Don't Sweat It

Looks like a torture instrument doesn't it? Close - but it's designed for good not evil. In the spirit of trying new things, and working on being disciplined in my life, this morning I went for my first ever 'pilates reformer' class. It was tough! You see the women in the ads and they look graceful and in control. I just felt clunky. But 11 hours later and my muscles are starting to feel it.

During those 11 hours (while those muscles recoup) my brain has been stretched further than normal. In the last couple of months I've been working on a series of studies about the second half of Romans. It was supposed to be ready on Wednesday. By Friday I had a bit of a breakdown in the office when I realised that I couldn't get my head around the whole thing. In the words of N.T. Wright, the Book of Romans is "neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision".

(Whew, no pressure!)

But like any mountaineer who's daunted by their object/subject it's good to approach things bit by bit. And that's what I'm going to do with the studies for Credo and we'll see how God chooses to work through it. To that end (and I could be making a bold claim here) I'm going to endeavour to post, each Monday, some musing on the sections of Romans that I have prepared for the Credoities (and students who read will get a preview in that case but I trust that you'll use it for good). Please feel very free to post your thoughts and interact with me here on it - I want to be able to make it better for if we use the studies again.

The one thing I know already is that Romans, like the pilates course, is going to take a lot of discipline, patience and perseverance - with a fair amount of stiffness along the way. But like most things, I'm sure the discipline will pay off. Apparently, after 30 sessions on the 'torture' reformer I could look as calm and in control as this girl. We'll see...