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  • Beyond 400 - In One Week's Time

    This time next week I will be getting my bags packed to head off to the Baptist Assembly in England which is taking place in London over the Bank Holiday weekend.  Having had to miss last year's, I am looking forward to catching up with what is happening 'down south' and meeting up with various friends who I get to see only at Assemblies. Usually by now there is a fair amount of blogging going on, people preparing their 'bingo' cards for the cliched expressions, attempting to predict which hymns/songs will/won't be sung but this year the web is strangely quiet.

    Anyway, if you are going to be there, I hope we'll get a chance to say hello at some point.  I have mixed feelings about this years format (and location if I'm totally honest) but I am just glad to be able to be part of it once more.

  • Fullness of Life

    Today's PAYG was based around John 6 and Jesus as the bread of life, but it made reference to John 10:10 and life in all its fullness.  The speaker said, in a lovely Irish accent, words to the effect of "Jesus said you'd have life to the full, so do you?"

    That gave me pause for thought.

    I often wonder quite what we mean by 'fullness of life', being more convinced I know what it does not mean than what it does:

     

    Fullness of life does not equate to longevity

    Fullness of life does not equate to wealth

    Fullness of life does not equate to health

    Fullness of life does not equate to success

    Fullness of life does not equate to acclaim

    Fullness of life does not equate to marriage

    Fullness of life does not equate to family

    Fullness of life does not equate to happiness

    Fullness of life does not equate to busyness

     

    Fullness is more about quality

    Fullness is more about maturity

    Fullness is more about mystery

    Fullness is more about transformation

    Fullness is more about love

    Fullness is more about community/ies

    Fullness is more about rolling with the punches

    Fullness is more about choosing life, joy, hope, faith, laughter, friendship

    Fullness is more about never quite getting there and always finding more to discover

     

    I find myself reminded of the once popular prayer that ends "I asked God for all things, that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things"

     

    My life is pretty full - a diary bulging with meetings, events, conferences, holidays - but I hope it is also characterised by full-ness which is quite definitely a qualitative rather than quantitative measure.