White-washed stone buildings, high spires of the picturesque
churches on a sparkling river – we pulled our room curtains back this morning
and were greeted by spectacular Bath, England. In Jane Austen’s day Bath was
the city with a splash! (Pun definitely
intended!) Anybody who was anybody
wanted to be seen and known in this beautiful town. Bath attracted the beautiful and the
wealthy. Celebrities from all over used
this place to escape. Jane Austen took
the complexities of these people – the desires that drove their lives and wrote
them in soap opera form. So much about this city is self-serving. From the spas, to the shopping to the
entertainment, this Bath knew how to appeal to the superficial.
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| Around Bath |
We started the day with a
double decker bus tour to give us a good overview of this little city and then
split up to go to the two museums, Bath at Work and the Fashion museum. Following the tours, we had tea time with Mr.
Darcy and visited the ancient Roman baths that are still effervescing from hot
springs. A quick trip to the Pump Rooms
and the Bath Abbey and then off in small groups to explore Bath through
shopping and dinner… whew! Can you believe this was one of our more “laid back”
days! It was a very indulgent day for all of us, and certainly reflective of
the same sort of pampering that the people of Austen’s day, both in her novels
and her real life, enjoyed.
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The brave ones who rode on the top of the bus
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You won’t find characters
in Austen’s novel who looked for ministry opportunities. Bath didn’t cultivate a servant’s heart. Indulgence and self-absorption were the
flavor of her time. And yet, that same
atmosphere can be found just about anywhere else you go. Perhaps a day will come when our very own
Santa Clarita will be remembered as the place where you could have just about
anything your heart could want.
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| The ladies after going through the Fashion Museum |
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| The traditional ballroom picture |
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| Our group at the circus |
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| The group inside Bath Abbey |
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| Bath Abbey |
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| Inside the Roman Baths |
But we are different.
We have learned that real living, real satisfaction, real fulfillment
comes when we die to self. As a
Christ-follower, we are counter culture.
As we walk like Christ, we understand that our lives were meant to be
spent not in excess of indulgence,
but in excess of emptiness. When we empty
ourselves of our needs, our demands, our pleasure and replace it with love for
others, ministry and simplicity motivated by love for Christ – we actually find
ourselves filled to capacity. The
characters in Austen’s day never were filled.
They spent their lives looking for more creative and expensive ways to
fill the void that only Christ is able to fill. Today, we were challenged to look for ways
to care for and love others around us –
and it was really fulfilling Now that’s
real living!
1Timothy 6:17-19
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be
haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who
richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in
good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for
themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of
that which is truly life.
“Now, remember, you will never know the
fullness of Christ until you know the
emptiness of everything else but Christ.” Spurgeon
“Do you think God would make us so dissatisfied with this
world if he did not mean to
satisfy us with another and a better one?” Spurgeon
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| Jake Harer |
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| Junior Jessica McCarty |
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| Senior - Cooper Roig |
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