THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK - Call in the administrator
ADMINISTRATORS are in great demand at present.
First it's the Presbyterian Mutual Society, then Woolworths, MFI, and Whittards of Chelsea, and perhaps more before this piece is read.
That polymath, Saul of Tarsus, could well have been an administrator as well. Knowledgeable about Jewish law, familiar with Greek poetry and sports, as well as Roman law, he was also, I imagine, a shrewd businessman.
A tentmaker, or leatherworker by trade (Jews required their sons to have a trade), he was no doubt familiar with book-keeping and accounts. He would have had no trouble filling in his self-assessment tax return!
Traces of that commercial side of his nature creep into his correspondence. There is a Greek verb Paul uses, which is really an accountant's word, meaning "to count, reckon , calculate". Let me share with you three occurrences of that verb (Greek root available on application!)
First, it refers to the basis of salvation. In Romans 4;3 he tells us that Abraham was accounted as righteous before God, not because of anything he had done, but through faith in God's promises.
There are two basic attitudes to religion. One is the attitude which says, "Something in my mind I bring", much as the rich young ruler said to Jesus, "What must I do to be saved."
The other is that of the contrite, who acknowledges "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling."
Paul also uses this accountant's verb where he is talking about Christian discipleship. Writing to the Philippians, he concedes that he is not the man he wished to be. "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind, and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize" ( 3; 13,14).
Many Christians imagine they have arrived, forgetting that the Christian life is meant to be a process of growth in grace, and a life-long struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. Like characters in 'Pilgrim's Progress', they fall asleep on the 'Enchanted Ground', within sight of the Celestial City.
Another uses the accountancy terminology when writing to the Corinthians about the supreme gift of love. "Love," he tells them (I Corinthians 13;5) "keeps no record of wrongs." In the religious turmoil that followed the Reformation, Edmund Campion remained true to the unreformed faith.
His stance exposed him to the charge of treason, when his allegiance was betrayed. On the night before his execution, he was visited in his cell, by the man who had betrayed him. T
he visitor came seeking forgiveness, but even when Campion assured him of that, the man still lingered. He was planning to make a new life in Europe.
Would Campion be so good as to write a letter of commendation for him? The letter was duly written, and the next morning Campion was dragged through the streets of London to meet his gruesome end. He met it with a quiet conscience, having kept no record of the wrong done against him.
It was an act of sublime accountancy!
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Weather for Coleraine
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 5 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 9 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South west
