Cell

I finally made it to Wei Yao's cell last night. Admittedly there was the promise of free dinner cooked by Jason. He's the one in the right. Nic's the dude on the left*
Anyways I really enjoyed cell (both the dinner and sharing part). Never realised how much I missed it, and Jason's a great cook! Anyways, as a memory aid, I took pics of all the ppl so i could remember their names. From right to left: Nick, James, Wei Yao, Rachel and Jason (Yay! i remembered!)Then I put down the camera and we started eating. I was absolutely famished after having just come from the gym, and the chicken + noodles were awesome! No close-ups because haha i was too preoccupied with the eating =)

Anyways, later Gordon (the pastor of GCCC) came along with another guy, Caleb. That night the discussion focused around what it meant to get closer to God. For most of us, we've seen it as a list of beneficial chores:

• more QT (Bible study)
• more prayer
• more service - ministry/community work etc
• more being a good person - righteousness etc etc

For many of us, me included, we strive so hard to be good Christians through our works. And we miss the point. Last week, Gordon spoke about Christianity as being an organic faith. Sometimes, rather than letting the fruit grow on the tree, we attach fruit (the stuff from the list above) to the tree. So we find ourselves doing the same good things, but with different motives: to be seen as a good Christian, to get closer to God etc etc.

The funny part is that we just don't get it. God loves us. Full stop. Nothing we can do can make Him love us more. It is when we embrace his love, when we remain in it (John 15) that fruit comes naturally - from the inside out. We can't earn our salvation through works. We can't get closer to God through effort. It starts by accepting and embracing the fact that God loves us - that's faith.

Paul has it spot on in Philippians 3:7-11 - his righteousness comes not from the law (ie works) but from faith in Christ. What faith is this? A faith that His death on the Cross saved us and made us innocent in His eyes (though often not in our own). A faith that He loves us unconditionally.

On a side note - sometimes I wonder why isn't the fruit coming now? Wei Yao pointed out that the answer lies in nature - fruit comes when it is in season. Ultimately, God is the one who knows when the right season is for us.

Anyways, that was a quick summary of what cell was about last night... and i'm looking forward to next week =)