Thinx 46: Deity of Christ

'"The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."'
-- John 5: 22-23

These words of Jesus are as clear a declaration of his deity as any other. They belong on the short list which included such pearls as John 8:58 [Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."]

That all may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father? So then all worship, honour, praise, thanksgiving, service, sacrifice, prayer etcetera goes as much to the Son as to the Father. As much as we honour the Father by our declarations of worth and the actions which reflect our belief in him and his worth; all this goes equally to the Son.

How can anyone say that the deity of Christ is a recent thing and not to be believed?

[Memories of Pakistan -- 11 January 2003]

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 45: Comfort and Growth

"... we exult in hope [expectation] of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope [expectation]; and hope [expectation] does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."
-- Romans 5:2b-6

As a colleague was saying last night on the way home from the office, God seems more interested in our welfare than in our comfort; that sometimes there is no comfort, or indeed anti-comfort (tribulation) and yet God is there ensuring our longterm welfare by bringing out of that absence of comfort the more useful attributes of perseverance, proven character and hope.

[Memories of Pakistan -- Tuesday, 6 May 2003]

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 44: The Coalface

Where is the coal-face? When I'm praying, interceding for others, that's the coal-face. Whatever battles are fought in the world, they are fought first in prayer. Wherever I am praying, that is the coal-face.

I could be back serving as a missionary in PNG or Pakistan and yet be far from the place there God wants me to be; though it may appear to be for service, sometimes a change of location may be for the purpose of escape.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 43: On Dying For One's Faith

"Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble.
...
"Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would keep me secret, until your wrath is past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, until my release should come. You would call, and I would answer you. You would have a desire to the work of your hands. --Job 14:1, 13-15 (WEB)

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. --Phi 1:21 (WEB)

Dying for one's faith is easier than living for it.

In dying, someone comes and takes away your life -- makes your body incapable of holding life.

In living, no one comes to take away your death -- your body remains able to hold life, much as you may, from time to time, wish otherwise.

In death, you have your one moment to glorify God, before being released into his presence.

In life, you have the opportunity to glorify God day after day. He is still present but there is no release.

In death, you can set your burden down, your work on earth is done.

In life, your burden remains and your work continues.

Living for one's faith is harder than dying for it.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 42: For the Children of Wrath

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
--Rom 11:29

If the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable, 'without repentance' as other translations put it, does this mean that the call to mission and service that God placed on my life in the mid 80s still applies?

One might think not. I have spent about 8 of my 45 years as a cross-cultural missionary. Some might say that I have done my dash, that now is the time to rejoin the rat-race.

Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.
--Jer 29:7 (WEB)

Vast numbers of Australians are surging over the cliff into the abyss. Can I stand by, or go along with the flow, and do nothing about the lives about to be destroyed before my eyes? At the edge of the precipice, I will fly. But others will plummet.

Can I, can we Christians, avoid being damaged by a society in decline? Australia continues to erase the name and the memory of God out of all traditions and institutions. History repeats itself, for other cultures have done this too, and have suffered accordingly.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves.
--Rom 1:18 (NLT)

If the stealing of children on their way to and from school increases, how long before it's one of our kids? If road-rage increases, how long before someone we know and love is damaged by another's anger? If corporate corruption continues, how long before we suffer the loss of savings and investments?

Are we somehow immune from societal collapse? No! We are not. If we do not actively seek the peace of the city and the soclety in which we live, we will suffer, and so will our children.

If I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I can't [contain].
--Jer 20:9 (WEB)

If I believe then I must speak, and I must act. I cannot simply care for the church and leave the outside world to take care of itself. We need pastors, preachers, and Sunday School teachers. But we also need evangelists, chaplains and SRE teachers. We're well set up for those who frequent our houses of worship. But what of those who never darken the door of a church; whose parents and grandparents are un-churched? Is there nothing to be done for the children of wrath?

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 41: Chocolate and Easter

Sometimes we're so far in, we can't see. Sometimes those on the edge have better vision.

The punch line is quite late in the "Sports Journo Day" article, some distance past the discussion about a spurious ancestor of mine.



And yes, Laurie Axtens is related to me; he's one of my younger brothers.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 40: Where are the witches when you need them?

'Granny Aching would have done something about monsters in our river,' said Tiffany ... And she'd have done something about what happened to old Mrs Snapperly, she added to herself. She'd have spoken up, and people would have listened . . . They always listened when Granny spoke up. Speak up for those who don't have voices, she always said.

'Good,' said Miss Tick. 'So she should. Witches deal with things.
--Terry Pratchett, "The Wee Free Men", p. 43.

Is it only for witches to speak up for those who don't have voices? Is it only for witches to deal with things? If so, where are the witches who are speaking up for the foetuses of the world? Where are the witches who are dealing with the daily annihilation of the weak and helpless?

There are rights for everyone, even for the down-treading minority, but there are no rights for the unborn. They are alone, silently bearing, in their own tiny bodies, the cost of their parents' irresponsibility. They twist, they turn, they writhe in their agony, but no one hears, and presumably, no one cares, not even the witches.

It is a terrible thing to drown at sea, but okay to die from saline injection. It is a fearsome thing to be approached by a grim-faced soldier bearing a sword. Why is it different when the soldier is a surgeon and the sword a curette? People are appalled and think it an affront to humanity, a war-crime, when Kurds are murdered in their thousands by chemical weapons. But no one bats an eyelid when millions die from RU486.

Where are the witches when you need them? And if they are silent, who will speak up for those who don't have voices?

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 39: At my funeral

At my funeral I want a few songs played. Admittedly, I won't be around to see that it happens. I may well die anonymously, remembered only by God. Nevertheless, these are the songs I would like people to hear:

'2 Corinthians 5:17', from "G.T. and the Halo Express #5 -- Made to be a V.I.P.", © 1990 King Communications.

'Passing Through', from "Jesus Rocks the World" by Colin Buchanan, © 2004 Wanaaring Road Music Pty Ltd

'Jesus draw me ever nearer (may this journey)', from "New Irish Hymns" by Margaret Becker, Maire Brennan and Joanne Hogg, © 2001 Kingsway Music.

If the original can't be found for the '2 Corinthians 5:17', at least have a really good pianist play the bridge, and let the supporting band forget that they're at a funeral; in other words, belt it out!

So am I expecting to die in the near future? No. From time to time, when the black dog's around, I get to asking God to kill me. But generally, life is good. Okay, there are some issues which remain unresolved, and these are like large stones in the stream bed. Thus life is a complicated swirl of current and counter-current, abrasion and turbidity, air-pocket and whirlpool.

So far God has ignored my occasional pleas for death. I expect he will continue to ignore them until his purpose for me has been fulfilled. By then I will likely have given up asking and will more likely beg not to have to die. Given what awaits me in eternity, I expect God will ignore that plea also.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 38: Rightly handling the word of truth?

we refuse to ... tamper with God's word
-- 2 Corinthians 4:2b RSV

But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully;
-- 2 Corinthians 4:2b WEB

Everytime we attempt to harmonise Science with the Bible, it is always the Bible that ends up getting tampered with and adulterated, not that of the naturalist / materialist / humanist. It's the Word of God that gets the scissors and glue treatment, not the textbooks on anthropology, geology, biology and astronomy. Stop talking about harmonising Science with the Bible when you actually mean the opposite: harmonising the Bible with Science!

As the years roll on, Science 'discovers' what God has been telling us since the beginning. For instance the Bible tells us that every colour of skin is descended from Eve. And now the Human Genome Project agrees. Is this a once in a million? You wish!

What is Science anyway, and what does it mean to be 'scientific'?

Thinx 37: Something to say when leading communion

In the first communion, Jesus took food and drink and gave them spiritual significance. These are not 'elements', this bread and this wine / juice. They are food.

Why do we eat and drink? To stay alive. We eat and we drink and our bodies digest the solids and the fluids and use the proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals to, as they say, 'keep body and soul together.'

In the communion we are reminded that Jesus is for us true food and true drink. We are encouraged to remember that when we eat and drink physical foodstuffs, we also need to eat and drink of Jesus; taking into our hearts and minds those things that will keep our spiritual life strong and lead us into greater spiritual maturity.

If we fail to do that, we become weak. It is said that '7 days without prayer makes one weak.' I'd add '... and meditation', for prayer is out-going -- we talk to God, asking for things (for the meaning of the word 'pray' is 'ask'). Meditation is in-coming -- we listen to God, reading, and if reading aloud, hearing his words, mulling over them and seeking to understand their every nuance. This is listening to God through his word. This is the eating and drinking of the real food and real drink.

If you have no desire for intimacy with God through Jesus Christ, or having the desire, do not wish to act upon it now, let the food pass you by. But be warned: every refusal cements into your character the habit of refusal. However, life here on earth is short and full of trouble. Who knows when you will pass this way again? Perhaps you will not be given another opportunity to choose. Where you spend eternity rests on the choices made here and now.

the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.

-- 1 Corinthians 11:23b-27

Thinx 36: Weeds and Wheat -- an appeal to the Weeds

Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' ..."
-- Matthew 13:24-28a RSV

Sadly, many of you are weeds ("tares" in older translations.) The devil has planted you here. Your purpose is to impact Christians individually and corporately so as to render them ineffective, by whatever means are at your disposal.

Fear not, weeds, for we do not know who you are. And you are safe, for now, because God has told us not to try to pull you out. God has said he will send his angels out to do that on the Day of Judgement.

" ... the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels."
-- Matthew 13:39

But we will know you by your fruit, by what you produce during the course of your life. Good consistently comes out of good hearts, and evil out of evil hearts.

Gossips give themselves away. So do those who do the things God hates:

There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers.
-- Proverbs 6:16-19 RSV

Weeds, you have nothing to fear from us. We will not hunt you down to destroy you. We will not try to pull you out of the congregations you inhabit, for to do so would endanger the wheat.

The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather [the weeds]?' But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest ...'
-- Matthew 13:28b-30a RSV

Do not fear us, weeds. Instead, fear God. When Jesus returns he will cause the weeds to be gathered and the wheat to be harvested. The wheat he will keep. The weeds he will burn.

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
-- Matthew 13:40-43a RSV

Weeds, it is not too late for you. Miracles happen: you can become wheat, and thus avoid destruction. Repent, that is, change your way of thinking. Acknowledge before God the reality of your situation. Stop taking your guidance from the devil, the world and the flesh. Start listening to, and obeying, God. Align yourself with his purposes. Believe in him. Seek his kingdom and his righteousness. There is still time.

Jesus came ... saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."
-- Mark 1:14b-15 RSV

Every time you knock back the hand that offers you life, you cement into your character the habit of rejection. Before it is too late, before rejection of God becomes a way of life leading to death, repent and believe!

As for you who are wheat, pray for the weeds. Confirm your status as wheat through daily repentance and belief: Daily realign yourself with God; Daily act in obedience to his word; Daily conform your thoughts, words and actions to those of God through prayer, meditating on his word, and obeying his commands.

© Bruce M. Axtens, 2006.

Thinx 35: Van Nguyen

So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:20 RSV

Van Nguyen's plight is our plight. His brother wilfully pushed God away, so God let him go. The splash and ripples following his plunge affected everyone around him.

We also have relatives, friends and neighbours who wilfully push God aside. Can we avoid being impacted by their plunge into darkness when God lets them go?

We must pray, and we must speak, and we must act. All or nothing. Discuss the issues with God in prayer and get yourself realigned to his plans and purposes. Take the issues up with the world around you through your words, spoken and written. Act out the reality -- be a living example of the plans and purposes of God.

Can we stop the rot? Is that the most important question? Is faithfulness to God, no matter what the cost, important? Can we love a world that pushes God away? God loved us. Can we love others? Or are we so complacent, so apathetic, that we're happy to let the world go to hell, and to live as if we will be unaffected by its plunge?

Thanks to Shaphan Cox, who, a week or so before the execution, stood up in church and challenged us to think: to examine the issues, and dig beyond the the facile sensationalism and sentimentality of the media reports.

Thinx 34: Prayer

[Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name. ...'"
--Luke 11:1-2a RSV (altd.)

Didn't the Pharisees and the Sadducees know how to pray? Or was Jesus' kind of prayer too much a statement of dependency for the Jewish leaders to handle? If the Pharisee / Tax Collector (Luke 18:10-14) story shows the depth or prayer among the religious elite, then likely Jesus's disciples would have been pleasantly surprised by what they had seen and were about to hear.

'Father' -- at once a declaration of dependence; of family ties between God and man; of the immanence of God immediately kept from Sugar Daddy sentimentality by 'in heaven, hallowed be your name' celebrating God's transcendence and holiness. The almighty, omni-everything God, is approachable. Humble fellowship with him is possible and actively encouraged!

© Bruce M. Axtens, 2006

Thinx 33: Life: Too Short Or Not Short Enough?

You are mortal: live today as if it is your last.

... you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
-- James 4:14 RSV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.
-- Ephesians 5:15,16 RSV

Here's the tension, then. On the one hand, knowing that life is short, and that I need to make good use of limited time. And on the other hand, aching for this life to be shortened.

and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
-- Revelation 21:3,4 RSV

Don't get me wrong: I like being alive, my wife loves me and our children are a delight. And yet, I can't remember having faced so much change ... and so much pain. Of all the years of my life thus far, this has been the toughest.

My body is fit and mostly healthy, and yet I often find myself, with tear-filled eyes, crying out for Jesus' return.

I relate well to Psalm 88. It's one of, if not the, darkest of the Psalms. The writer, Heman the Ezrahite, has it bad: troubles, pain and tears. Everyone shuns him. Even God appears not to be taking any notice.

O LORD, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?
-- Psalm 88:14 RSV (altd.)

Yet Heman still clings to God, still calls out to him. God is testing Heman. I think Heman is passing the test. Am I?

Thinx 32: A letter to the Editor - Intelligent Design, Evolution and the Word of God

Dear Editor,

Mr Bastian has, very nicely, alerted us to the dangers of an uncritical acceptance of the Intelligent Design movement. ID is quite happy to tell us that certain aspects of the natural order are too complex to have come about by chance. However, it is not as quick to tell us where this intelligence may be found. By doing so they leave the way open for all kinds of weird claims, including that we were originally engineered by aliens from outer space.

It would have been better to have stopped there, but Mr Bastian then proceeded to defend Evolution, claiming that it "sits comfortably within the providential purposes of the designer God." What utter rubbish! If we presuppose that the Bible is authoritative then we are duty bound to accept God's account of Creation as given. He says he did it in six days (Genesis 1) and reiterates the claim when giving the Law to Moses (Exodus 20:11). Jesus used the Genesis account to support his arguments (Matt 19:4) and Paul used it as his first argument in his evangelical appeal on Mars Hill (Acts 17:24). If Genesis is wrong, it rips the foundations out from under Moses, Jesus and Paul, and leaves us with nothing to say. If Evolution is true, then Christianity is a joke.

Yet, as an account of how things came to be, Evolution is totally inadequate. One of its foundation principles, 'Chemical Evolution', has been studied for centuries under its other name, 'Spontaneous Generation', and has been shown time and time again to be impossible.
Likewise Mutation and Natural Selection: Genetic information must first already exist before mutation can occur. And mutation only damages, it does not add. Natural selection culls -- it reduces diversity in a population to suit the conditions of a particular time and place. No longer can we breed a Doberman from a Chihuahua -- the genetic information is no longer there. And for all our thousands of years of dog breeding, no one has managed to evolve a dog into some other kind of animal.

As for Chance, even that is powerless against the laws of physics and chemistry. No amount of chance combinations of chemicals can come up with a living cell. And no amount of randomness can give sonar to bats or chemical weapons to bombardier beetles.

Out of the Protestant Reformation came a three-fold program designed to return the church to the faith handed down by the Apostles, namely, 'sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura' (by grace alone, by faith alone, by scripture alone). We have the grace and faith parts down pretty well but not the scripture part. Instead we fancy the so-called wisdom and knowledge of our cultural milieu, and try as hard as we can to modify scripture to suit its present mythology.

For as long as we consider the word of Man to be of greater worth than God's word we will never see the revival we crave. Instead we face the real prospect of social and cultural collapse -- the salt, having lost is flavour (by loving the world's point of view more than God's), watching helplessly as the meat (our society and culture) putrefies, destroys itself and ultimately disappears, taking us along with it.

Yours sincerely,
Bruce M. Axtens.

--

This letter was published in The Baptist Advocate, December 2005. The letter to which this responds can be found in the November 2005 issue.

Thinx 31: Suffering

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
-- "Still" by Hillsong United. Album: Hope (2003)

Do our worship songs create unreal expectations? What if instead of "soaring above", we have to "sink below", or even "plough right through"?

There's an older song based on Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
-- RSV

When you walk through the waters, and when you pass through the flame, you don't drown and you are not burned up. But you can be soaked to the skin, and all that you carry may get washed away; you can get scorched and all that you own may be destroyed.

You may, in fact, die. Looking at that from God's perspective, it's not a problem: you have been saved; who you are now is only part of the story. There's also the eternity of who you will be in the new heavens and new earth. Fearsome as are floods and fires, you will not perish. God holds you in his hand; nothing can snuff you out of existence.

So be of good courage. The valley may run deeper than any you have ever experienced before. Torrential rains and turbulent waves may threaten. You may know painful sorrow and the loss of all things. But someone has been this way before. Remember him when the fires of hardship and affliction come roaring at you like a wind-driven bushfire.

Keep your eyes on your Creator, Sustainer, Lord and Friend. The consummation of all things is at hand.

© Copyright Bruce M. Axtens, 2005.

Thinx 30: Grace

Friday sees me on my face.
Saturday seems me crying for grace.
I scream, "Sunday!"
-- One Bad Pig, "I Scream Sunday".

I stuff up.
I humble myself.
I wonder if I'll ever see any good.
And then God makes the bus wait for me.

I've been spending a lot of time weeping lately.
I have some big unresolved hurts.
It seems no one is listening.
But God made the bus wait for me.

I met a young mother on the train with her one and a half year old son.
The young woman said she'd only just turned sixteen.
The father hadn't been seen for the best part of a year.

A friend said, "That's life."
Maybe so, but does that make it right, good and just?
And the sixteen year old mother of an 18 month old son:
who will make the bus wait for her?

Thinx 29: Intelligent Design

If there's a difficulty with Intelligent Design it's this: which intelligence? God? gods? aliens from another planet?

There's more at stake than merely Creationism in the back door. To say "yes" to ID might also give credence to the claims of Scientology (maybe the Thetans are the intelligence) and of pagans (maybe the intelligence is that of the planet itself, or of Zeus, or Odin, or any of a large number of imaginary deities).

If I'm supportive of ID, it is a careful and cautious support. The ID bandwagon is not immune from hijackers.

Thinx 28: More (useless) quiz results

Your Brain is 53.33% Female, 46.67% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

---

You scored as Goth. Your A Goth! Goth 35% Rocker, Mosher 20% Prepy 20% Emo 20% Chav, Townie, Rude Boy, Ned, Kev 15% Skater 10% Trendy 5% What Group Are You? Chav, Rocker, Skater, Emo, Goth, Trendy, Prepy E.c.t created with QuizFarm.com

---

I don't think there were Goths back in 1978 when I finished High School. I was a bit wierd (some might say I still am). One of my best friends was so so so into Beatles and Bob Dylan. I got stuck into Pink Floyd, King Crimson, and Brian Eno instead.

---

You scored as Loner. Loner 75% Drama nerd 50% Geek 38% Punk/Rebel 31% Stoner 25% Prep/Jock/Cheerleader 19% Goth 13% Ghetto gangsta 6% What's Your High School Stereotype? created with QuizFarm.com

---

Definitely a loner. Didn't like it. Wanted to be otherwise. But a loner nevertheless.

---

Thinx 27: Love

It is easy to love someone who is lovely or lovable. If anything can test the mettle of love, it is when the object of one's love loses its loveliness and ceases to be lovable. Then most of what pretends to be love gutters and dies. Love that lasts only during Spring and Summer but dies in Autumn and Winter is not true love. It is like Fool's Gold: shiny, attractive and utterly worthless.

True love lasts through both good times and bad. It lives through and loves through all the seasons of the soul and of the body. It may not be shiny and attractive but its worth is incalculable, and blessed beyond all measure are those who share it.

For the rest, what was rushed and grabbed is now as last season's fashions. How many there are who take the cheap copies and reduced prices, who pay little and weep many times. Few, by contrast, who purchase the Designer version, weep over its exorbitant price, and are happy.