The man who passes another and has no time to receive their smile lives in folly. For it is the wrinkle in that smile which shares wisdom, and any man who aquits wisdom forsakes growth.
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
Sunday 26 April 2009
Saturday 25 April 2009
freedom fighters
those with the courage to put their hand to the sword and join the fight against injustice will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
Sunday 19 April 2009
the wisdom of companionship.
It was getting late, Ryan had been hiding for over an hour. The barley grass made my ankles itch. I had run the field in circles too many times. Where could he be? His favourite hiding spot laid bare, not even a faltering blade of grass to give evidence of his presence. ‘Reuuubbbeeen…’ I head my name being called. I knew it was mother, she always came about now. The sun had hidden behind the hills and this meant it was time for me to come inside. ‘But I can’t find Ryan! He has been hiding for over an hour!’ I explained in exhaustion. Mum hugged me, smirked and said “Ryan went home an hour ago”.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Don’t you hate shallow friendships? A recent self-evaluation concluded that many of my friendships were somewhat shallow. As much, and no doubt more so my fault then anybodies. Don't get me wrong, many friends i have which i consider deep and worthwhile, but i find too many short lived and lightweight.
I believe strong friendships are vital in life. They set the platform; sway decisions, change views and either hinder or help you develop social skills that stand the test of time through life. It is obvious we were not designed to do life alone.
Having said that, have you ever thought of the origin of friendship? Where did it come from? What does it mean? Is it just a nice feeling, people you can do life with to fill the boredom, and help you when you are in need, or is it more then that? Does friendship have a bigger meaning and role then we realise? I mean not to question every part of life, but I think it imperative that we understand the important parts.
The word ‘friendship’ originates from a German word, ‘Freund’ which is very similar to the old Dutch word ‘Vriend’. These two words literally mean ‘Love’.
An obvious thought. Friendship is love… But then what is love?
1 John 4:16 says: “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him”. A fairly straight forward statement. But what if we look at it like this? “God is friendship, and he who abides in friendship abides in God, and God abides in Him”.
Friendship is actually a cardinal part of life. A rock, a solid form on which one can build a life, career and existence. You could almost go as far as saying friendship is God in human form.
Another word for friend is ‘companion’. Your partner, associate, comrade, buddy & mate. Companion comes from an old French word ‘compagne’ Which literally means: ‘One Who Breaks Bread With Another’. Sounds vague and somewhat unusual. But not when you link it to the word Love and the Fact that God is love.
It says in Matthew 26:26: “While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and handed it to the disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it. This is my body."
So how do we apply that to our lives? Is it time to buy a bakery? Bake a few buns and pull them apart and give them to everyone we consider a friend? No! I love this verse in john 15:13 which tie the two together – ‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’
The fundamental basis of friendship is that God loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to break his bread/break his body so that we may live. This means friendship is more then trust and more then faithfulness. It goes further then loyalty. True friendship is the willingness to allow the relationship to be one of self-loss. Where you are willing to loose your life so that another may gain, putting yourself in a position of venerability, not in vain but with purpose and love, because it was Jesus who first showed the first sign of true friendship.
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Don’t you hate shallow friendships? A recent self-evaluation concluded that many of my friendships were somewhat shallow. As much, and no doubt more so my fault then anybodies. Don't get me wrong, many friends i have which i consider deep and worthwhile, but i find too many short lived and lightweight.
I believe strong friendships are vital in life. They set the platform; sway decisions, change views and either hinder or help you develop social skills that stand the test of time through life. It is obvious we were not designed to do life alone.
Having said that, have you ever thought of the origin of friendship? Where did it come from? What does it mean? Is it just a nice feeling, people you can do life with to fill the boredom, and help you when you are in need, or is it more then that? Does friendship have a bigger meaning and role then we realise? I mean not to question every part of life, but I think it imperative that we understand the important parts.
The word ‘friendship’ originates from a German word, ‘Freund’ which is very similar to the old Dutch word ‘Vriend’. These two words literally mean ‘Love’.
An obvious thought. Friendship is love… But then what is love?
1 John 4:16 says: “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him”. A fairly straight forward statement. But what if we look at it like this? “God is friendship, and he who abides in friendship abides in God, and God abides in Him”.
Friendship is actually a cardinal part of life. A rock, a solid form on which one can build a life, career and existence. You could almost go as far as saying friendship is God in human form.
Another word for friend is ‘companion’. Your partner, associate, comrade, buddy & mate. Companion comes from an old French word ‘compagne’ Which literally means: ‘One Who Breaks Bread With Another’. Sounds vague and somewhat unusual. But not when you link it to the word Love and the Fact that God is love.
It says in Matthew 26:26: “While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and handed it to the disciples, saying, "Take this and eat it. This is my body."
So how do we apply that to our lives? Is it time to buy a bakery? Bake a few buns and pull them apart and give them to everyone we consider a friend? No! I love this verse in john 15:13 which tie the two together – ‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’
The fundamental basis of friendship is that God loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to break his bread/break his body so that we may live. This means friendship is more then trust and more then faithfulness. It goes further then loyalty. True friendship is the willingness to allow the relationship to be one of self-loss. Where you are willing to loose your life so that another may gain, putting yourself in a position of venerability, not in vain but with purpose and love, because it was Jesus who first showed the first sign of true friendship.
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
Friday 3 April 2009
holiday christianity
Bam! You scream, growl and whimper. Hopping away in severe pain, your knee slightly jarred and your toe is trembling. Your hand is faltering and searching for a surface to lean and balance against. It was a nice morning. Mrs Scriven’s homemade fruitcake had complimented your tea nicely. You had dropped the wife and kids at friend’s homes and returned the late DVD’s. The sprinkler was watering the lawn and the morning was now yours to enjoy. Time to lie down, put your feet up, relax and not think, and you hadn’t, not until this toe stumping moment. Suddenly every discussion from last Christmas is vividly recurring in your mind. You had promised your wife several times that you would fix the skirting and move the cement bags from the patio renovations. But you hadnt done it and now you pay the consequence.
The entire 2 weeks before Christmas you worked so hard to extend the patio because the in-laws were invading the Christmas break. It seems to be the same every holiday. the family is coming, so you clean, extend, plant, remove and re decorate half the house. So much effort goes into the portrayal of a pain free existence. But behind the façade lives a somewhat normal and slightly dysfunctional family.
Why do we do this? Fake life. Give our best when others are observing, in the hope they admire our standings and surmise we are established, happy and complete. Are we scared of normality? or is it, we are unsure of what normal is? is it that we live a slightly complacent life and the only opportunity to break that complacency is with a renovation or expansion every 6 months?
I often wonder how many people live holiday-to-holiday, conference to conference, opportunity for prayer to opportunity for prayer in their spiritual lives. Never really using their given space, time and function to its full ability. Rather, they compartmentalise their spiritual growth into quarterly calendered dates, and the only time they work on their spiritual lives is when they are on show, when the pastor is coming for dinner or when they are meeting with their mentor.
I wonder how many DIY Christians are building without a permit, ignoring the given guidelines for life. Jumping from one quick fix to the next hoping it’s a short cut to their destiny. hoping that maybe this spiritual extension will give them enough buzz till the next opportunity.
I find it unusual that the only time we remember what we had promised ourselves those many years ago is when we stump our spiritual toe on the corner of the bench called life. The determination of a new years revolution to read the bible more, prayer longer and worship harder is short lived because the thought is easier then the action; Our promises to give more and love more is overwhelmed by excuse after excuse; Life is full, I was tired, the kids needed me, Oprah was on.
I don’t want Easter to be the first time I’ve worked on my spiritual life since Christmas and the last time I work on it before next Christmas. I certainly don’t want my walk with God to be a façade which I quickly clean and rearrange when the family is coming and it is on show.
I determine each morning to thank God for his new mercies and fill my mind with Gods Word and my heart with His Love. Every opportunity I have in my day I strengthen my foundation, I stretch my beliefs and I challenge my convictions.
If the entirety of my reality is based upon protecting my true identity, then i have missed my calling. Because my reality should be reflection of my identity. Strong, God based and forever fresh.
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
The entire 2 weeks before Christmas you worked so hard to extend the patio because the in-laws were invading the Christmas break. It seems to be the same every holiday. the family is coming, so you clean, extend, plant, remove and re decorate half the house. So much effort goes into the portrayal of a pain free existence. But behind the façade lives a somewhat normal and slightly dysfunctional family.
Why do we do this? Fake life. Give our best when others are observing, in the hope they admire our standings and surmise we are established, happy and complete. Are we scared of normality? or is it, we are unsure of what normal is? is it that we live a slightly complacent life and the only opportunity to break that complacency is with a renovation or expansion every 6 months?
I often wonder how many people live holiday-to-holiday, conference to conference, opportunity for prayer to opportunity for prayer in their spiritual lives. Never really using their given space, time and function to its full ability. Rather, they compartmentalise their spiritual growth into quarterly calendered dates, and the only time they work on their spiritual lives is when they are on show, when the pastor is coming for dinner or when they are meeting with their mentor.
I wonder how many DIY Christians are building without a permit, ignoring the given guidelines for life. Jumping from one quick fix to the next hoping it’s a short cut to their destiny. hoping that maybe this spiritual extension will give them enough buzz till the next opportunity.
I find it unusual that the only time we remember what we had promised ourselves those many years ago is when we stump our spiritual toe on the corner of the bench called life. The determination of a new years revolution to read the bible more, prayer longer and worship harder is short lived because the thought is easier then the action; Our promises to give more and love more is overwhelmed by excuse after excuse; Life is full, I was tired, the kids needed me, Oprah was on.
I don’t want Easter to be the first time I’ve worked on my spiritual life since Christmas and the last time I work on it before next Christmas. I certainly don’t want my walk with God to be a façade which I quickly clean and rearrange when the family is coming and it is on show.
I determine each morning to thank God for his new mercies and fill my mind with Gods Word and my heart with His Love. Every opportunity I have in my day I strengthen my foundation, I stretch my beliefs and I challenge my convictions.
If the entirety of my reality is based upon protecting my true identity, then i have missed my calling. Because my reality should be reflection of my identity. Strong, God based and forever fresh.
- Reuben Leigh Skewes
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