The Paper January 2012 - Editorial

Good Times and Great Friends
It was late on Monday night at the end of a long weekend, and I boarded the crowded last plane from Melbourne back to Sydney after visiting relatives and friends. “Why is it”, I thought to myself, “that the people I want to visit are in Melbourne, when I live in Sydney, and people from Melbourne have been visiting people in Sydney for the weekend? Surely it would be a much greener solution if I just had friends in Sydney, and the Melbourne people had friends in Melbourne. Then we would not need this dashing to and fro just for a weekend! Aren’t all people basically the same?”
Of course this ideal situation might exist in Utopia, but the links that tie us to other people be they because they are related or through shared experiences, are stronger than those we have with those with whom we do not share such connections. People and families move in response to all sorts of demands that are put on them, and we are often required to work with people from all different places for a variety of reasons, and so over time we may build up relationships with people from everywhere. There seems to be a sense of achievement in developing a network of friends across a wide range of towns, states and countries!
It is interesting to think upon what attracts us to other people. Some attraction is physical, some intellectual or academic, some emotional, some through shared activities and some just because we like to be with someone for reasons we can’t explain – we just enjoy sharing their company and doing things with them. Over the course of our regular activities we meet lots of people, some with whom we “click” and some with whom we do not! There is a saying that it is good we don’t all fall in love with the same person or there would be lots more problems in the world! Each one of us is unique, and have different levels of attraction to others, and sometimes this develops into close friendships and sometimes not.
Generally, however, good-times are associated with people! When we think of activities that we enjoy, whilst the activity is a catalyst to bring us together with others, generally we enjoy the experience more because of those who we do them with.
There is the story of the Rabbi who loved playing golf. He woke up one Sabbath morning – the weather was beautiful, and although he knew it was completely forbidden, he opted for a quick round of golf before going to Synagogue. The angels seeing this asked their Boss to teach him a lesson. Off he went, hitting holes in one, driving straight down the fairways and with exceptional putting. The angels complained to God, “we asked you to show him a lesson!” “I have”, replied God, “Who is he going to be able to share his exceptional performance with?”...
Despite all the outward relationships that we may have we come to realise that ultimately we must know who we are inside ourselves before we can expect others to enjoy being with us. This is supported by the understanding held by most Religions that this life is only a sub-set of a greater spectrum of life. In our inner-self, our “spirit”, we must travel to “different places” away from the world around us, and find an inner peace by visiting another realm.
Specifically Christians believe we can develop a relationship with our Creator, who styles Himself as “a Sprit”, through putting faith and trust in Him. We believe that He has shown Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, who came from another realm to visit us and lived as one of us; giving His life as a testimony to the distance we have moved from the principles set out by our Maker in the Guide Book called The Holy Bible.
If you do not already know this Friend, and how relaxed and at peace Christians can feel when in His company, we would like to invite you to talk with someone who does, and find out how to meet Him. Visits with Him do not consume copious amounts of natural resources, but require a focussing of your mind on “things above, and not on things of this world”. (For anyone who would care to look, the Apostle Paul summarised this situation in The Bible in his Letter to the Colossians, chapter 3 verses 1-4.)
You may like to attend our Church sometime or alternatively attend a Church in your local Community, to talk about the advantages of knowing and visiting such a Friend. Please see Church Notices for dates and times of the Meetings at our Church.
Rodney Gray – Pastor Christian Israelite Church, 196 Campbell Street, Sydney (www.cichurch.com) .