Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

What do you think life’s about?

Published by

Matt Stone

2009-09-14

With the Jesus All About Life campaign now underway in Sydney I thought I’d do a scan of what’s happening online. In the process I stumbled across a conversation between Dominic Steel, senior minister of Christians in the Media, and Shane Rogerson, an old church buddy.

Dominic asks, “I have been struggling to think of the next 10 words that I want to say after the advertisement’s brilliant catchy statement: Jesus is all about life. But what are the next 10 words I am to say to my friends?”

Shane responds, “Its a great conversation starter. Everyone knows it won’t seal the deal. My next 12 words: what do you think life’s about? have you seriously looked at Jesus?”

Now, while I think there’s a danger here in any suggestion we adopt formulaic responses, I do agree asking open-ended questions like that is not a bad way to engage with the sorts of questions the Jesus All About Life may stir up.

I think Shane’s other comments deserve some attention too. We all know it is nothing more than a conversation starter, but I am not sure how many non-Christians realize that we realize that.

So, I’d just like to throw this question out to everyone, Christian and non-Christian, religious and non-religious. What do you think life’s about? Have you seriously looked at Jesus?

Tags Jesus, Sydney

5 responses to “What do you think life’s about?”

Matt Stone

2009-09-14

Just wrote this over at NeoBaptist, in commenting on beliefs, but thought it was relevant for here too:
A simple belief statement for me is: Jesus changes everything.
To unpack that a bit, Jesus changes how we think about God, how we think about ourselves, how we think about others, how we think about our world. Jesus changes how we live, how we orient our lives. Jesus changes how we experience life, how we love, how we cry. Jesus humbles us, heals us and gives us hope. Jesus changes our benchmarks, challenges our loyalties, calls us to make a difference in this world, to be a difference in this world. Jesus confuses us, confronts us, converts us. Jesus gives us life, in this life and beyond. Jesus asks us, what would you give your life for, then gives his life for us.
That is what Jesus is for me.

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Jarred

2009-09-15

To me, life is about love and pleasure. Which means it’s about beauty, strength, power, compassion, honor, humility, mirth and reverence. It’s about loving and being loved. It’s about touching lives and being touched by others’ lives. It’s about building something beautiful together. It’s about sharing laughter and tears.
I hope that doesn’t sound too cliche.

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Matt Stone

2009-09-15

No, I like your emphasis on beauty. The truth is life, goodness is life, but so too is beauty … and life is less than full when all th colour drains out of it. I think Jesus lays down a challenge though, can we find the glory of God in the ordinary? Can we appreciate the lillies that are here today and gone tomorrow? Is beauty always immediately obvious?

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Jarred

2009-09-15

What is ordinary? That’s a question I seriously struggle with. I look at my life, and in most senses, it’s very ordinary. I’m not famous. I’m not some great athlete, some great writer (my friends’ rather biased opinions notwithstanding), or some Calvin Klein model. I haven’t found the cure from some great disease, answered the energy crisis, or done any of the other things most people hand out awards for or write your name in a history book for.
And yet, in my own way, I find my life far from ordinary. I find it filled with friends who care about me and about whom I care. I find myself enjoying several tiny experiences of personal significance every day.
Other people can have the fame and be remembered by everyone for some great accomplishment. I’ll stick with a pleasant dinner with friends or a great conversation on this blog. I’ll take a walk through the park over the gala of the year any day.
Is beauty always immediately obvious? Probably not. In fact, one of the things I’ve been learning for the past few years is that beauty comes in many more forms than most of us ever consider.

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Steve Hayes

2009-09-15

Short answer: 42, of course.
Longer answer:
Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death
and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.
Not the next 12 words, but the next 19.
And here’s 13
Christos voskrese iz mertiu
smertiu smert poprav
i sushchim vo grobech zhivot darovav.

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