So Madrid?

Not sure how much of ‘life’ I understand – probably about as much of the Bible as I understand. Loose ends; things not tied up; dots that don’t connect. Maybe that is just me?

It was a significant battle to get ourselves into Madrid, some of which I have recounted in previous posts from years back; perhaps the most bizarre bit was a clause in the contract that in the light of it we were advised to ‘not touch this with a barge pole’ but felt to proceed. It meant that there was a gap between parting with the money and receiving the property when the seller could indeed walk with the money and keep the property. We sensed that was the risk we were to take. In the evening before the legal work the following day we managed to track down who the seller was and that he owned a shop a few streets away. We googled the shop and found only one review… ‘do not deal with this man he is a thief’. Ah well…

We spent much time in Madrid, most days would go to the parliament and pray outside as well as a host of other activities. Then along came COVID and we heard from the grapevine that Madrid would be closed the following day. We left early as we had people due to visit us in Oliva. Madrid was closed and we were unable to go back for quite a period of time. Currently we have a rentee in the apartment, at a very good price for him, as we have to do something that pushes back against the monetary system that dictates.

And the future? Would love to be back there on a longer term basis, but who knows. I will travel up next week and over 3 days walk the perimeter of the city – a small act that I think will settle this part of the journey. Would love to be back there long term but am very aware that many aspects of what we engage with are not fulfilled in the way we think they would. It is the principle of ‘seed’ into the ground for the next phase, and this is where I consider a number of us probably fail to move on well as we hang on for something more in the context that we need to move on from. As for Madrid, we don’t know what this means.

I do know (wow, Martin you are sure you know?)… OK a rephrase. I have a perspective that God is a forward moving God and that Jesus is not about to return today or even tomorrow. We have not yet run out of time to see amazing shifts in our world. [Sidenote: I think the whole pre-, post-, a-millennial approaches are not where it is at; I am not convinced that there is very much in the NT that fuels speculation… loads to encourage us to live today as what is done today provides the building-blocks for the future age.] And here is my perspective that Europe having been the cradle of the gospel and of Christendom can fully throw off the clothing of Christendom and also discover the Pauline gospel that carried a vision of a new creation (Paul makes a rather abrupt statement in 2 Cor. 5:17 ‘So if anyone is in Christ, new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being’.)

A bumpy, most challenging path ahead. Not one that will see a mega-church on every street corner, but could see ordinary people (are there any other types of people?) taking responsibility for a neighbour, a street, a business, a school. Enabling space to come where people can find that where they live is nothing other than a gateway from heaven to earth (Acts 17:26; Gen. 28:17).

Back to Madrid. No one is the saviour of the world other than… I want to walk – a small act – where I simply want to put my feet to say that a manifestation of God’s reign will be obscurely shown in the governmental and judicial spheres of Spain. Not perfectly, but certainly not in opposition to God. I note that there is a big push in certain quarters for government and the judiciary to serve an agenda, that agenda being understood by some as ‘Christian’ but I consider is aligned to ‘Christendom’, motivated, I believe, by a desire to see Christendom extend its life.

There is loss in order for there to be gain. Jesus said ‘better I go’ to the disciples. Really? Better, and more difficult. The next 15 or so years will be tumultuous at crazy levels, but right or wrong in that perspective, God will not abandon us. We will lose some good things, good things that have come our way at a price… but there is always a hope that does not disappoint.

Madrid we always saw as leverage point for Spain. Maybe we need to get back there ere long. Maybe we need to take some new inadequate steps in new direction?