Sunday, July 18

Today we were reminded that salvation is not as simple of applying a dab of Polysporin to a burn or a wound, but that it is to be worked out, worked at, worked through. And, thankfully, that we are not alone in this work – God is at work in us.

In our continuing examination of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Paul sounds a confident note of surest hope that his flock, and by extension us, will work on salvation in concert with God, by doing His will and eventually “shine like stars in the world”. This, I think, explains the former reference to “fear and shuddering”. It seems an awesome responsibility to be a star. Do I feel worthy of this – definitely no. I appreciate the challenge inherent in this though. Often Christianity can seem a comfort, but the sense of work and rising up within myself is a difficult task.

Reverend Johnston helped us normalise the wonder of the question “what’s the meaning of life?” all the while insisting that the Christian response to the despondency and despair that such a question can engender is the resounding faith in salvation. This process, of course is given us by the grace of God, and as such, salvation begins with God, with God’s working within us.

Our minister referred to Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit (Huis Clos) as one imagination of what Hell might be – not just the absence of God, but in the play, no mirrors either. No community to reflect back to us our thoughts and deeds, and no self-perception either. This is what our congregation provides to me at least – a place for reflection in both senses of that word: a space to pause and indulge in introspection that is lacking in the rest of my life, and within a community with similar yearnings.

Do you feel the same sense of responsibility in taking up Paul’s challenge to be a star? What are your challenges to accepting God’s work within you to achieve salvation?


- Geoffrey