So I've been thinking about ribena. The stellar drink that is. I don't know whether in a wild moment you've ever sampled undiluted ribena, I know I have. It's potent, and distinctive, and when undiluted, I guess it's in its purist form. This past season I've realised that my longing is to be a purist. I want to be undiluted ribena. As mental as that sounds. Now I think we should probably drop the ribena chat, this is as far as that will take us really, as quite frankly even the most convincing ribena fans cannot confess their undying love for undiluted ribena, it's not pleasant or a productive experience. However, I thoroughly believe the pursuit of being a purist is.
"A purist is one who desires that an item remain true to its essence and free from adulterating or diluting influences."
Undiluted ribena. So we live on Earth, true; however I truly believe that we're called to lead a Kingdom life, so on the Earth, but not in the Earth I guess really. Kingdom life, is countercultural. It's a choice we make. We choose to be a purist. It won't just happen.
"The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less." 2 Corinth 5:5 (MSG)
God graciously allows us heaven in our hearts so we can decipher the ways of the world and the ways of our Father, the ways of Heaven.
A few years ago a close friend of mine who wasn't a Christian and I had a "discussion" I came away annoyed, upset and with one word on my lips, "shallow". Late that night I woke up with one word on my heart, but an entirely different one, "hollow". We patched up the argument, forgave each other and moved on, but I never forgot that one word, hollow. That's what the ways of the earth are, not shallow, they're deep, they're just entirely hollow. They're fleeting. They're charming to a certain degree, but they wear off, they're temporary, and leave us, really just more hollow than we were before. But "We are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago" Ephesians 2:10 (NLT). No more hollow kinder eggs then, it's time to get creme egg about this, filled. With the Holy Spirit in this instance, as opposed to fondant...
"Have as much hell as you want" (Rob Bell, Love Wins) I read this line, and I'll be honest, it hurt me. It's a hurtful statement on a lot of levels. People are plunged into personal hells each and every day, entirely outside of their own choice and control. But at the same length people plunge themselves in to their hells daily, by indulging and divulging things they should have put to bed quite some time. I know I certainly have. Example? People say silly things, things that yes, will offend us. We can't make people take their words back. But we can choose what happens with those words. We can let them become a thorn in the side, something that festers, gets infected, and only gets worse. Or? We can rip it out. Yes it might have hurt and it might hurt to get it out and submit it to God, but better to rip it out now, than wait for it to get infected when we'll need major surgery to get rid of that bad boy. Offense is inevitable, the suffering after it, well for me ,I realised, that's optional. Maybe "have as much as you want" is starting to make a bit more sense. Discipline and self control don't sounds particularly "fun". But man, The Message translation of this verse put's it out pretty big.
"How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:
"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."
The Word of the Master, God."
2 Corinthians 6:17
"So leave corruption and compromise, leave it for good" Man without mixture, uncompromised. Undiluted ribena is my aim. We are "Set free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). We are a temple of the Living God (2 Corinth 6:16) We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Man. I want to be a purist.
