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Wednesday, September 29, 2004
EVERYTHING THAT CREEPETH UPON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!
I'm sitting in a train slowly making its way westward to Romania. The view outside is mainly trees and fields, the odd little station and sometimes a worker or two not exerting too much energy. As I type it has begun to rain outside.
I'm sharing my 4 bed cubicle with two older ladies and who are sitting chattering away to each other and a middle-aged man who drunk his bottle of beer and is asleep on a top bunk.
I've wandered the length of the train in both directions. There is no restaurant car, maybe I should have brought some food for this 20+ hour trip!! I met a few students travelling to a 30km canoe race they are entering.
I've just read the first three chapters of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". What an amazing book. There are many little nuances that I would not appreciate had I not lived in this culture but his descriptions are amazing.
I haven't entered into the plot fully yet but so far I am overwhelmed by Fyodor's drunk characters. Living here I have seen first-hand the devastating effects alcoholism has on people (not just the ones who drink).
It seems different in the west and lately many Christian circles seem to live with a 'how much can I drink and still be ok' attitude, or a 'look I'm a free Christian'. Now I'm not a tee-totaller and don't mind a cold beer on a hot day after a hard day's work or a game of rugby (who am I kidding about a hard day's work).
But people, if this is you, get back to the real issue. All things are permissible but not all things are helpful. See the people around you. Feel their feelings, joys, pains, hurts and sorrows. Live life from a broad perspective.
The relatively young first world nations of NZ and Australia I believe are truly blessed in the area of opportunity. I look at people here in Europe and just see so many limitations that these two countries don't have. But let's not be insular. See a bigger picture, have a world-wide perspective.
Wow, I wasn't planning on preaching, I was just going to write about my train trip. It's going - slowly.
I'm sharing my 4 bed cubicle with two older ladies and who are sitting chattering away to each other and a middle-aged man who drunk his bottle of beer and is asleep on a top bunk.
I've wandered the length of the train in both directions. There is no restaurant car, maybe I should have brought some food for this 20+ hour trip!! I met a few students travelling to a 30km canoe race they are entering.
I've just read the first three chapters of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment". What an amazing book. There are many little nuances that I would not appreciate had I not lived in this culture but his descriptions are amazing.
I haven't entered into the plot fully yet but so far I am overwhelmed by Fyodor's drunk characters. Living here I have seen first-hand the devastating effects alcoholism has on people (not just the ones who drink).
It seems different in the west and lately many Christian circles seem to live with a 'how much can I drink and still be ok' attitude, or a 'look I'm a free Christian'. Now I'm not a tee-totaller and don't mind a cold beer on a hot day after a hard day's work or a game of rugby (who am I kidding about a hard day's work).
But people, if this is you, get back to the real issue. All things are permissible but not all things are helpful. See the people around you. Feel their feelings, joys, pains, hurts and sorrows. Live life from a broad perspective.
The relatively young first world nations of NZ and Australia I believe are truly blessed in the area of opportunity. I look at people here in Europe and just see so many limitations that these two countries don't have. But let's not be insular. See a bigger picture, have a world-wide perspective.
Wow, I wasn't planning on preaching, I was just going to write about my train trip. It's going - slowly.
