For all who Grieve

‘God has given us an entire book of the Bible in which sorrow is put into words and the grief of what was lost is expressed over and over again. This tells us something very important about how to grieve: We must give sorrow words. Telling your story will be part of God’s provision for healing your soul.’ Pastor Colin Smith, For all who Grieve

All of us will experience grief and loss in out lifetime. No doubt many of experience the love and support of loved ones and the church during our loss, but as most of us have experienced, it is not the immediate aftermath of grief that is a challenge but the months and years that follow. Many of us feel loneliness, anger, bewilderment, confusion and wave after wave of loss. Our society (and increasingly the church) has forgotten how to grieve. As Pastor Colin Smith says: ‘In recent years, it has become popular to re-designate a funeral service as a ‘celebration of life’. And it is not unusual for a bereaved person to insist that it should be an upbeat occasion. But if even a funeral is no longer a place to grieve, what place is left for the expression of sorrow and loss? This privatising of grief is very different from the pattern God gives us in Lamentations where the sorrows of God’s people are shared and their stories of loss are heard.’ 

‘For all who Grieve’ came to me for review by Free Church Books after I lost my sister and dad (which I've written about here and here) in the space of six months and the book couldn’t have come at a better time. The format of the book is a little unusual, it combines the heart wrenching stories of five families who had lost children in very different circumstances and how they had been brought together in a group to share their experiences. Pastor Colin Smith structured the group discussions in the much-neglected book of Lamentations. I have to confess that like Colin Smith Lamentations is a book I have hardly read much less studied over the years but after reading ‘For all who Grieve’ I have been encouraged to return to this book and study it in greater depth. 

Pastor Colin Smith beautifully weaves the stories of families who have experienced death and loss, sometimes in the most traumatic of circumstances with six themes from the book of Lamentations: tears, talk, guilt, grievance, hope and healing. Sensitively and gently Colin Smith takes us from tragedy and loss in each chapter to the word of God where we find release, comfort and healing. The book confronts with all the horror of loss but is infused with gospel hope that God can cope with our tears, our grievance and can bring hope and healing. 

This book would be a helpful book to give to anyone who is grieving and would be a particularly good book to use in a group setting with people who had experienced grief. At the end of each chapter there are questions for reflection and discussion. It is also an extremely helpful book for pastors and those of us seeking to bring comfort to those who have been bereaved. The book has several helpful appendices on 'children who die in infancy', 'recommended resources on grief and loss' and 'resources for studying Lamentations' in more detail. 

I found ‘For all who Grieve’ a huge comfort in my own loss. It helped articulate so many of my own feelings that were hard to express. Most of all it led me to the best of all counsellors: Jesus Christ. As Colin Smith says: ‘God gave His people a counsellor who wept with them, put the pain of their loss into words, ministered to their guilt and grief, and brought hope and healing from the ashes of their loss.’

For all who Grieve can be purchased from Free Church Book and 10ofThose.

Eat the Crumbs

When I heard that a couple of young women (Abby Carter and Sarah Prime) had set up an ethical clothing company to raise funds for church planting in Scotland's housing schemes I was a little taken aback! I asked Abby Carter some questions about this new venture.

Abby, thank for talking to Ragged Theology - what was/is your vision for 'Eat the Crumbs'?

To be quite honest a vision for etc has not been thoroughly contemplated or considered. There has been a journey (which is explained in the somewhat long-winded ‘ABOUT’ page on our website for those who are interested) however with some things, they are born out of a natural flowing engagement with the fun qualities God gifts to us: creativity, community, and a desire to make a difference. One of the verses that has inspired us is: “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37: 23-24. Sarah and I connect through our sense of humour and borderline silliness. If you mix our banter in with reading faith-based books together, listening to sermons at our local Church and enjoying Christian hip hop music, you apparently get a childish desire to start a t-shirt company. 

Eat the crumbs is a creative expression of our personal belief in one God, who loves all people through the call of the gospel and the offer of salvation. The name comes from the Canaanite woman who, when told by Jesus that it is not right to take the bread from the children to feed the dogs, humbly replies that even the dogs get to eat the crumbs (Matt 15:21-28). We want that desperation for the Word of God ourselves. We do ‘eat the crumbs’ to share with others this desperation. We do it to enjoy Him and His gifts to us, and we are motivated by the opportunity to raise some money for a building for our church. The rest of what might be called a ‘vision’ we humbly hand over to God and try to be obedient to his leading. I can tell you though it has already been exciting to experience some of the encouragements and develop some connections with inspiring people through etc. The vision is God's. God is good. Always.

Tell us more about how the story of the Canaanite women inspired you?

This story stands out so starkly to me. It is prefaced by Jesus explaining every dark habit which defiles us - the things that make us unworthy of His attention: “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” vs.17-19

Then the story is followed by Jesus abundantly providing for four thousand people! So I came to the ‘faith of a Canaanite woman’ story already feeling as lowly as a dog after recognising all that defiles me BUT I came away from this story knowing my Saviour provides abundantly for my unworthy soul. 

So what happens in between our owning our lowly, sinful, hungry state and our being worthy to be sustained beyond measure?

The image of a table happens. Two entities meet at this table; the master who sets the food on the table and the dogs who are under the table looking for the crumbs that might fall off. What a picture of what we sinners actually deserve; not sitting at the table and tasting the food but underneath unable to even see the food. But this table top is more; and this dog is loved, not rejected.

I am inspired by the Canaanite women, firstly, because she is bold and persistent in calling out to her master but secondly, and most importantly, she is willing to be humbled by him. She is not offended, she continues to call him “Lord”. She doesn’t give up, she is increasingly eager. Humility is not weak, humility is a right recognition of who we are next to the ultimate God. Humility is strong and we should be eager for it to be attributed to us. 

Anyway back to the table. Although we have clearly been lead into this story knowing the low entity we are to relate to - it is ok - this is good for us. It is good as we are under the table of a compassionate master: “Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I have compassion for these people'" vs 32.

This master does not let His dogs go hungry. Even the crumbs He allows to find our lips are worth more than gold. Jesus repeatedly prefaces his teaching with “TRULY I TELL YOU” throughout Matthew, and so know anything we are given from His word is truth. This is a precious gift from a compassionate master’s table to sustain us in a defiled world. 

Tell us about the logo for Eat the Crumbs? 

Taking inspiration from the story of the Canaanite women it needed to be bold and direct. The eager ‘e’ has its mouth open to consume the falling ’t’ and ‘c’. They are falling from a rectangle which represents the table of the master. The table has breaks in it, which corresponds to the breaks in the content of the ‘e’s mouth. These symbolise the crumbs being God’s word to us; like pages in the Bible (tilt head to see it looks like a book, a bit :) but also that there is no solid surface or barrier between us and our master, the table was broken when Jesus died for our lowly, sinful, state and replaced it with an eternally worthy, well-fed soul state! 

We wish Abby and Sarah (Prime) all the best with this new venture. Please support them by ordering from the website here.

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

Who is Jesus? It seems such an obvious question. Many of us have been reading and hearing about Jesus since we were children. We know Jesus. We know all about him. We know every miracle, every sermon. We are experts in the incarnation, his transfiguration, his crucifixion and his glorification. Let me ask you another question: when was the last time your heart was flooded with the love of Christ? That is a very different question. Maybe it has been some time since you felt Christ’s love. If so, ‘Gentle and Lowly’ is for you. As Ortland says in the introduction: ‘This book is written for the discouraged, the frustrated, the weary, the disenchanted, the cynical, the empty. Those running on fumes.’ I would also say that if you haven’t picked up a book in a long time, ‘Gentle and Lowly’ might be the book to get you back into the reading habit again. I found it easy, gripping and encouraging. I genuinely felt excited every time I picked it up.

In this book Dane Ortland takes us on a beautiful journey in to the heart of Christ, a place some Christians have rarely been. They know all about Christ rather than knowing him.  Over twenty-three short Christ-centred chapters the author shows us the love of Christ for weary sinners. Starting with Matthew 11 v 28-30 the author shows us that Jesus is gentle and lowly in heart. Contrary to so much of what we may have experienced from other Christians Jesus’ entire disposition towards sinners is gentleness and love. As Ortland says: ‘Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture is most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.’ The book continues with text after text that shows Christ’s deep, deep affection for sinners. Ortland humanises Jesus and makes him glow with love for wretched sinners and rank outcasts. I found myself becoming reanimated as Ortland graphically described Christs earthy ministry and his constant proximity to sinner. As Ortland said: ‘Jesus walked the earth rehumanizing the dehumanized and cleansing the unclean. Why? Because his heart refused to let him sleep in. Sadness confronted him in every town. So wherever he went, whenever he was confronted with pain and longing, he spread the good contagion of his cleansing mercy. Thomas Goodwin said, “Christ is love covered over in flesh.” Picture it. Pull back the flesh on the Stepford Wives or the Terminator and you find machine; pull back the flesh on Christ and you find love.’

This book is so easy to read and works well as a devotional. Ortland beautifully weaves in the best of the Puritans: Thomas Goodwin, John Owen, Richard Sibbes, John Bunyan and Jonathan Edwards. Reading this book has inspired me to go back to books such as ‘The Heart of Christ by Thomas Goodwin which like ‘Gentle and Lowly’ is heart warming and beautiful. 

Reading this book felt like a Sabbath rest. My soul felt warmed, restored and my love for Christ was rekindled. I felt deeply humbled at Christs love for me and felt encouraged to go to him more often confident that he is ready to receive me through his atoning sacrifice on the cross. As Ortland says: 'Jesus Christ is closer to you today than he was to sinners and sufferers he spoke with and touched in his earthly ministry.  Through his Spirit, Christs own heart envelopes his people with an embrace nearer and tighter than any physical embrace could ever achieve.' 

The book is also a great inspiration to mission. Ortland inspires us to offer Christ to others: ‘The cumulative testimony of the four Gospels is that when Jesus Christ sees the fallenness of the world all about him, his deepest impulse, his most natural instinct, is to move towards that sin and suffering not away from it.’  There is nothing that inspires evangelism more that believing in Christs love for sinners

If you are discouraged, frustrated, weary, disenchanted, cynical, and empty this book is for you.  You can order it from Free Church books here.