I’ve never been one of those people who particularly enjoys exercise, seeing it as a necessary evil in order to prevent my love of food leaving me completely sedentary and ordering people to thrown into Sarlacc Pits.
I’ve even always been a little suspicious of those people who claim to actually love it and actively seeking it out for its own sake.
So, I’ve been actually quite surprised how much unsettled I’ve felt when I haven’t been able to make it to the gym when my regular routine due to travel or snap lockdowns, and how much I look forward to each session as opposed to having to drag myself to them.
The picture of a happy and unified church is one that sings of what the church should be. Often when looking from the outside, it may also be what people see. Imagine being new to the church, all you see is smiling faces that greet you and welcome you in.
You see those who have been friends for a while greet each other and excitedly talk about the week that they have just had. You then sing together, listen to God’s word and pray together. But it doesn’t just end there. You may be invited to a after church lunch or a small group which happens during the week. At every point, you are greeted by warm and happy people.
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Even Jesus Himself was challenged by His own mother to “read the room.”
Read the room Prime Minister
In October 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told ABC employees to “read the room.”
It was in response to the report that ABC employees voted to give themselves a pay rise during the coronavirus pandemic.
Staff at the national broadcaster had been urged to delay a 2 per cent increase for six months. Speaking on radio station 2GB, the Prime Minister was asked if workers at the national broadcaster should read the room. I think so, Mr Morrison said.
Later, Morrison was confronted with this same retort as Indigenous cricketer Dan Christian took aim at the PM as Cricket Australia hit back amid the furore over cricket’s decision to dump the term ‘Australia Day’ for promotional purposes.
Walking with God through pain and suffering made the following statement, ‘
suffering is everywhere, unavoidable and its scope often overwhelms’. This statement is an evident truth that we all know and have experienced.
Even as I write this article, the global outbreak of the Covid-19 Virus continues to spread and continues to take lives. Even as such suffering and hurt are pervasive and universal, thoughts like, “where is God in the midst of this”, or “if God is so good, why would He allow things like this to exist”, begin to occupy our minds.
The presence of suffering and evil along with the existence of a good and loving God seem to collide. The seemingly irreconcilable nature of God’s goodness in light of suffering rises triumphantly from the collision. After all, isn’t this a major idea that has shipwrecked the faith of many, and turned them away from the idea of God’s existence?