Easter is usually a quiet time for me however this year we have a maundy thursday youth event plus the 24 hour famine over the Easter weekend which I’m working hard to plan alongside the mass of uni work that needs doing.

At the same time I’ve been pondering the nature of Christianity, someone must have said something to trigger this but I can’t remember who and then watching a Nooma in preparation for Easter tonight Rob Bell nudged me to continue thinking about this.

Is Christianity selfish?

Let’s think about it…in the summer my Mum almost died during a routine day-care operation because of blood loss, we didn’t realise until after how close she actually was to dying and of course naturally I like to think that God was keeping an eye out for her and doing some intervention type stuff…however at the same time I have a friend whose Dad died last year of cancer, I know others who also lost loved ones last year who we’d considor too young to die. So why did God jump into one situation and not the others? or didn’t He? or perhaps He was present in all of them.

Exploring that deeper…to explore the first option. Do I like the idea that God stepped in because it provides a wonderful testimony of God doing something good? In a similar way a friend of mine may express his thankfulness at God finding him a parking space. Did God really step in or am I just making that connection because it affirms my Christian belief?

Now to explore the second option ‘does God not jump into any?’

On this assumption the world goes round and God, although present doesn’t really step in, some good things happen, others don’t and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Perhaps God chooses to not jump in, perhaps my friend’s Dad dying, another friend getting a parking space and my Mum not dying all happened because they just do and it’s just the way things naturally turned out when nature takes it’s course.

What about my third suggestion? Perhaps God is just present in all of them. Maybe in different ways God is involved in all of them, in one situation He saves, in another He comforts and in the other He…ummm…provides a parking space? Okay, perhaps not the parking space because although God’s there I don’t really think, unless an emergancy He’d be active.

The bottom line of all of this is that we can easily make Christianity selfish. With no effort at all we can make our faith self-centred with God providing us parking spaces, money on the floor and nice cars. We joyfully announce that God has blessed us with that parking space but fail to mention that we accidentally killed the cat whilst leaving home to find that parking space.

So where is God in all the situations? Does He do something in some and not in others? Does He do nothing? or does he just lurk around in a God-like way?

I don’t know! However God does heal some and not others and we may never know why this is however although this blog post is a Christian thought with no conclusion I think God’s presence is everywhere and He knows what we need, perhaps with healing when he doesn’t heal he provides comfort, perhaps He doesn’t provide physical healing but spiritual healing or mental healing, perhaps being the loving God He is He knows that healing everyone isn’t the answer to our problems because let’s face it when everything is wonderful we’re pretty bad at noticing God.

To finish on my original question: ‘Is Christianity Selfish?’ …yes and no. Christianity is what we make it and sometimes yes, it is self-centred and self affirming but at other times it can be the complete opposite…swings and roundabouts people!

I leave you with this quote found on a Jewish cellar wall during the war:

I believe in the sun when it isn’t shining

I believe in love even when I am alone

I believe in God even when He is silent