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H
ow would you describe a partially filled
cup of water? A cup half full, or a cup half
empty? We can so easily be dragged down into
a mire of seeing life sceptically; all our disap-
pointments lead us to a cynical outlook in
which we see the negative rather than the
positive. And the spirit of our age is very much
that way too. But the problem with the ‘cup
half full’ approach is that it too easily appears
as mere positivism for the sake of it. None of
us can stand wilful naivety, talking up poor
behaviour and attitudes as if they are some-
thing good, excusing what is clearly wrong,
turning a blind eye to reality just because we
want to see something positive, and have our
own wishes for reality stated as somehow
true. Perhaps we hanker for the positivism of
early childhood to actually be proven true…
But we secretly realize that the Alice in
Wonderland approach to life is not only unre-
alistic, but unhelpful and unhealthy. There is
malice in wonderland as well, and we have to
see it for what it is. But because we are aware
of all this… do we then see the cup as half
empty? Are we to really look cynically at our
brethren, lack confidence in our own salva-
tion, fail to perceive the good, living beneath
the grey cloud of a reality we perceive as only
oppressive and negative? We sin, we have
sinned and we will continue committing sin…
and so do others. Every sin is avoidable in the
sense that sin is not inevitable; it is culpable
exactly because it is not inevitable. And so the
past, the past of our own failures and those of
others, tends to exist within us as a fountain
of continual regret, so often mulled over, and
leading to a general outlook which sees the
cup half empty rather than half full. And so
often it is a ‘cup half full’ spirit which leads
to a negative view of our brethren, which robs
our collective life of the joy and mutual
upbuilding which ought to characterize it.
Imputed Righteousness
God perceives sin, dysfunction and failure
more keenly than any. And yet He imputes
righteousness to those in Christ. We are
clothed with His Son, He sees us as Him. He
sees us so positively, without in any way being
Page
Editorial | The Cup Half Full ..............
A New Life in Christ .........................
“Pilate Washed His Hands ...
but Jesus Washed Their Feet” .............
The Altogether Lovely ........................
Looking Towards Salvation ...................
Deliverance from Death ......................
Message of Encouragement ..................
Gospel News Crossword .....................
Let A Man Examine Himself.................
Step Forward in Faith ........................
The Value of Bible Study ....................
The Great Escape ............................
Go And Do Thou Likewise ...................
Looking Up ....................................
“Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord?” .....
Teaching Our Children About God .........
The Blind Leaders ............................
The Trinity .....................................
Baptism ........................................
What Is This World Coming To? .............
Preaching in Public Places ..................
Separation .....................................
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Carelinks | Italy...............................
Carelinks | Latvia ............................
Carelinks | Russia ............................
Carelinks | Turkey ............................
Carelinks | UK .................................
Carelinks | Ukraine ...........................
Carelinks | USA................................
News from the Ecclesias
Kenya ...........................................
Malawi ..........................................
Nigeria
.........................................
South Africa ...................................
Tanzania........................................
Uganda .........................................
Zambia .........................................
Zimbabwe......................................
Gospel News
Editorial | The Cup Half Full
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