Opinion
Seizing opportunities “in the world”
Regular contributor Jane Walters has been taking the opportunity to share her faith in the unlikeliest of situations.
In the weekend paper recently, I read about a woman who refuses to change her clocks when the diary says so. It seemed a bold response to the annoyance of being plunged into afternoon darkness come late October. She keeps two clocks on the go: one of her own choosing, to enjoy better daylight quality; and the other set to GMT, so that she doesn’t miss important stuff.
It reads like a version of Jesus’ call to His followers to live in the world as though they are not part of it (John 17). Some people have interpreted Jesus’ words by withdrawing from society, living in religious community of some sort. Others argue that living in a ghetto offers no opportunity to spread the gospel. It’s an obvious point, though I would suggest that we may never know in how many ways we benefit from the prayers offered up by the former.
My own recent experience taught me a valuable lesson in all this. With an important event coming up, I booked myself in for an eyelash lift and tint at my local beauty salon. Even in my own mind, this is on the spectrum of the onlookers’ reaction to the lavish outpouring of perfume on Jesus’ feet: ‘this money could have been spent on helping the poor.’ Yes, I get it. It wasn’t an essential use of my time or my money, and it put me squarely into the ‘in this world’ camp. Nevertheless, I went along for the appointment.
Here is where I got a surprise. In casual conversation, whilst my eyelids were taped down onto my face, I mentioned the wedding I was going to and its venue. Our church building is something of a curiosity, being a former paintbrush factory, and one thing led onto another. I asked if she ever went to church. She didn’t, but had wondered about going. It wasn’t long before she admitted that she had had a similar chat with a client only the previous week. When I asked her name, I smiled in recognition. She was a lady far more familiar with beauty treatments than I am; and she happens to be a passionate follower of Jesus.
So, here’s the thing. We don’t have to fear contamination by the world, metaphorically running our clocks counter to everyone else. Maybe, being ‘in the world’ – even in a beauty salon – is the very opportunity to talk about being ‘not of it’.
The image is courtesy of pixabay.com
Jane Walters, formerly Clamp, is the author of Too Soon, a mother’s journey through miscarriage (SPCK) and a regular contributor to Premier Radio and UCB. She is also vice-chair of the Association of Christian Writers. Jane leads creative writing retreats and is a popular speaker locally and further afield. Visit: janewyattwalters.com
The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users.