Up all night, home all day.

I am taking a day off work today as I am Ill. I have been up all night coughing and spluttering and looking after the two boys.

This is somewhat interesting and I have to ask, what place does suffering from the fall have in the life of the Christian?

Disease, illness, death. All these things are symptoms of the fall, of the cursed Earth on which we live and of the cursed existence that we eek out.

But what of the believer? We are free from the curse, we are born again and, yet, we still suffer from the curse. It is interesting that Jesus' earthly ministry involved his relieving suffering whilst proclaiming the coming of the kingdom. As though the two were linked, that the coming of the kingdom would be signaled by relief from suffering.

Nowhere in the NT (please correct me if I am wrong!) do we see any prayer or wish that suffering or persecution should cease. What we see are prayers that the saints would endure the suffering and the persecution with joy and with Godly hope of what is to come.

I'd write more but I really need a cup of tea and some sleep.

2007 going going

Monday the 10th was the day of the Old Testament examination at LST. These exams are real exams, with questions and written answers. My usual examinations these days consist of computerised multiple choice or Cisco configuration examples - vastly different!

5 questions, 45 minutes.
One question on OT timelines (put these OT events in order..)
One question about a minor prophet. (Haggai, as it happens, convenient*)
One question about the covenant in Genesis 17
One question about Malachi's canonical issues
One question about the genealogy in Ruth 14

All in all, not too bad.

*This was very convenient as in the previous week I had presented an overview of this very same book. Imagine my delight when it appeared in the examination!

So, that's it for LST in 2007. I have manged to complete a whole term. That's two essays, one theological reflection and an exam. Next term is full of doctrine and discipleship.