I’ve never been a big fan, but I have been interested to watch the rise of Robbie Williams’ solo career over the last few years. Originally introduced to the masses through Take That, the 32 year old has gathered a reputation of excess and wild living. His biographies have highlighted the meaningless sexual encounters that punctuate his life and lyrics. He’s a musical success, but deep down seems restless.

I got curious this week and took a closer look at Robbie Williams’ lyrics. If the art mimics the artist, we find many a contradiction—a man longing for real love yet parading his unbridled sexuality; a man bordering on egomania but wanting to change; a man trying to live life to its fullest but feeling empty.

He’s certainly on the search for real love. Remember Feel?

I don't want to die
But I ain't keen on living either
Before I fall in love
I'm preparing to leave her
I scare myself to death
That's why I keep on running
Before I've arrived
I can see myself comming

I just want to feel real love
Fill the home that I live in
'Cause I got too much life
Running through my veins
Going to waste
And I need to feel real love
And a life ever after
I cannot get enough

A recurring theme here: In songs like Supreme and Love Calling Earth, he’s looking for that real, enduring, faithful love. In The Trouble With Me he laments his inability to give that kind of love himself. In You Can’t Manufacture a Miracle, he sings:

If you can't wake up in the morning
Cause your bed lies vacant at night
If you're lost, hurt, tired or lonely
Can't control it, try as you might
May you find that love that won't leave you
May you find it by the end of the day
You won't be lost, hurt, tired and lonely
Something beautiful will come your way

Then there’s Robbie’s ‘I’m all mixed up and I need to change’ songs. Remember Better Man?

Give me endless summer
Lord I fear the cold
Feel I'm getting old
Before my time

As my soul heals the shame
I will grow through this pain
Lord I'm doing all I can
To be a better man

In his song Monsoon, he says:

I've sung some songs that were lame
I've slept with girls on the game
I've got my Catholic shame
Lord I'm in purgatory
Basically, it's all come on top [of] me

But how much does he really want to change? In Make Me Pure he talks about being selfish, lazy and an adulterer, and then says, ‘Oh Lord, make me pure, but not yet’!

Notice the religious references dropping in? There’s plenty of them, with songs like Angels, Heaven From Here, and Here I Stand Victorious all with strong religious overtones. In Nan’s Song Robbie talks about his grandmother praying for him, in Toxic he prays for help himself, and after a lot of raunchy references in How Peculiar he cries:

Jesus what am I to do …
I am a depressed man

And have you heard Robbie’s latest?

Sin sin sin
Look where we've been
And where we are tonight
Hate the sin not the sinner
I'm just after a glimmer of love
and life deep inside

Mmm… it’s another of those ‘I want to do what I want but not feel responsible for it’ kind of songs, but why all the religious references?

After being in a ‘spiritual lull’, Robbie told an Indian newspaper last year he’d been “learning about religion and faith” to give his life meaning. He’s searching, asking questions, feeling his inner emptiness and wanting more.

Sometimes we need to wake up to the fact that God is closer to us than we think. And for Robbie, perhaps the answer he’s seeking is right underneath his nose—in one of his own lyrics. In Jesus in a Campervan, Robbie sings this:

I suppose even the son of God
Gets it hard sometimes
Especially when he goes round
Saying I am the way

‘I am the way’—it’s a statement of profound meaning. If Jesus really was right on this one, Robbie, the answers to your emptiness may be closer than you think.

Teach us to number our days and recognise how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” This prayer, found in the 90th Psalm of the Old Testament, is poignant for us tonight. This week we’ve been reminded again of our mortality, that our days are not without end. We are finite. In a single moment our plans and dreams may run out of time.

The tragic death on Monday of crocodile hunter Steve Irwin overshadowed most news for the rest of the week. Irwin courted danger regularly. He seemed invincible. He was—until that freak stab of the sting ray’s barb. He died at 44.

Just after 2 o’clock Friday, Eastern Time, racing legend Peter Brock’s days came to an end. He was 61. He left with plenty of accolades—winning the Bathurst 1000 a record nine times, and as a successful businessman in the sphere of motor sport since his retirement in ‘97. On Denton last year he said he believed his best years lay ahead. And yet it was a simple corner turn that brought the ‘King of the Mountain’s’ race to an end.

The theme of mortality went beyond the loss of these legends though. In Indonesia, six members of the group now known as the Bali Nine face the death sentence for their alleged decisions to smuggle heroin to Australia. And tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, where 3000 people died on an otherwise blue-skied New York morning. The decisions we make can shorten our days. The decisions of others can shorten them too.

That’s why this ancient prayer seems fitting. “Teach us to number our days and recognise how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.” Even after adolescence—when most people feel immortal—most of us prefer to think our final day lies well beyond tomorrow. But in the grand sweep of history, our appearance on earth is incredibly short, and our final performance on life’s stage is unknown. It could be any moment. How many people around the world have given their final breath in the last few minutes? That’s why we should recognise our limited days, and use them well.

For the second time this year we’ve been shaken by a week of high-profile loss. Remember that first weekend of May? In the space of just a few days we had the Beaconsfield tragedy, Sophie Delezio’s second horrific accident, and veteran reporter Richard Carleton’s death. The whole nation stopped that weekend, and plenty of people prayed. It happened again this week—we stood wide-eyed, with jaws-dropped at the loss of Irwin and Brock. I hope we have ears to hear the message being sent to us: “Teach us to number our days and recognise how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”

Recognising the brevity of our lives means thinking through what’s most important. Jesus told the story of a king who threw a wedding reception for his son—a banquet. He sent out the invitations and when the time was right sent his servants to fetch the guests. But they didn’t come. The king sent the servants out again. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘the table’s set and the roast’s ready. Come to the party!’ But still no one came good on their promise to attend. One went off to his farm, another to his shop—they were too consumed with their businesses and making money. Angry, the king sent his servants out again, this time to the streets to invite anyone who’d come to his son’s wedding reception—the good and the bad alike. Finally, those not consumed with their lives accepted the king’s kindness and came to the banquet.

Work, money, possessions and accomplishments aren’t evil in themselves, but if all we have at the end of our days are houses, cars, trophies and awards, we’ll find ourselves bankrupt. “What profit is there if you gain the whole world, yet lose your own soul?” Jesus said.

And that would be the greatest tragedy of this weekend: If we failed to recognise the brevity of life, continue to consume ourselves with our jobs and lifestyles, and reject God’s invitation to join him for a heavenly banquet—a party that will last beyond our earthly lives and into eternity.

The OK was recently given for Australia's first cryonics facility—a site for storing frozen bodies awaiting the day when medicine provides life beyond the grave.

Philip Rhoades plans to construct the facility near Cowra, in central-western New South Wales, to provide a storage facility for himself and his family. “There are just too many interesting and exciting things to do and see for one lifetime,” Rhoades says. Hence, his desire to be frozen until he can be brought back to life.

No one has yet been successfully revived through cryonics, but supporters cite recent advances in molecular biology and nanotechnology as reasons that current problems with freezing and rewarming bodies will be overcome in the future.

You see, apparently the cryonic process can cause irreparable damage to the body’s cells, mainly due to ice crystals forming inside and outside the cells, salts and solutions of the body during the freezing process. For other biological samples, some of these problems can be overcome through the use of 'cryo-protectants', like glycerol, which lower the freezing temperature of water and halt the crystals forming. Some cryonicists hope that by replacing blood with cryo-protectants soon after death, more parts of the body can be protected from freezing and thawing damage. There’s still a hurdle here though—cryo-protectants themselves are generally toxic!

While the Cowra facility has only been approved for the Rhoades family, in the future he expects a range of people to be interested in the service, including those who are “dissatisfied with the ‘natural’ duration of a human life".

Me thinks Rhoades might have some interest in his product. Then again, maybe he wont.

I was talking with Narelle, one of our volunteers here, during the week. “Who’d want to be brought back to life in a different era,” she said, “without any of your friends around you, surrounded by a society you didn’t know and a culture you couldn’t relate to.” You’d probably hate the music, the TV programs, and if you thought programming the VCR was the challenge of your previous lifetime, imagine the new technology awaiting you!

There’s no denying our desire to cheat the grave though. Cryonics stands in a long line of methods to extend life, reduce age and attain perpetual youth (or at least their impression). There’s cosmetic surgery to remove wrinkles and dyes to hide grey hair; even child rearing can be an attempt to ensure our family name isn’t removed from history. Advertisers understand this longing for eternal youth—like the ad I saw for a breakfast cereal which showed an elderly man running towards the beach with his surfboard. As sociologist Peter Berger says, humanity has shouted a universal “No!” to death. We don’t want it to come to our loved ones. And we’d rather avoid it too.

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The words may be familiar to you. It’s one of the final sentences uttered by Jesus as he hung next to two criminals at his crucifixion. One of the criminals had sneered at him, saying, “If you’re really the Christ, save yourself and us now!” But the other criminal had possessed a softer heart, realised he was being punished for real crimes while Jesus was innocent. “Jesus,” he had whispered, “remember me when you come back to rule.” This guy longed for life too, and, despite all current appearances, somehow believed the Nazarene hanging next to him held the way.

If we ever do get cryonics to work, what kind of body will we be revived into? Hopefully they’ll fix the arthritis, eyesight and hearing loss at the same time! And you do hope whatever company’s involved pays their power bill. You wouldn’t want to thaw out one long weekend!

The Christian hope is for a much more complete experience—a new body, a renewed soul, a perfected heart at a future resurrection. And if that criminal saw something real, and if Jesus’ promise was something true, we may already have the ‘technology’ to live forever. “Remember me,” the criminal said.

“I will,” Jesus replied.

I came across some fascinating research this week on how Americans view God. The American Piety in the 21st Century study—conducted by Baylor University and the Gallup Organisation—is considered the most comprehensive study of its kind in more than 40 years. It found that while America may be "one nation under God," at least four versions of the Almighty are worshipped.

More than two dozen questions about God's character and behaviour were asked of the 1,721 survey participants. God was found to be understood in one of four ways:

1. There’s the Authoritarian God. Individuals who understand God this way see him as highly involved in their lives and in world affairs, they give the Deity credit for their decision-making, and they feel God is angry and ready to throw down the thunderbolt of judgment on the unfaithful and ungodly.

2. Then there’s the Benevolent God. These believers also think God is active in their daily life, but just not as wrathful. Benevolent God still sets absolute standards for mankind in the Bible, but is seen primarily as a forgiving God, more like the father who embraces his prodigal son, in that famous New Testament story.

3. Believers in the Critical God say God is not involved in world affairs but is nonetheless looking on in disapproval. This group sees God as the classic bearded grandfather in the sky, but say he doesn’t intervene in the world, either to punish or to comfort.

4. Finally, there’s the Distant God. Distant God is not believed to be active in humanity’s affairs at all, and is not especially angry either. Believers in the Distant God see the Deity as more of a cosmic force who set the laws of nature into motion, then left the universe spinning on its own.

Of particular note, Baylor researchers point out that your image of God is the strongest predictor of your behaviour. For instance:

· While 12.2% overall said abortion is wrong in all circumstances, the number nearly doubled to 23.4% for believers in the Authoritarian God, and slid to 1.5% for followers of the Distant God.

· Only 3.8% of Distant God believers said embryonic stem cell research is always wrong, compared with 38.5% of those who see an authoritarian God, 22.7% for those who see God as benevolent and 13.2% who see God as critical.

· Believers in the Authoritarian God are the most inclined to say God favours the USA in world affairs.

· Believers in the Benevolent God say caring for the sick and needy ranks highest on the list of what it means to be a good person.

· Believers in the Critical and Distant Gods are less inclined to go to church, and are more likely to see all moral dilemmas as relative. Belief really does shape behaviour.

So, Authoritarian, Benevolent, Critical or Distant—which God do you believe in? If our image of God affects our lives that much, it’s worth asking the question. The Authoritarian God could give us a nervous breakdown, the Distant God could leave us feeling lonely. The Benevolent God sounds nice, but perhaps a little soft. If there is a God, what is that being really like?

This question has been personally and professionally on my mind this year. Personally, because a little while back I realised I knew more about Christianity than God, and professionally because I’m writing a book on God’s character. And my research has led me to a passage in the book of Exodus that seems to wrap up God’s personality in a handful of words. It’s a moving moment in the Old Testament, when Moses discovers that God is:

“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…” (Exod. 34:6-7)

Compassionate, gracious, loving, forgiving—this God is warm and close. Yet he’s a God of justice too—to be awed and respected. You’ll find this picture of God echoed throughout the Bible—and embodied in the person of Jesus.

The Baylor study shows contemporary understandings of God are confused. What an opportunity to read, study, pray—and find out for ourselves what the character of God is really like.