Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
unearthing precious truths and when we saw something in
God, we went for it.
We saw simplicity, too, as one of the ‘treasures of the kingdom’.
Jesus lived simply and possessed little. We wanted to
follow him along this path, and agreed to spend as little as
possible. We began to cut down on our wardrobes and eat
more simply. Fashions were passed by, and we made more
use of our second-hand clothing store. We made our cars last
longer and cut each other’s hair. We saw so much wastage
and fussiness around — leaving food on the plate and so on.
These were all areas for embracing discipleship.
Chinese take-aways and fizzy apple drinks breathed their
last. We cut out costly spreads like honey and peanut butter
(for a while), stopped drinking coffee and gave up sugar in
drinks (guests excepted). The chapel tuck shop substituted
nuts and raisins for sticky chocolate bars, but soon disappeared
altogether!
Expensive and gimmicky toys gave way to creative, constructional
things. We realised the danger of being ‘lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God’ (2 Tim 3:4), and determined
that the ego-boosting competition of sport, as well as
the indulgence of worldly entertainments, were not for us.
The common purse had been a watershed and paved the
way for deeper unity in the Spirit. Many found they could go
the whole week without money. It seemed strange at first,
but was a blessed release. In little things we realised the grip
of self and in little things we proved our love for Jesus.
My parents often visited us at the Hall: ‘Well, you’re bound
to love one another now, if you share everything,’ my dad
remarked. He was right. We were dependent on one another.
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