Jesus is not my therapist

This may not be revelation to you, but it has challenged me. Yesterday I went to a seminar given by a guy from L'abri in Sydney. He was talking about Christianity and Science. One session was about the rise and rise of New Age philosophy and spirituality as an answer for peope searching for healing and hope. He mentioned that many forms of therapy can fit under the umbrella of New Age.

One thing he pointed out that Christian faith is not about self. It is about the giving up of self to God, it is about making Jesus Lord of your life. And he expressed the view that any type of therapy which only deals with the self will not bring about lasting healing. I found this challenging. So often I feel totally absorbed in my own weaknesses, pain and struggles. But what he said is true and I can testify to its truth in my own life. The times I feel most at peace are when I am aware of the needs of others and put them before my own.

However, I think today's culture, and certainly myself, don't really like the idea of self denial because we have seen people burn out and hurt those close to them by not dealing with their own issues, or people can feel neglected as they meet other's needs but their own are not met. But this is not what God wants. The kingdom should be about everyone caring for each other so that no-one is in need.

So I want to take the risk of leaving my hurts and struggles with God and getting up and getting on with doing something to serve. Maybe not anything really big, but something. Because there is no hope or peace in staring at my own navel. Jesus is the healer but he certainly isn't my therapist.

South Island Escape

Wow! It is already the end of March. So much water under the bridge. We had an amazing holiday in the South Island over the summer holidays. When I look at the photos I am amazed at all that we saw and did. I just didn't realise how amazing it was when I was there. I can't wait to see more of beautiful New Zealand.