Grace, seasoned with salt

After coming home from an id forum on evangelism, I read these words in Colossians:

And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

- Colossians 4:3-6

Salt is a preservative, and also enhances taste. Paul is suggesting, then, that a Christian's conversation should bring out the underlying flavours of grace for non-christians to taste.

Distracted by God

So often as a Christian, I find that I rely on God to distract me from the things of this life - e.g. fatigue, anger, busy-ness - before I can truly encounter him. God is the distraction - going to church, reading my bible etc. seem to be little pools of God in the midst of the day-to-day.

I know, however, that this is entirely back to front. Instead, my main focus should be on God, with all the rest (at most) merely a distraction from him.

Are you ready to Rapture?

He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

- Matthew 16:2-3

Thankfully, one group is working hard to "interpret the signs of the times". Apparently, by keeping an index of the current signs in the world, they are able to keep what they bill as a "prophetic speedometer of end-time activity".

As of the start of this week, the rapture index was sitting at 159, a net increase of 3 from the previous reading.

From the site:

You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.

• Rapture Index of 85 and Below: Slow prophetic activity
  
• Rapture Index of 85 to 110: Moderate prophetic activity
  
• Rapture Index of 110 to 145: Heavy prophetic activity
  
• Rapture Index above 145: Fasten your seat belts
  

Evolution of Morality

Scientific American has a very interesting article on
the possible evolution of morality, based on some reflections by Darwin some 18 months after his ground breaking voyage on the Darwin, as well as more recent research by "Dutch-born psychologist, ethologist and primatologist Frans de Waal".

Personally, I believe that the ramifications of this line of thinking are much more significant to me as a Christian than those of the more traditional Creation vs. Evolution debate. At stake is the answer to the question, "In what way are humans made in the image of God, that animals are not?"

If, as Darwin postulates, morality is merely another characteristic that has, over time, been bred into human-kind then what is to stop other creatures having developed in the same way? Surely if it is a "natural advantage" for us then it would be for others as well?

On the other hand, if justice is a concept unique to man then surely that suggests that our species may have been "created apart", imprinted with the capacity for the very qualities ascribed to God - justice, mercy, love, sacrifice?