Neglected foretaste of heaven...

"Is it not tragic that professed believers have to be cajoled, almost goaded, into worshipping God? The 'quiet time' of personal devotion is neglected by so many, as if it were a tedious burden. Modern Christians are ready to busy themselves in almost any religious activity but that of quiet communion with their Lord, regarded more as a duty than a delight. They hope to go to heaven, claim to be looking forward to it eagerly. Yet the essence of the heaven they profess to long for is that communion with Christ in which they show so little interest!"

A challenge from Edward Donnelly's book, Heaven and Hell. I say I long for heaven, yet spend so little time in communion with God. And in neglecting my quiet times I neglect that foretaste of heaven, where I'll have perfect, eternal communion with Him! Craziness.

The weirdness of seeing a psychiatrist...

Saw the shrink this morning... it's just weird, I don't know... There's something very un-British about talking to someone about how you're feeling and what you're thinking. Especially talking to a guy you don't really know, but who has the misfortune of being employed to try and get some order from the mess that's in your head. Like a surgeon, but with words...

It can't be brilliant for your self-esteem, being a psychiatrist - it's on a par with being a dentist. Every patient dreads seeing them, and can't wait to get out of their office. It's uncomfortable, stressful, and you just want the guy to give you a clean bill of health so you can clear off without experiencing any pain. Or to give you some painless remedy. Yeah, they're not going to win any popularity contests...

Maybe psychiatrists and dentists should get together, have their own support group.

Although I guess psychiatrists, like the rest of us, probably aren't too keen on dentists either...

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 1:2

I just finished reading the Hitchhikers' Guide trilogy (of five books) - really entertaining books, but the ending is so bleak! After searching for meaning, for love, for entertainment, for ways to prolong life, it just ends - and there's nothing. No meaning, no hope.

But then, without God, I guess that's just the way things are. You can distract yourself temporarily with things, with people, with busyness, but ultimately it all stops, and at the end there's nothing. Nothing to hope for. What kind of a life is that?

And what's worse, is that at the end there isn't nothing - there's eternity in hell.

Praise God that in His grace it doesn't have to be that way. And He's given us the good news to share with people around us, people who are without hope, mainly ignorant of the future ahead of them. What a privelege to be able to share Christ with them!

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10