much)

[extract from ‘supply and demand’ posted on Dec 2nd 2008]

This morning I attended a PACKED Christmas service which was encouraging to see. But the corollary of course is that mostly the churches are not that full. Attendance is low. There are massive exceptions and world-wide this varies tremendously but in the main, church attendance is pretty low. Especially in the modern world like in America and the UK (the Christian powerhouses of old.) The supply of churches and christian merchandise has seemed to drop the demand for things that are ‘churchy’.

And yet in the past few decades the gospel, and Christianity as a way has flourished under oppression and persecution as was the case in China and Korea.

It seems that if you want Christianity to grow then fight it. And if you want to kill it and empty the churches, don’t oppose it.

These are interesting things to notice!

The story of Jesus is about the GIFT of salvation- and on a day like today when we are both receiving things that have cost other people money or giving presents that have cost us something, there is always a cost element involved. The same applies with Jesus. Except God’s gift has cost us nothing and has cost him everything. It is free. Yet cost an unfathomable amount.

And much like I don’t like pamphlets, a windscreen wash at the garage, bank diaries and most free stuff, I think that society doesn’t want what it can’t afford and thus the world refuses the greatest gift ever given to man.

Oversupply decreases value. Even for the Gospel?