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Getting married is an expensive business!  A modern-day trend of more showy, more brassy, more controlled, more everything – especially the bill!

Yet in biblical times it was an expensive business.  And where we go on holiday in Turkey the custom is still for the bride’s parents to pay for the new home to be fully furnished.  All the husband-to-be has to do is provide the home itself.  Hello every parent!

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“Jesus said to his disciples, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. T en bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.  As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.  But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him.’  Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’  And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.  Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’  But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you. ‘ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” “ Matthew 25:1-13

Still a Chosen People audience. Still binding with imagery to unpick the locks of embedded religion. The Day and Hour Unknown … The Parable of the Ten Virgins … The Parable of the Bags of Gold …

NB: note the “virgins”: no marriage no sex.  Subliminal influencing in the bible – just like “advertising” is accused of doing as a “very bad thing”.

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And for me I am now kicking-back at this teaching as recorded and presented by my good friend Matthew (and all the shenanigans of editing and revising ever since).

The Chosen People aren’t interested in having the locks of their religion unpicked.  No religion is happy to have its locks unpicked.  All this “You do not know the time – the moment – the instant of … “rapture!”  So be prepared – always!  Do not sleep on the job – ever!  Live a life of law and nothing but the law or else when the Big Boss returns – you are screwed (forever)!  What kind of religion binds its believers so tightly that unpicking that lock was never going to happen?

Sorry – scratch that …

Just remembered creeds and catechisms and “pray hard enough and God will fix anything” and “I can never shake this sin so must go to church for regular forgiveness” and “gays are an abomination” and “coloureds need their own churches” and “smelly homeless are okay in their place but not in ours” and “we would love to help but the constitution says we need a majority vote – and that ain’t gonna happen while I have just one breath left in my body” and “the pastor fixes all that stuff – it’s not my job” and the killer –

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“Strive to become a mature Christian
(then you will understand how things work around here).”

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No … we left all “that” behind us when we embraced the teachings of Jesus.  We would never replicate what the “Chosen People” hold onto for dear life.  We know better.

And yet …

Right now in this moment of eternity I am connected.  I have the choice to live here and love here – or I can distance myself.  To insulate myself from this moment in case sin creeps in. To be on my knees looking at God’s toenails.  Always looking down and telling God how unworthy I am.  Which is what Jesus taught us all to do in all these parables and such.

And yet right now in this moment “that” is so far from the connection I have … God Soft Hands Jesus has no desire for me to look down. Nor even to simply look him in the eyes. Not even to follow him as I was taught.  He desires simply that I embrace him with all my might … that I embrace him so hard we become one … like sex without the sex … like great sex that lasts a few moments – but like great sex all the time every second forever.

The whole bible, for me, is that simple.

It has nothing to do with all the other “stuff”.  And as for “All Are Welcome” … ?  That is bullshit.

Because if you embrace your own GSHJ that tight – if you are as One – then we are ALL One.  And sex or colour or bias or bigotry or cultural preference or visible  appearance or invisible disability or odd beliefs or biblically incorrect or scripturally incorrect or ANY of that which really means … (even you) “All Are Welcome” (because you will become like us when we get you saved)” …

ALL of THAT vanishes – because it’s irrelevant.

It’s called Love Without Condition.

And is freely available right now this second and every second.

No conditions allowed.

Your choice.

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