So many things have happened recently, especially with the news of financial industry’s meltdown, followed by recession and streams of bad news following it. Are these a surprise? No. After all, every decade or so the world gets into recession. Even businesses have its cycles, and humans have moods. What am I trying to say? Well, this world is imperfect, and there are always repercussions.
Everything goes back to what we know from biblical times. Through one man’s sin, all have sinned. Men never change. Throughout history, it is always about greed, status and personal pleasure. Whether we like it or not, deserve it or not, all of us face difficulties in this current recession, though perhaps some more than others.
Does this shake our confidence in God? No, but rather we must reflect and remember this world is not God’s world, that we are all now here for a purpose – to become more like Christ. What is God’s greatest wish besides having one take the step towards salvation? It is for the individual to allow God to step in, renovate his heart and become the person God really wants him to be.
At times, if you are in a bad mood and read the bible, you can even for that brief second or days consider God to be a sadist. Is it easy, in the midst of one’s trial, to read passages like ‘consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face....’ face what? Trials and persecutions. Reason? So that we can become complete, not lacking anything. Try reading that when you are in the midst of a storm.
And yet, it is our firm grounding on God’s Word, knowing His promises, knowing He is our ever constant God, knowing that He will eventually work everything out for our good (remember always that many times, what God considers your ultimate good is definitely not what you think is the best for yourself at this moment, until you are near the finishing line and when you look back, you realize you have gone such a long way and indeed God’s way is better) that we hang on in the name of faith.
Praying for faith never works because faith is not an end product – it is a journey. Faith encompasses two things – eating and exercising. Eating is when we ‘hear the word of God’ and a seed is planted in our heart. However, we know that if we do not exercise, we become fat and do not have the strength to run the distance if required. We need exercise to keep us lean and strong. It is the same with faith. You cannot just hear and remember all the scriptures, then when the time comes, simply claim it but not have the experience to know that it works. It is like running. If you do not constantly train yourself, you can get all dressed up and ready to run the distance, yet you know you cannot run that distance. Why? Lack of training. We can read the bible faithfully and go to church every Sunday to plant the seed of faith in our hearts, but we need to internalize and practice faith in our day to day walk in order to finish life’s journey.
In good times, perhaps prior to the announcement of recession, we will most likely have a slightly better life. When life is better, do you forget God or put your relationship with Him in second place? Yes, perhaps not completely, but maybe if you think back, you may have prayed less. You are doing well at work, so you are so busy you do not have time to even call your spouse, not to mention praying to God more often throughout the day. Of course, not everyone is like this. But, perhaps we start to take things for granted? Or we may become discontented and think that it is time to take the next step and improve on our standard of living? I think this recession is also a time to meditate whether we have, in our race of life, actually put God in second place until the recession started and we pray more often. Again, this is a hypothetical scenario. I include this portion because throughout the bible, you will note that again and again, people forget God when times are good. Then what happens? God always put them in some kind of difficulty, they start crying out to God, and then again God goes to their rescue and yet…. What happens next? They forget God again.
Times of recession are never easy. I remember clearly what happened in 1983 recession – my dad lost a good job and we had to skip one or two meals everyday. No dinner, but I always wake up for supper which is just plain porridge and a teaspoon of Bovril. No money even for food during recess in school. What happened during the 1997 crisis? Yeah, graduated at the wrong time. However, this time round is a world of difference to me. Hey, I am not sarcastic and wish for a worse life for the new year, but after going through previous recessions without God and still alive and kicking, I know that this time round it will be a much easier feat and I will be ‘more than conqueror’ with Christ fighting the battle alongside me now. Easy to say? No. Right now I have faced more than a full month of zero sales and that means spending on my savings which will be emptied soon if my situation does not improve. Worse still, just this week there was a fallout case and a family matter that requires some funds. When it rains, it pours.
I have my job right now owing to people who are never contented and satisfied. Let us be honest – a lot of industries thrive under such circumstances. If it is not for people’s discontentment, will they always be looking for new jobs that pay them higher salary? If it is not greed, why do people want to keep changing house and car? If it is not for social status and the appearance of it, why must people buy designer products? Yet, what is black has its flip side and it is whiter than white. If we do not feel the need to progress, then we will not improve on our talents and therefore will fail God. After all, God gives us talent to put to good use on this earth. If we do not own houses or money, then where is the inheritance God has promised in His Word that He has for each of us? If we are not successful and can therefore show others that God has truly blessed us and be the light and salt of the earth, then are we supposed to be in rags and wonder why people do not believe our message of hope from the bible for this world?
In my walk with God, I have discovered that everyone may strive for same things in life – better careers, fantastic results in school, perfect marriages, bigger cars and houses. Yet, the difference is really our attitudes and to what extent we are willing to sacrifice our lives for it. God never wants us to be just where we are now or to stagnate. We are supposed to be ever climbing and ever moving upwards. Yet, we must not compromise our God-given conscience for them. For example, work is work but will you do what is slightly wrong in God’s eyes so that your firm and even you can earn more money? In your marriage, do you put yourself first always or recognize that now two hearts are joint in one and act accordingly? When we want bigger houses and cars, do we simply buy the biggest house and car we can afford based on the amount the bank is willing to lend us for it, and if anything goes wrong then act innocent that we have no part to play in our failure and therefore now God has to come to our rescue?
We are only God’s stewards. The turning point for me this year is really when I take this seriously and act upon it. For instance, when I do earn more during peak seasons, I know that a farmer saves during harvest time for times of drought. We cannot live simply believe that we can spend everything we have since now we are managing God’s money. When I want to spend on luxury items, I always do my research and try to the best of my ability to use as little of God’s resource as I can on it. When I want big items in my life (still praying for a good value-for-money house), I always pray to God for His timing.
Sometimes, we think that money can solve all problems. Yes, indeed we do need money to pay for our bills. But look at the life of Paul. He said whether in plentiful or little, it is fine. I have pondered over it and since the beginning of this year, prayed to God about how this can be. After all, everyone depends on money (have to understand one of my phobias is poverty and starvation so I always talk about money). I am glad that even before Pastor Rony talked about the sermon where he said that the value of money varies over time and it may end up be worth nothing, that I have my conclusions about this subject. We always think that if we have more money, we will be happier. This is not the case. I have very interesting candidates I interviewed throughout this year and I can tell you this is not so. It is simply a chasing after the wind. On the one hand, it is true you can earn more, dollars wise. However, whether you spend wisely or there’s ‘a hole in your pocket’ (which is a curse God puts on some people) is another matter. Also, another curse the bible talks about is the rich having great feasts but the food does not satisfy their stomachs. It is better to have a humble dish on the table with people you love than constantly have meat with strive and envy in your life (extracted from book of Proverbs if I remember correctly). Again, my recent readings on the minor prophets also have the same emphasis. Look at the life of Daniel and his companions. They were served royal dishes in the king’s palace! Yet, Daniel stood his ground and wanted vegetables. In the end, they had greater wisdom and health than the rest of the officials in the king’s palaces!
Year 2009 has so far been promised a year of recession and less for all. Instead of going to the new year with a negative mind, I think it will help all God’s children to literally become true Christians and be light and salt of this earth when they understand that no matter what the lot is that God will provide for us this new year, we can always be happy with even the simpler things in life. I have started acting on it in my own way and found that my happiness level has not decreased. For one, see where you can cut down on your expenditure column. In good times, I always have my iced latte at Coffee Bean whenever I am tired. Now, it is a blessing to have it just once a week. In better times, I may have my iced latte and muddy mud pie at Coffee Club but now I do it less often and sometimes substitute it with Hershey’s sundae pie and iced barley at Burger King.
Whatever may happen, we will all be fed because we are worth much more than the birds of the air and we will all be clothed since even flowers that fade the next day are always beautiful. Ok. What if the worst of the worst happens? Sometimes when I am really frustrated over money I will tell myself that if I run out of money one day and have to starve, never mind, I can see Christ earlier and that always makes me smile.
Whatever it is, the world has taught us that we are, firstly, very imperfect humans living on this earth and secondly, we absolutely have no control over external events in our lives. Take relationships, for instance. We can try our best in marriages, friendships, family relationships, colleagues…. But we absolutely cannot make it the best we want because it also depends on the willingness of the other party, and we know we are working together with yet another imperfect human. There are too many variables when it comes to relationships and long time ago, I felt that the best way out of life is to isolate oneself up on a mountaintop and then I will feel peace (before I became a Christian). It is very much like the Buddhist way of escapism. However, God’s way is for us to mix around. Yes, His command is for us to get together and encourage one another. But why, really, why subject yourself to another human being and risk getting hurt and disappointed? It is because God is also perfecting our lives through people. When we have disagreements with our spouses, we will realize that problems always stem from a flaw somewhere, or maybe many layers of flaws. Then, it becomes our responsibility thereafter to improve ourselves. When we get to know friends better, we can help one another or simply be comforted. We may even get a word from someone who can unlock the block in our heart and help us to move on.
In all things, ‘Seek righteousness, seek meekness.’ (Zephaniah 2:3) Above all, put God first in your life. Obey God’s commands and put on all the armors as recorded in the last chapter of Ephesians. In your dealings with this world, always remember to guard your friendships (book of Proverbs) because bad friendships spoil useful habits. Treasure all you have and you will be happy.
To all, a very happy and blessed year 2009!
Zenn.
20th December 2008.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday's Recap (191208)
Last Friday we gave thanks. We thanked God for our loved ones. Spouses and children are top on the thanksgiving list. Next came our career. Climbing the career ladder can be physically and mentally draining but opportunities nevertheless abound and we thanked God for giving us the strength and the wisdom to convert them. Good health came in on a close third on the list. Good health is not restricted to our physiological well-being. Good health meant more than just the absence of illness. We cannot be healthy when we are chronically stressed, emotionally unstable or mentally depressed. And the irony is that a man with a terminal illness can be healthier on the whole than a sick-free man.
Many people I know who are apparently sick-free are more emotionally distraught and mentally disturbed than a cancer patient. I had a client who was so depressed with the divorce proceeding she was going through that during some morning, she told me that she could not get out of bed. She felt more helpless than an invalid. Her whole world collapsed and she wanted to end her life. So, we thank God for our good health in the broader sense, which essentially encompasses spiritual strength, mental calmness, emotional resiliency and physical well being.
Many of us gave thanks to God for all the good things that had happened to us. This is natural. In the same way that we thank a giver for a gift, we thank God for life, family and good health. But there is another aspect of thanksgiving that is often avoided or ignored. And it is quite understandable. Have you ever thanked God for the bad things that had happened to you? Have you thanked God for illness? Have you thanked God for bankruptcy? Have you thanked God for a death in the family? The almost “perverse” list could go on and on because bad things happen to us as frequently as good things, whether we like it or not. And sometimes, or most times, bad things are not always bad and good things are not always good.
What I mean is that bad things may be a blessing in disguise and good things a disaster in the making. Like a flipped coin, bad things may turn out good and we become stronger for it and good things may turn out bad and we become weaker by it. In short, bad things may bring out the good in us and good things may bring out the worst in us. In all this, my point is more aptly expressed in this scripture, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Maybe, the terminology doesn’t sound right. We should not give thanks to God for the bad things that happen to us. By doing so, we give the impression that God is the author of our misfortune. This doesn’t square with the scriptures which say that God is all loving and compassionate. This doesn’t sound like our God who sacrificed His only son for us. So, should we even give thanks to God for everything that happens to us, in particular, the bad?
Last Friday, I talked about one of the cardinal rules of life that we can bet our last dollar on. And it is this: bad times never fail to strike with an expiry date. By extension, overcoming or enduring bad times with faith, trust and hope never fail to make us wiser, stronger and more resilient the next time round. This is one of the most important rules of life. If we allow bad times to run its course, without being adversely affected by it, it will usually end up becoming unexpectedly good. But the same rule does not apply to good times. The rule does not work in reverse with the same definite end result as the rule on bad times. Good times may not always remain good in the end. Ask anyone who had won the lottery on pure luck and you would notice that their lives were not necessarily better for it.
The paradox also applies to married couple. I have seen and heard of testimonies of couples growing closer during bad times and drifting apart during good times. Seen in this obtuse light, material success may very well be your greatest foe rather than your trusted ally. Material successes are generally deemed as blessings. Everybody congratulates you on getting rich, being famous or attaining high class status. Some of us, of course, would be inspired by you. So, it is generally a good thing. But material successes change people. If we are not careful, our successes can adversely affect all our basic relationships with God, with our loved ones, and with our close friends. Divorce is only a step away when you become rich and famous. Financial ruin is closer than you think when you attain corporate recognition and start to believe in your own invincibility by cutting corners and fudging the account books. So, although good and bad times do not last, it is often the bad times that bring lasting positive changes to a person rather than good times.
The hardest part of going through bad times is the uncertainty of its expiry. We will never know when financial hardship will end its course in our life. We have no idea when our estranged loved ones will return to us. We can’t be sure how or when we will recover from the death of a loved one. Bad times therefore demand endurance and hope. It also demands our trust in a God of purpose and love. This is where the raising of Lazarus becomes relevant to our spiritual faith.
We all know that Jesus raised Lazarus in the end (John 11:43.44). But it was not done until he was dead for four days. Jesus did not just heal Lazarus of his illness; he essentially delivered him from “the clutches of death” and this was done before God resurrected Jesus at Calvary. This was deemed to be a miracle before its time. However, my point in this account is not in the resurrection of Lazarus but in the faith of Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, when death occurred in their family.
When Lazarus was alive, Mary and Martha sent words to Jesus informing him that their brother was seriously ill. Jesus then replied them by making a statement which would turn out to be contrary to reality. He said that the sickness would not end up in death but for the glory of God. I am sure that Mary and Martha were greatly comforted by the assurance of Jesus. But we all know the story. Lazarus died thereafter and Mary and Martha must have felt really confounded by Jesus’ pronouncement of faith. Still Jesus waited for one or two days before going to Lazarus’ wake.
When he arrived, Mary did not go out to meet him but Martha did. And herein lies my point on bad times. When bad times strike, most Christians handle it either with the faith of Martha or Mary. Both dealt with grieve differently and most humanly. Of course, we can safely assume that both were saddened by their beloved brother’s death. But Martha met Jesus and declared her undying faith to him. She said, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Then Jesus assured her that her brother will rise again and Martha accepted his words without full understanding of them.
As for Mary, it took her a little while to meet up with Jesus. When she came to Jesus, she fell on his feet and cried out, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This was to be the second time she fell on Jesus’ feet and I am sure she could still smell the sweet oil fragrance rising from his feet. Mary then cried her heart out to Jesus. When Jesus saw this, the Bible says that he “groan in the spirit and was troubled.” And this is where we find the shortest verse in the Bible and the most touchingly profound…John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
Imagine, Jesus, who knew how all bad things have a good ending, and who knew that a miracle is waiting at the end of the bend, still wept with Mary. Beloved, whatever you are going through, you are not alone. God sees it, and He knows that it will not last, and that a miracle is waiting for you at the end, but still He weeps with you. God groans in the spirit with you. He endures the hard times with you. But ultimately, with faith and hope, he will carry you through. We just have to take His hand and walk the journey together. There is a lesson to be learned in our trials. A meaning to be discovered by us. God is our life coach to bring out these lessons to us so that we grow stronger. At this juncture, quoting Psalms 27:14 seems irresistible, “Wait upon the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. Wait upon the Lord.”
When hard times strike, you can exhibit Mary’s or Martha’s kind of faith. While Martha shown optimistic faith, Mary’s was more humanistic and more subdued. Either ways, it is all about how we approach God with our pain. I believe that both of them gave their problems to God wholeheartedly. Although one was more reluctant than the other, Mary and Martha dealt with their grief in the best way they knew how, and that is, to give it to Jesus and live out their faith with hope and trust. Ultimately, they traded their grief for peace of mind and they were rewarded with a miracle in the end. The Bible did not say how overjoyed Mary and Martha were when they saw their beloved brother leaving his tomb. But I am sure it was a day they celebrated in their spirit till their death. That day’s testimony must have been their torch-fire of faith to help them overcome all the trials they would face in the future.
Well, beloved, not all of our pain would end up in the same way as Mary’s and Martha’s. Some of us are praying for our pain to go away and are still praying for it as I pen these words. Some of us have in fact lost faith in God and are slipping away from His hand – derailing from the journey God had designated for us. But I challenge you to hold that thought and go down on your knees and weep before God. In 2 Kings 20:5, King Hezekiah prayed and cried to God and God added fifteen years to his life and delivered him from his enemies. God can still work miracles. God can still rearrange the elements of the universe, suspend the laws of nature and retire the hands of fate just for you.
Alternatively, God’s miracles in your life may be to strengthen your heart. It may be a miracle of character instead a miracle of circumstances. God may have a plan for you to go through your pain and to come out as a veritable conqueror, whose victory would impact lives in years to come. Whatever the miracle, beloved, let God and God alone answer your prayer. For in the end, His answer is always sealed with peace. Keep praying until you find an inner resolution, a peace of mind that surpasses all understanding. In other words, pray until you receive in your spirit the peace of God.
Have a blessed Christmas and may all the bad things in your life bring out the best in you! Let God arise and all your enemies be scattered!
Many people I know who are apparently sick-free are more emotionally distraught and mentally disturbed than a cancer patient. I had a client who was so depressed with the divorce proceeding she was going through that during some morning, she told me that she could not get out of bed. She felt more helpless than an invalid. Her whole world collapsed and she wanted to end her life. So, we thank God for our good health in the broader sense, which essentially encompasses spiritual strength, mental calmness, emotional resiliency and physical well being.
Many of us gave thanks to God for all the good things that had happened to us. This is natural. In the same way that we thank a giver for a gift, we thank God for life, family and good health. But there is another aspect of thanksgiving that is often avoided or ignored. And it is quite understandable. Have you ever thanked God for the bad things that had happened to you? Have you thanked God for illness? Have you thanked God for bankruptcy? Have you thanked God for a death in the family? The almost “perverse” list could go on and on because bad things happen to us as frequently as good things, whether we like it or not. And sometimes, or most times, bad things are not always bad and good things are not always good.
What I mean is that bad things may be a blessing in disguise and good things a disaster in the making. Like a flipped coin, bad things may turn out good and we become stronger for it and good things may turn out bad and we become weaker by it. In short, bad things may bring out the good in us and good things may bring out the worst in us. In all this, my point is more aptly expressed in this scripture, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Maybe, the terminology doesn’t sound right. We should not give thanks to God for the bad things that happen to us. By doing so, we give the impression that God is the author of our misfortune. This doesn’t square with the scriptures which say that God is all loving and compassionate. This doesn’t sound like our God who sacrificed His only son for us. So, should we even give thanks to God for everything that happens to us, in particular, the bad?
Last Friday, I talked about one of the cardinal rules of life that we can bet our last dollar on. And it is this: bad times never fail to strike with an expiry date. By extension, overcoming or enduring bad times with faith, trust and hope never fail to make us wiser, stronger and more resilient the next time round. This is one of the most important rules of life. If we allow bad times to run its course, without being adversely affected by it, it will usually end up becoming unexpectedly good. But the same rule does not apply to good times. The rule does not work in reverse with the same definite end result as the rule on bad times. Good times may not always remain good in the end. Ask anyone who had won the lottery on pure luck and you would notice that their lives were not necessarily better for it.
The paradox also applies to married couple. I have seen and heard of testimonies of couples growing closer during bad times and drifting apart during good times. Seen in this obtuse light, material success may very well be your greatest foe rather than your trusted ally. Material successes are generally deemed as blessings. Everybody congratulates you on getting rich, being famous or attaining high class status. Some of us, of course, would be inspired by you. So, it is generally a good thing. But material successes change people. If we are not careful, our successes can adversely affect all our basic relationships with God, with our loved ones, and with our close friends. Divorce is only a step away when you become rich and famous. Financial ruin is closer than you think when you attain corporate recognition and start to believe in your own invincibility by cutting corners and fudging the account books. So, although good and bad times do not last, it is often the bad times that bring lasting positive changes to a person rather than good times.
The hardest part of going through bad times is the uncertainty of its expiry. We will never know when financial hardship will end its course in our life. We have no idea when our estranged loved ones will return to us. We can’t be sure how or when we will recover from the death of a loved one. Bad times therefore demand endurance and hope. It also demands our trust in a God of purpose and love. This is where the raising of Lazarus becomes relevant to our spiritual faith.
We all know that Jesus raised Lazarus in the end (John 11:43.44). But it was not done until he was dead for four days. Jesus did not just heal Lazarus of his illness; he essentially delivered him from “the clutches of death” and this was done before God resurrected Jesus at Calvary. This was deemed to be a miracle before its time. However, my point in this account is not in the resurrection of Lazarus but in the faith of Lazarus’ two sisters, Mary and Martha, when death occurred in their family.
When Lazarus was alive, Mary and Martha sent words to Jesus informing him that their brother was seriously ill. Jesus then replied them by making a statement which would turn out to be contrary to reality. He said that the sickness would not end up in death but for the glory of God. I am sure that Mary and Martha were greatly comforted by the assurance of Jesus. But we all know the story. Lazarus died thereafter and Mary and Martha must have felt really confounded by Jesus’ pronouncement of faith. Still Jesus waited for one or two days before going to Lazarus’ wake.
When he arrived, Mary did not go out to meet him but Martha did. And herein lies my point on bad times. When bad times strike, most Christians handle it either with the faith of Martha or Mary. Both dealt with grieve differently and most humanly. Of course, we can safely assume that both were saddened by their beloved brother’s death. But Martha met Jesus and declared her undying faith to him. She said, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Then Jesus assured her that her brother will rise again and Martha accepted his words without full understanding of them.
As for Mary, it took her a little while to meet up with Jesus. When she came to Jesus, she fell on his feet and cried out, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” This was to be the second time she fell on Jesus’ feet and I am sure she could still smell the sweet oil fragrance rising from his feet. Mary then cried her heart out to Jesus. When Jesus saw this, the Bible says that he “groan in the spirit and was troubled.” And this is where we find the shortest verse in the Bible and the most touchingly profound…John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
Imagine, Jesus, who knew how all bad things have a good ending, and who knew that a miracle is waiting at the end of the bend, still wept with Mary. Beloved, whatever you are going through, you are not alone. God sees it, and He knows that it will not last, and that a miracle is waiting for you at the end, but still He weeps with you. God groans in the spirit with you. He endures the hard times with you. But ultimately, with faith and hope, he will carry you through. We just have to take His hand and walk the journey together. There is a lesson to be learned in our trials. A meaning to be discovered by us. God is our life coach to bring out these lessons to us so that we grow stronger. At this juncture, quoting Psalms 27:14 seems irresistible, “Wait upon the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. Wait upon the Lord.”
When hard times strike, you can exhibit Mary’s or Martha’s kind of faith. While Martha shown optimistic faith, Mary’s was more humanistic and more subdued. Either ways, it is all about how we approach God with our pain. I believe that both of them gave their problems to God wholeheartedly. Although one was more reluctant than the other, Mary and Martha dealt with their grief in the best way they knew how, and that is, to give it to Jesus and live out their faith with hope and trust. Ultimately, they traded their grief for peace of mind and they were rewarded with a miracle in the end. The Bible did not say how overjoyed Mary and Martha were when they saw their beloved brother leaving his tomb. But I am sure it was a day they celebrated in their spirit till their death. That day’s testimony must have been their torch-fire of faith to help them overcome all the trials they would face in the future.
Well, beloved, not all of our pain would end up in the same way as Mary’s and Martha’s. Some of us are praying for our pain to go away and are still praying for it as I pen these words. Some of us have in fact lost faith in God and are slipping away from His hand – derailing from the journey God had designated for us. But I challenge you to hold that thought and go down on your knees and weep before God. In 2 Kings 20:5, King Hezekiah prayed and cried to God and God added fifteen years to his life and delivered him from his enemies. God can still work miracles. God can still rearrange the elements of the universe, suspend the laws of nature and retire the hands of fate just for you.
Alternatively, God’s miracles in your life may be to strengthen your heart. It may be a miracle of character instead a miracle of circumstances. God may have a plan for you to go through your pain and to come out as a veritable conqueror, whose victory would impact lives in years to come. Whatever the miracle, beloved, let God and God alone answer your prayer. For in the end, His answer is always sealed with peace. Keep praying until you find an inner resolution, a peace of mind that surpasses all understanding. In other words, pray until you receive in your spirit the peace of God.
Have a blessed Christmas and may all the bad things in your life bring out the best in you! Let God arise and all your enemies be scattered!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday's Recap (121208)
Last Friday, we celebrated everyday, ordinary heroes. We had our very own in the cell. We thank Mark and Kwan Hong for pouring their hearts out and inspiring us to do the same. We are touched by their heart felt sharing. Mark, you gave without thought and are a good brother in law and an exemplary Christian. Kudos to Kwan Hong too. You have shown Christ-likeness at your workplace. You've also shown compassion and kindness to those under your charge. You led with a true leader's heart, in humility and loyalty. We've learned a lot from you guys. We are grateful for allowing us to catch a glimpse of God's love in the rough and mundane context of your daily reality. That is why the award of ordinary heroes goes to you guys.
We live in a dual world. Our world is made up of our work and our personal life. We live in a world of senses and faith. One world is public and the other is private. Christians do not usually mix the two worlds together. Testimonies of workplace evangelism are seldom heard. When we work, most Christians leave their Christian values behind and act like typical salaried employees. Everything at work is dictated by hierarchy, rules and quotas. Work performances are usually measured by how we can clinch a deal, market a product, impress our bosses and reach the top.
But Kwan Hong has shown that these two worlds can mix with one taking the lead and the other following. Kwan Hong has demonstrated that the world of faith is bigger than the world of senses. That what is usually private faith can be made public to inspire all. Kwan Hong, you shared how you've led, shielded and comforted your employees to the every day they were axed in a very emotional retrenchment exercise held recently. You do not just say that you care, you show it. You walked your talk and earned the respect of all who had served and worked with you. In fact, you have shown qualities of servant leadership, or what the Bible would call "tower and basin" leadership (just like when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples).
Mark, you made a statement that woke me up. You said, "it is not about the money, it is about relationship". This simple yet powerful statement is the stuff of all self-improvement motto or mantra. I remember I wrote about three kinds of people in this world; the drifters, the copers and the overcomers. Mark, last Friday, you overcame and are still overcoming. Your optimism for life and how all bad events have a God-appointed expiry date inspired me and, I believe, the whole cell to meet the challenges of everyday with courage, faith and boundless hope! Now I have come to understand what it means when they say, "you can see Jesus in the eyes of ordinary people."
I have always wondered what is the true measure of greatness? What makes a hero a hero? What is the meaning of being like Christ? Must we be wealthy, powerful or famous to be considered great, heroic or Christ-like? The answer is of course obvious. At his time, Jesus was neither wealthy, powerful nor famous (until many decades later). Jesus was great because he showed great love. That is, I believe, the true measure of greatness. It is the yardstick of being like Christ. Mother Theresa once said, "Not all of us can do great works, but we can do small works with great love."
I believe that in this drama of life, we have two Acts. The first Act tells of a story of a young man (or woman) setting out from his home to conquer the world with wits, money and fame. The second Act tells of a story of the same young lad realizing that the world is not going to be conquered by wits, money and fame. On the contrary, the world is to be conquered by love, humility and hope. That is why Martin Luther King Jr once said, "everyone can be great because everyone can serve." Where are you now in your drama of life? Act one or act two?
Putting it in another way, everyone can be great because everyone can love. You don't need to be schooled in the art or mystics of love. You don't need to be an apprentice of love before you graduate to be a master of love. There is no such thing as a witch-doctor of love. Love cannot be the sole and exclusive property of any man or woman to be dispensed with only at a price. We are born with a boundless capacity to love because we came to this world from the bosom of someone who loves us unconditionally. We grow in an environment of love. We are nurtured to love. Our life thrives only on being loved and giving love. And our greatest example of love is Jesus, who gave all for nothing in return. Love therefore in its highest form is the hallmark of greatness.
In addition to loving unconditionally, I have learned that ordinary heroes are characterized by three qualities. First, they are secured in God's love. They also draw strength and hope from God's love. They know deep inside that they are deeply loved by God and they don't need to earn it by working at it. Their security is in the knowledge that God loves them unconditionally and not in having more money, power or fame. This is why ordinary heroes do not need approval from anyone. They are able to let go and let God. They don't need to win an argument by proving that they are right. Being right at most times is a private affair to them. This is significant because most couples I know argue for the sake of argument and not for the sake of love. So, allow me to sidetrack.
There was an experiment done on couples' arguing to see how such seemingly contentious exchange could build relationships in some couples and destroy relationships in others. In this experiment, many couples' arguments were videotaped and playback for the experimenters to observe. Their married lives were then monitored and recorded over a long period of time. When the experiment was concluded, the experimenters realized that the arguments between enduringly loving couples and couples who ultimately end up in divorce were apparently similar. There were the usual insults, the bickering, the complaints, the use of foul language and the who-can-be-more-fierce competitions.
But what differentiates them in the end of a long and tiring argument is the conclusion of the argument. The arguments of couples who stay married are usually forward looking and reconciliatory. After a verbal swordfight, loving couple understands each other better and their marriage generally improves. In other words, their arguments makes them love each other more and not less. It is like sunshine after the storm. Things get clearer after a tongue fight. They make every conscious effort thereafter not to step on the same toe again. They are able to love each other better because they understand each other more.
However, couples who argue and end up in divorce are always in a "perpetual storm". There is often no definite conclusion to their argument. They rather let "dead dogs lie". None of them wants to reconcile after a fist-and-tongue fight. They only pay lip-service to the marriage vows and stay married for as long as they could for face sake and not for love sake. With each verbal cudgel, the heart-torn couple festers in hate, deepens the misunderstanding and withdraws from each other. Allowing the status quo to remain, emotional divorce will soon set in long before the once-loving couple ink the divorce papers.
So, do not take your arguments for granted. Not all arguments are bad for the relationship. If tackled well, arguments can build and not tear down a marriage. Just take note of how you end your arguments. Always bring your argument to a reconciliatory end. Remember, don't go to bed without making out with your spouse. And never leave an argument unresolved or hanging. Because you will never know when the next argument may fall on your marriage and wreck it permanently.
Now let's go back to the second quality of an ordinary hero. They are always doing the right thing even when it is popularly wrong. This world has corrupted what is good and diluted what is right. Most of us walk with a log in our eyes and it has clouded our judgment. Sin used to be an outright wrong, period. But now, what is wrong depends on one's interpretations. For example, killing is not wrong when it is done to rid the world of terrorism. Adultery is justified if the other spouse neglects her conjugal duties to her husband. And greed is not wrong if it makes one obscenely rich. Traditional values have lost its high standing in a world where "chastity is dated" and "pride is your best ride".
But ordinary heroes stand their ground. Their feet are on the rock of Christ and not on sinking sand. Their lives are driven and directed by an inner moral compass. They are like sheep who only listen to the shepherd's voice and not the voice of this world or the lusts of their own flesh. Stephen Covey once said, "To do well, you must do good. And to do good, you must first be good." In this world of corrupt values, being good and doing good is usually the exception rather than the rule. But ordinary heroes are "human giraffes". They always stick their necks out to do good because they adhere to Godly principles that never fade through time or culture. To the world, ordinary heroes are called “prudes” and “rigids”. But to God, they are His faithful and fruitful servants. There is a saying that goes like this, "A good life is when you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night and in the middle, you do what is right."
Lastly, ordinary heroes make meaning out of their own sufferings or personal crisis. Going back to our cell, I am reminded of Mark's well-grounded optimism to believe that God always uplifts everything. Mark’s faith in God to deliver him and his family through their financial hard times is no easy feat. Equally courageous was Kwan Hong’s compassion for his subordinates who were laid off. You guys drew strength from God and extracted meaning even in the most dire of circumstances.
I believe there is a death in this life that is worse than suicide. It is the death of hope, meaning and purpose. Life is not a primary quest for pleasure, power or popularity. Life only moves forward with meaning or purpose. We can find meaning even in the worst of times if we just look hard enough for it. Victor E. Frankl tells of a story in his book, Man's Search For Meaning, about an old lady whose eleven year old son just died after a suicide attempt. She was so distraught that she conceived a plan to kill herself. However, she had an older son, who was a cripple from birth, having suffered from infantile paralysis. And she didn't want him to be left alone after her death. So she wanted to die with her son. Just before she could commit the act of suicide, her older son stopped her and cried out that he wanted to live. In fact, her older son loved life! Thereafter, she went for therapy and realized that she was no failure after all. She had managed to bring up a son who treasured life and wished to live to the fullest. This gave her meaning and passion to live on for him.
Beloved, in all our trials, even in the worst of the lot, there is meaning that we can draw strength from. If we look hard enough, we can see it in the eyes of our children, in the blessing of our possessions, in the support of our loved ones and in the hope of a Savior who had gone through it all and has promised that he will carry us through. In Psalms 27:14, it is written "Wait upon the Lord, be of good courage and He will strengthen thine heart, wait upon the Lord." Note that the verse did not say that He will answer our prayers. Or solve our problems. Or take away our pain and sufferings. Instead, it says that it will strengthen our hearts. I believe that by strengthening our hearts, God is granting us the greatest gift of all. It is the gift to overcome any trials that life can throw at us. It is the gift to stand firm in the face of adversity. It is a gift of passion for living that no crisis or bad times can take away or destroy.
So, have a victorious week ahead!
We live in a dual world. Our world is made up of our work and our personal life. We live in a world of senses and faith. One world is public and the other is private. Christians do not usually mix the two worlds together. Testimonies of workplace evangelism are seldom heard. When we work, most Christians leave their Christian values behind and act like typical salaried employees. Everything at work is dictated by hierarchy, rules and quotas. Work performances are usually measured by how we can clinch a deal, market a product, impress our bosses and reach the top.
But Kwan Hong has shown that these two worlds can mix with one taking the lead and the other following. Kwan Hong has demonstrated that the world of faith is bigger than the world of senses. That what is usually private faith can be made public to inspire all. Kwan Hong, you shared how you've led, shielded and comforted your employees to the every day they were axed in a very emotional retrenchment exercise held recently. You do not just say that you care, you show it. You walked your talk and earned the respect of all who had served and worked with you. In fact, you have shown qualities of servant leadership, or what the Bible would call "tower and basin" leadership (just like when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples).
Mark, you made a statement that woke me up. You said, "it is not about the money, it is about relationship". This simple yet powerful statement is the stuff of all self-improvement motto or mantra. I remember I wrote about three kinds of people in this world; the drifters, the copers and the overcomers. Mark, last Friday, you overcame and are still overcoming. Your optimism for life and how all bad events have a God-appointed expiry date inspired me and, I believe, the whole cell to meet the challenges of everyday with courage, faith and boundless hope! Now I have come to understand what it means when they say, "you can see Jesus in the eyes of ordinary people."
I have always wondered what is the true measure of greatness? What makes a hero a hero? What is the meaning of being like Christ? Must we be wealthy, powerful or famous to be considered great, heroic or Christ-like? The answer is of course obvious. At his time, Jesus was neither wealthy, powerful nor famous (until many decades later). Jesus was great because he showed great love. That is, I believe, the true measure of greatness. It is the yardstick of being like Christ. Mother Theresa once said, "Not all of us can do great works, but we can do small works with great love."
I believe that in this drama of life, we have two Acts. The first Act tells of a story of a young man (or woman) setting out from his home to conquer the world with wits, money and fame. The second Act tells of a story of the same young lad realizing that the world is not going to be conquered by wits, money and fame. On the contrary, the world is to be conquered by love, humility and hope. That is why Martin Luther King Jr once said, "everyone can be great because everyone can serve." Where are you now in your drama of life? Act one or act two?
Putting it in another way, everyone can be great because everyone can love. You don't need to be schooled in the art or mystics of love. You don't need to be an apprentice of love before you graduate to be a master of love. There is no such thing as a witch-doctor of love. Love cannot be the sole and exclusive property of any man or woman to be dispensed with only at a price. We are born with a boundless capacity to love because we came to this world from the bosom of someone who loves us unconditionally. We grow in an environment of love. We are nurtured to love. Our life thrives only on being loved and giving love. And our greatest example of love is Jesus, who gave all for nothing in return. Love therefore in its highest form is the hallmark of greatness.
In addition to loving unconditionally, I have learned that ordinary heroes are characterized by three qualities. First, they are secured in God's love. They also draw strength and hope from God's love. They know deep inside that they are deeply loved by God and they don't need to earn it by working at it. Their security is in the knowledge that God loves them unconditionally and not in having more money, power or fame. This is why ordinary heroes do not need approval from anyone. They are able to let go and let God. They don't need to win an argument by proving that they are right. Being right at most times is a private affair to them. This is significant because most couples I know argue for the sake of argument and not for the sake of love. So, allow me to sidetrack.
There was an experiment done on couples' arguing to see how such seemingly contentious exchange could build relationships in some couples and destroy relationships in others. In this experiment, many couples' arguments were videotaped and playback for the experimenters to observe. Their married lives were then monitored and recorded over a long period of time. When the experiment was concluded, the experimenters realized that the arguments between enduringly loving couples and couples who ultimately end up in divorce were apparently similar. There were the usual insults, the bickering, the complaints, the use of foul language and the who-can-be-more-fierce competitions.
But what differentiates them in the end of a long and tiring argument is the conclusion of the argument. The arguments of couples who stay married are usually forward looking and reconciliatory. After a verbal swordfight, loving couple understands each other better and their marriage generally improves. In other words, their arguments makes them love each other more and not less. It is like sunshine after the storm. Things get clearer after a tongue fight. They make every conscious effort thereafter not to step on the same toe again. They are able to love each other better because they understand each other more.
However, couples who argue and end up in divorce are always in a "perpetual storm". There is often no definite conclusion to their argument. They rather let "dead dogs lie". None of them wants to reconcile after a fist-and-tongue fight. They only pay lip-service to the marriage vows and stay married for as long as they could for face sake and not for love sake. With each verbal cudgel, the heart-torn couple festers in hate, deepens the misunderstanding and withdraws from each other. Allowing the status quo to remain, emotional divorce will soon set in long before the once-loving couple ink the divorce papers.
So, do not take your arguments for granted. Not all arguments are bad for the relationship. If tackled well, arguments can build and not tear down a marriage. Just take note of how you end your arguments. Always bring your argument to a reconciliatory end. Remember, don't go to bed without making out with your spouse. And never leave an argument unresolved or hanging. Because you will never know when the next argument may fall on your marriage and wreck it permanently.
Now let's go back to the second quality of an ordinary hero. They are always doing the right thing even when it is popularly wrong. This world has corrupted what is good and diluted what is right. Most of us walk with a log in our eyes and it has clouded our judgment. Sin used to be an outright wrong, period. But now, what is wrong depends on one's interpretations. For example, killing is not wrong when it is done to rid the world of terrorism. Adultery is justified if the other spouse neglects her conjugal duties to her husband. And greed is not wrong if it makes one obscenely rich. Traditional values have lost its high standing in a world where "chastity is dated" and "pride is your best ride".
But ordinary heroes stand their ground. Their feet are on the rock of Christ and not on sinking sand. Their lives are driven and directed by an inner moral compass. They are like sheep who only listen to the shepherd's voice and not the voice of this world or the lusts of their own flesh. Stephen Covey once said, "To do well, you must do good. And to do good, you must first be good." In this world of corrupt values, being good and doing good is usually the exception rather than the rule. But ordinary heroes are "human giraffes". They always stick their necks out to do good because they adhere to Godly principles that never fade through time or culture. To the world, ordinary heroes are called “prudes” and “rigids”. But to God, they are His faithful and fruitful servants. There is a saying that goes like this, "A good life is when you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night and in the middle, you do what is right."
Lastly, ordinary heroes make meaning out of their own sufferings or personal crisis. Going back to our cell, I am reminded of Mark's well-grounded optimism to believe that God always uplifts everything. Mark’s faith in God to deliver him and his family through their financial hard times is no easy feat. Equally courageous was Kwan Hong’s compassion for his subordinates who were laid off. You guys drew strength from God and extracted meaning even in the most dire of circumstances.
I believe there is a death in this life that is worse than suicide. It is the death of hope, meaning and purpose. Life is not a primary quest for pleasure, power or popularity. Life only moves forward with meaning or purpose. We can find meaning even in the worst of times if we just look hard enough for it. Victor E. Frankl tells of a story in his book, Man's Search For Meaning, about an old lady whose eleven year old son just died after a suicide attempt. She was so distraught that she conceived a plan to kill herself. However, she had an older son, who was a cripple from birth, having suffered from infantile paralysis. And she didn't want him to be left alone after her death. So she wanted to die with her son. Just before she could commit the act of suicide, her older son stopped her and cried out that he wanted to live. In fact, her older son loved life! Thereafter, she went for therapy and realized that she was no failure after all. She had managed to bring up a son who treasured life and wished to live to the fullest. This gave her meaning and passion to live on for him.
Beloved, in all our trials, even in the worst of the lot, there is meaning that we can draw strength from. If we look hard enough, we can see it in the eyes of our children, in the blessing of our possessions, in the support of our loved ones and in the hope of a Savior who had gone through it all and has promised that he will carry us through. In Psalms 27:14, it is written "Wait upon the Lord, be of good courage and He will strengthen thine heart, wait upon the Lord." Note that the verse did not say that He will answer our prayers. Or solve our problems. Or take away our pain and sufferings. Instead, it says that it will strengthen our hearts. I believe that by strengthening our hearts, God is granting us the greatest gift of all. It is the gift to overcome any trials that life can throw at us. It is the gift to stand firm in the face of adversity. It is a gift of passion for living that no crisis or bad times can take away or destroy.
So, have a victorious week ahead!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
A reply to Mark's letter
Mark, I read your letter when I was overseas. I was with my family at Fort Siloso beach, Sentosa and I read your email on a Friday evening. I think I was the first one who read it twice. I was touched by your brutally honest sharing. You kept nothing to yourself. You just let it all out and I drank of every word written as if you were sharing your heart out to me by the beach under the retiring sun.
Your words were simple yet deep. It spoke volumes of your current dilemma and your trust in a faithful God who will deliver you and your family out of it. You mentioned about seeking financial help from your loved ones, one of whom was not a Christian. You wrote about what was left in your bank account and how your income has been slashed by 70%. You told us how you lost your investment money and how you took the chance to invest borrowed funds, which, after a harrowing episode, paid off quite handsomely. Indeed, these few months have been a roller coaster ride for you and your family - and the ride is, I believe, still ongoing with all its ups and downs!
Yours was a heartfelt, heart-tugging testimony that very few men I know would want to share. I appreciate your honesty and am emboldened by your steadfast faith, anchored on trust and hope. I held these words you wrote close to my heart, "God will not allow us to go thru' any crisis without first allowing it to go thru' His hands." You illuminated simple truths to us and I believe we are wiser by your sharing. Your scars and experiences in this life have grounded us all on the assurance that God is still in control of everything. Indeed, it is said, "Blessed are the cracked, for they let in light." Thanks for the light.
One issue that kept me up on Friday night was the relationship issues. Most of what you shared, that is, the financial crisis, the reduction in income, the borrowing and the investing, and the financial dire straits in general, were all external things that happened to you. As you wrote about these external circumstances, you exude a tide of quiet confidence as if things were going to be alright sooner than later. In other words, you were on top of things and stayed on top of things. But when it came to relationship, that is, issues of the heart, or things of an inner nature, you gave the impression that you were still quite unresolved, seething and at times, ruffled.
Trust me, I understand how you feel. I have dealt with many people before and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some were saint-like and you'd wish the world is composed of more of this Mother-Theresa characters. But once in a while, when the moon is blue and the sun doesn't rise from the east, you encounter a character that defies all appeal to reason. These are the people who, in my own experiences, makes life bend backward to breaking point. You can call them "toxic character" or "emotional refrigerator" or "personality flaws." But you cannot avoid them. They can be your friends, your loved ones or your acquaintance. They are here for good; even though most of the time, they are here for bad. Sometimes, we even see some of these undesirable qualities in ourselves.
I believe that they are planted on this earth to rub you on the wrong side. That is, provided, you allow them to rub you on the wrong side. You can always offer your right side to them or your better side. And I believe, knowing you, Mark and Jasmine, you guys have offered them your best side like a good Samaritan would. However, time and time again, they reciprocated in ways that befuddled or stumped you guys.
Well, the best explanation for their behavior is the parable of the sower. This parable clears the air about good and not-so-good Christians. You guys know the parable well (Matthew 13:3-9). The one thing constant and unchanging about the parable is the seed. You will notice that the seed is the same for all four grounds: that is, on the pathway where birds came and snatched them away, on the rocky ground where the soil had no depth and the sun burnt up the seeds, on the thorns where the seeds were choked, and lastly, on good soil. This parable applies to all Christians, young and old. If we take the seeds as the word of God, we then understand why many Christians can remain untouched by the gospel of truth.
Well, Mark, we can use this parable to explain why some Christian act the way they did. But I think we should not stop there. I believe the focus of the parable should be on the good soil and how the good soil can make a difference in the lives of others. Sure, there are Christians who preach more than they practise. They do not live up to basic expectations. They profess to be wise but act otherwise. But I've always pictured the ending of the parable of the sower where the tree that grew out of the good soil stretched out to become a canopy of shelter and protection for the seeds that fell on the other grounds.
In other words, the tree that grew could provide coverage from the scorching sun or divert the birds away from the exposed seeds. Even those seeds that fell on thorns could derive some nutrients from the roots of the good tree. This might sound like allegorical stretch of the parable but my point is to focus on what authentic Christians can do or say to make a difference in the lives of those Christians who do not live up. Isn't this why Jesus came to us in the first place? To show the way, to be an example, to change lives, to love unconditionally. Our calling is no different. In fact, 1 John 4:20 raised the bar, by admonishing this, "For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen."
From the lives of great saints, who were usually ordinary people with simple, trusting faith, you will note that they shared three landmark characteristics: First, they were absurdly happy; second, they were filled with irrational love for everyone; and lastly, they were always in trouble.
Mark and Jasmine, your lives in the cell and from what I gather from your letter do indeed exemplify Christlikeness. I do not doubt your sincerity in your acts of kindness. At this point, I am reminded of this adage, "In each life, some rain will fall." By extension, life is going to challenge you. Christians are sometimes lightning rods for trouble. We are magnets for bad times and bad relationships. Mark, you even wrote, "if you pray for more faith, then be ready for more challenges ahead."
I believe that praying for faith is only the first part. The other integral part is having the confidence and endurance to overcome the challenges that test our faith. This is best explained in Hebrew 10:36, "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise."
Mark, our faith is on God and His promises to deliver us. But for every case of deliverance, there is at least ten cases of endurance (if not more). Deliverance is the final relief of our suffering. But before attaining such relief, we have to undergo painful and uncertain challenges that at times seem hopeless and unremitting. Your current circumstance is just one of those cases of endurance. We know that the world economy isn't getting better. Nobody knows how the billions of dollars of cash injection will turn out. Government policies may sometimes backfire. Ultimately, it depends on the confidence or the whims and fancies of the world markets. That in itself says nothing about anything, I know. So, I dread to say that it is going to take a while for the economy and the markets to recover and to rally up. Of course, I don't need to tell you this. You basically live in it on a daily basis.
But your continual faith and hope in God and how the dark skies are going to
clear ultimately breathe renewed hope in my life. I guess I can share everything I read from "dead pulp" books every Friday and still fall short of changing and impacting lives as compare to the inspiring lessons that your personal experiences bring. You guys have gone through the grief of your father's death and the trauma of Kaela's birth and yet Jasmine and you remained strong and firm in the faith. That is one lesson that no amount of reading and sharing can effectively impart.
Let me end with this inspiring story told by Ray Pritchard, who authored The God you can Trust, "A small boy was flying a kite high in the sky when it drifted into a cloud bank and disappeared from view. A passerby asked the little boy what he was doing. "I'm flying my kite," the child responded. The man, looking up and seeing only the cloud bank , said, "I don't see any kite. How do you know it's still there?"
"I don't see it either," replied the boy, "but I know it's up there because every once in a while there's a tug on my string."
Mark, last cell meeting we talked about five things we cannot change but just have to accept and grow around them. One of those things is the fact that "everything changes and ends." Good times never last. Neither do Bad times. But it is not the bad times that we loathe. It is the time it takes for bad times to become good times. Sometimes, it takes a while and our faith is truly tested. But during such times, the simple words of the little boy can turn the focus away from our problem and onto God. Mark, God still tugs at your heartstring occasionally to remind you that he is still there. He's in control. He will keep your kite afloat. He will see you and your family through and the dark clouds will soon be blown away. So, when your circumstances seem to cast a foreboding shadow over your heaven-bound focus, just remember this, your God is bigger than the storm!
Your words were simple yet deep. It spoke volumes of your current dilemma and your trust in a faithful God who will deliver you and your family out of it. You mentioned about seeking financial help from your loved ones, one of whom was not a Christian. You wrote about what was left in your bank account and how your income has been slashed by 70%. You told us how you lost your investment money and how you took the chance to invest borrowed funds, which, after a harrowing episode, paid off quite handsomely. Indeed, these few months have been a roller coaster ride for you and your family - and the ride is, I believe, still ongoing with all its ups and downs!
Yours was a heartfelt, heart-tugging testimony that very few men I know would want to share. I appreciate your honesty and am emboldened by your steadfast faith, anchored on trust and hope. I held these words you wrote close to my heart, "God will not allow us to go thru' any crisis without first allowing it to go thru' His hands." You illuminated simple truths to us and I believe we are wiser by your sharing. Your scars and experiences in this life have grounded us all on the assurance that God is still in control of everything. Indeed, it is said, "Blessed are the cracked, for they let in light." Thanks for the light.
One issue that kept me up on Friday night was the relationship issues. Most of what you shared, that is, the financial crisis, the reduction in income, the borrowing and the investing, and the financial dire straits in general, were all external things that happened to you. As you wrote about these external circumstances, you exude a tide of quiet confidence as if things were going to be alright sooner than later. In other words, you were on top of things and stayed on top of things. But when it came to relationship, that is, issues of the heart, or things of an inner nature, you gave the impression that you were still quite unresolved, seething and at times, ruffled.
Trust me, I understand how you feel. I have dealt with many people before and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some were saint-like and you'd wish the world is composed of more of this Mother-Theresa characters. But once in a while, when the moon is blue and the sun doesn't rise from the east, you encounter a character that defies all appeal to reason. These are the people who, in my own experiences, makes life bend backward to breaking point. You can call them "toxic character" or "emotional refrigerator" or "personality flaws." But you cannot avoid them. They can be your friends, your loved ones or your acquaintance. They are here for good; even though most of the time, they are here for bad. Sometimes, we even see some of these undesirable qualities in ourselves.
I believe that they are planted on this earth to rub you on the wrong side. That is, provided, you allow them to rub you on the wrong side. You can always offer your right side to them or your better side. And I believe, knowing you, Mark and Jasmine, you guys have offered them your best side like a good Samaritan would. However, time and time again, they reciprocated in ways that befuddled or stumped you guys.
Well, the best explanation for their behavior is the parable of the sower. This parable clears the air about good and not-so-good Christians. You guys know the parable well (Matthew 13:3-9). The one thing constant and unchanging about the parable is the seed. You will notice that the seed is the same for all four grounds: that is, on the pathway where birds came and snatched them away, on the rocky ground where the soil had no depth and the sun burnt up the seeds, on the thorns where the seeds were choked, and lastly, on good soil. This parable applies to all Christians, young and old. If we take the seeds as the word of God, we then understand why many Christians can remain untouched by the gospel of truth.
Well, Mark, we can use this parable to explain why some Christian act the way they did. But I think we should not stop there. I believe the focus of the parable should be on the good soil and how the good soil can make a difference in the lives of others. Sure, there are Christians who preach more than they practise. They do not live up to basic expectations. They profess to be wise but act otherwise. But I've always pictured the ending of the parable of the sower where the tree that grew out of the good soil stretched out to become a canopy of shelter and protection for the seeds that fell on the other grounds.
In other words, the tree that grew could provide coverage from the scorching sun or divert the birds away from the exposed seeds. Even those seeds that fell on thorns could derive some nutrients from the roots of the good tree. This might sound like allegorical stretch of the parable but my point is to focus on what authentic Christians can do or say to make a difference in the lives of those Christians who do not live up. Isn't this why Jesus came to us in the first place? To show the way, to be an example, to change lives, to love unconditionally. Our calling is no different. In fact, 1 John 4:20 raised the bar, by admonishing this, "For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen."
From the lives of great saints, who were usually ordinary people with simple, trusting faith, you will note that they shared three landmark characteristics: First, they were absurdly happy; second, they were filled with irrational love for everyone; and lastly, they were always in trouble.
Mark and Jasmine, your lives in the cell and from what I gather from your letter do indeed exemplify Christlikeness. I do not doubt your sincerity in your acts of kindness. At this point, I am reminded of this adage, "In each life, some rain will fall." By extension, life is going to challenge you. Christians are sometimes lightning rods for trouble. We are magnets for bad times and bad relationships. Mark, you even wrote, "if you pray for more faith, then be ready for more challenges ahead."
I believe that praying for faith is only the first part. The other integral part is having the confidence and endurance to overcome the challenges that test our faith. This is best explained in Hebrew 10:36, "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise."
Mark, our faith is on God and His promises to deliver us. But for every case of deliverance, there is at least ten cases of endurance (if not more). Deliverance is the final relief of our suffering. But before attaining such relief, we have to undergo painful and uncertain challenges that at times seem hopeless and unremitting. Your current circumstance is just one of those cases of endurance. We know that the world economy isn't getting better. Nobody knows how the billions of dollars of cash injection will turn out. Government policies may sometimes backfire. Ultimately, it depends on the confidence or the whims and fancies of the world markets. That in itself says nothing about anything, I know. So, I dread to say that it is going to take a while for the economy and the markets to recover and to rally up. Of course, I don't need to tell you this. You basically live in it on a daily basis.
But your continual faith and hope in God and how the dark skies are going to
clear ultimately breathe renewed hope in my life. I guess I can share everything I read from "dead pulp" books every Friday and still fall short of changing and impacting lives as compare to the inspiring lessons that your personal experiences bring. You guys have gone through the grief of your father's death and the trauma of Kaela's birth and yet Jasmine and you remained strong and firm in the faith. That is one lesson that no amount of reading and sharing can effectively impart.
Let me end with this inspiring story told by Ray Pritchard, who authored The God you can Trust, "A small boy was flying a kite high in the sky when it drifted into a cloud bank and disappeared from view. A passerby asked the little boy what he was doing. "I'm flying my kite," the child responded. The man, looking up and seeing only the cloud bank , said, "I don't see any kite. How do you know it's still there?"
"I don't see it either," replied the boy, "but I know it's up there because every once in a while there's a tug on my string."
Mark, last cell meeting we talked about five things we cannot change but just have to accept and grow around them. One of those things is the fact that "everything changes and ends." Good times never last. Neither do Bad times. But it is not the bad times that we loathe. It is the time it takes for bad times to become good times. Sometimes, it takes a while and our faith is truly tested. But during such times, the simple words of the little boy can turn the focus away from our problem and onto God. Mark, God still tugs at your heartstring occasionally to remind you that he is still there. He's in control. He will keep your kite afloat. He will see you and your family through and the dark clouds will soon be blown away. So, when your circumstances seem to cast a foreboding shadow over your heaven-bound focus, just remember this, your God is bigger than the storm!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday's Recap (281108)
Last Friday the soothing melody of love serenaded the cell group. We talked about the one subject, love, that is most elusive, most incorporeal and most celebrated in the history of humanity. When love throws her tantrum, no lover is spared. When love sacrifices all, it also conquers all. Love comes in many names and is known by all, even the loneliest. Even the recluse has experienced love in her highest form, that is, his mother's sacrificial love. Without love, life dries up and dies.
The Bible gives us a glimpse of who God is by saying God is love. Indeed, He is, And the greatest of these...hope, love and faith, is love. Although many people have tried to define love, it remains beyond definition. Love is also beyond the scrutiny of scientific instruments. We cannot extract a unit of love, place it in a crucible and study it. We know that this world runs faithfully, if not slavishly, on a plethora of fixed natural laws. Newtonian three laws of motion govern our world as we see it. And Einstein's law of time and space or relativity governs the universe or universes as far as our telescopes can capture it. But what or who governs love as we individually feels it? Who set the laws of love in motion? Who ensures that love follows a predictably linear pattern that can be replicated in a lab?
The miracle of love is that it cannot be domesticated in an equation or encapsulated in a series of mind-numbing formulae. Let me explain. In physics, we know about Einstein's brainchild, E = mc2. This equation is immutable, unchanging. With this formula, we can know the amount of potential energy locked in an atom. And mind you, it is mind-bogglingly huge because it is the mass of an atom multiplied by the speed of light (that is, 300,000 km/per sec). Imagine the amount of potential energy locked inside a grain of rice! Even force can be captured in a formula. Remember this, Force = Mass x Acceleration? How about the area of a triangle? Well, the last time I checked, it was still equal to 1/2 base x height.
But how do we measure love? How heavy or light, or how long or short, or how wavy is it? To even ask such questions would seem silly. Because love is not reducible to any form of equation, it is therefore immeasureable. It is as immeasureable as human consciousness. Who can tell for sure what another person is thinking just by looking at him? Can we put someone through a brain scanner and observe some part of his brain lighting up and confirm with deductive certainty his thoughts, motives, dreams and intention? Surely we are more intricate than the sum of a few cerebral lights up! In other words, we are more than the sums of our parts and the atheists or materialists should, at this juncture, take a moment to dismount from their high horse of logic, reason and rationality and consider the vastness of their ignorance instead of regaling in their own deluded intellectual superiority.
Coming back to love, we discussed about marriages and relationships. This is where I touched base with you guys. Most of us are married with children. Some of us are reasonably happy with their spouses. Some are not. Some are in a difficult phrase in their marriages. Some are even skeptical about the choices they had made. These are serious issues and they require our serious attention. While it is easy to fall in love, it is hard to stay in love - especially with the other all-too-familiar half after the sweetness of courtship had turned sour and the honeymoon of marriage had given way to the reality of living together. If familiarity breeds contempt, then marriage is a major breeding ground for such contempt to flourish into hatred, unforgiveness and personal revenge.
In my 10 years of being a divorce lawyer, the most ironic and sad fact about divorce is not the blood bath involved in the division of assets or the cat-and-dog fights for custody. But it is the recurring thought of how the same couple who were once ready to "die" for the other is now so bent on "killing" each other. I had one client who told me that nothing would bring her greater joy than to wish him an early death! Sadly, the marital vows of, "I do" has now become "I don't care". This, I guess, is the eighth wonder or mystery of the world: How can a marriage once based on unconditional love and unquestioned devotion turned so disastrously and irreversibly bad? Well, any takers?
I had another client who came to me to request that I save her marriage. Her husband had told her that he wants to leave her for his mistress. He wanted to start a new life with his new found love. She was of course devastated. And to kick sand into her wound, he had also transmitted STD to her and her condition was incurable. Despite all these unspeakable betrayal, she still wanted me to save her marriage. As a Christian, she told me that a marriage is meant to be forever as spelt out in the marriage vows, "Till death do us part". But sadly, I told her deadpan that most spouses suffer from what I can "mortal impatience". They just can't wait till death to part with his or her partner. Death is too long a time for a divorce. If the marriage vows were to be more realistically updated for their sake, it would read, "Till boredom, do us part" or "Till another hot-thing comes along, do us part."
My client could not accept divorce because she mistook "fantasy" for reality. The marriage vows are idealistic declaration. It is like a public announcement on par with the PA system in a shopping mall. Of course, we are admonished to treat the vows seriously. And I do not doubt the sincerity of a marriage couple declaring their vows to each other and the world at large. Alas, if only marriage is as perfectly worded, neatly aligned, systematically paragraphed and impeccably presented as the declarative, romantic and touching wording in the marriage vows. In other words, the marriage vows are perfect but we are not.
Our marriage does not revolve around the vows. Neither is it defined by it. At best, we take it as a reminder or a guide. Our marriage is, more appropriately, defined by our daily choices and actions and in making the right daily choices and actions. Do not, for one second, mistake pre-marriage bliss with post-marriage bliss. Or pre-marriage understanding with post-marriage understanding. Marriage is a lot of work and it does not end with a grand Chinese dinner or a public declaration of a mutually kindred inner resolution. Like driving, getting married is like obtaining the licence to drive. It is just the start. The road ahead, however corny this analogy may sound, is invariably long and winding.
If I can only name one enemy of love, it should be boredom. Boredom robs love of its passion like cancer takes away life from a person. So, be on guard against boredom. King David was bored when he committed the one act that marred his kingmanship for the rest of his life. Moses was bored (among other emotions) when he killed his fellow kind and became a fugitive for a major part of his life.
Personally, my marriage would have faltered or stagnated if not for the injection of some creative, child-like fun and humor once in a while. I am a lot of things to Anna, mostly not so positive. But one ability I have is the ability to make her laugh at the most unlaughable period in our marriage such as when she was fuming mad at me. Maybe your gift is different. I guess it could be being romantic at the right opportune time? Or making your spouse feel important and secured? Or making her feel treasured and loved? Whatever it is, don't take your spouse for granted. Take this as a rule of thumb: if you feel that she or he is okay or fine, that is usually the time you should start to inject some excitement in the marriage. So, go tiger!
Let me end with this thought: Always love for the love of the sake of love. A bit convoluted right? It is quite deliberate, for emphasis. Anyway, it simply means to let your love be an end in itself. God is love. And God is the uncaused cause, or He is uncreated. He just is and will forever be. So, if God is love, then love is the ultimate cause or the final explanation of all things seen or unseen. Love is the ultimate motivation of all our actions. It is therefore an end in itself.
Love is not contingent or conditional. We jeopardize our marriage if we love with strings attached. It is like telling your spouse I love you but only in a way that you uplift my image or you make me more secured and less lonely. Worse still if you say I love you because I need to apply for a HDB flat. This is a needy form of love. And it is self-centered and self-profiting. It is simply a love based on quip-pro-quo. Or a love based on "what can I get in return for loving you". So in the end, borrowing the words of Richard Templar, who authored The Rules of Love, we must want to love and not need to love. Pause for reaction?
This dreamy December, let these words by Jack & Carole Mayhall of the Navigators, who co-authored Marriage takes more than Love, breathe life, soul and passion into your marriage, "Marriage is an enormous enigma, a colossal conundrum. It is agonizing, adjusting, pain and pleasure, delight and demands. It is a mixture of the mundane, the ecstatic, the commonplace, the romantic. It comes in waves, ripples, bubbles and splashes. Its days contain thunder, sunlight, hail, wind, rain. Its hues are the rainbow's spectrum, but prominent are shades of red, purple, yellow and grey. It is intimacy, distance, closeness, awayness. It is a quiet melody, an earthy novel, an obscure mystery, the greatest show on earth. It is choices. Choosing to love, to understand, to enjoy, to know. It is choosing...marriage."
Your challenge for what's left of this year is: To love your spouse in ways that surprises even yourself. So, go tiger!
Have a Romantic December!
The Bible gives us a glimpse of who God is by saying God is love. Indeed, He is, And the greatest of these...hope, love and faith, is love. Although many people have tried to define love, it remains beyond definition. Love is also beyond the scrutiny of scientific instruments. We cannot extract a unit of love, place it in a crucible and study it. We know that this world runs faithfully, if not slavishly, on a plethora of fixed natural laws. Newtonian three laws of motion govern our world as we see it. And Einstein's law of time and space or relativity governs the universe or universes as far as our telescopes can capture it. But what or who governs love as we individually feels it? Who set the laws of love in motion? Who ensures that love follows a predictably linear pattern that can be replicated in a lab?
The miracle of love is that it cannot be domesticated in an equation or encapsulated in a series of mind-numbing formulae. Let me explain. In physics, we know about Einstein's brainchild, E = mc2. This equation is immutable, unchanging. With this formula, we can know the amount of potential energy locked in an atom. And mind you, it is mind-bogglingly huge because it is the mass of an atom multiplied by the speed of light (that is, 300,000 km/per sec). Imagine the amount of potential energy locked inside a grain of rice! Even force can be captured in a formula. Remember this, Force = Mass x Acceleration? How about the area of a triangle? Well, the last time I checked, it was still equal to 1/2 base x height.
But how do we measure love? How heavy or light, or how long or short, or how wavy is it? To even ask such questions would seem silly. Because love is not reducible to any form of equation, it is therefore immeasureable. It is as immeasureable as human consciousness. Who can tell for sure what another person is thinking just by looking at him? Can we put someone through a brain scanner and observe some part of his brain lighting up and confirm with deductive certainty his thoughts, motives, dreams and intention? Surely we are more intricate than the sum of a few cerebral lights up! In other words, we are more than the sums of our parts and the atheists or materialists should, at this juncture, take a moment to dismount from their high horse of logic, reason and rationality and consider the vastness of their ignorance instead of regaling in their own deluded intellectual superiority.
Coming back to love, we discussed about marriages and relationships. This is where I touched base with you guys. Most of us are married with children. Some of us are reasonably happy with their spouses. Some are not. Some are in a difficult phrase in their marriages. Some are even skeptical about the choices they had made. These are serious issues and they require our serious attention. While it is easy to fall in love, it is hard to stay in love - especially with the other all-too-familiar half after the sweetness of courtship had turned sour and the honeymoon of marriage had given way to the reality of living together. If familiarity breeds contempt, then marriage is a major breeding ground for such contempt to flourish into hatred, unforgiveness and personal revenge.
In my 10 years of being a divorce lawyer, the most ironic and sad fact about divorce is not the blood bath involved in the division of assets or the cat-and-dog fights for custody. But it is the recurring thought of how the same couple who were once ready to "die" for the other is now so bent on "killing" each other. I had one client who told me that nothing would bring her greater joy than to wish him an early death! Sadly, the marital vows of, "I do" has now become "I don't care". This, I guess, is the eighth wonder or mystery of the world: How can a marriage once based on unconditional love and unquestioned devotion turned so disastrously and irreversibly bad? Well, any takers?
I had another client who came to me to request that I save her marriage. Her husband had told her that he wants to leave her for his mistress. He wanted to start a new life with his new found love. She was of course devastated. And to kick sand into her wound, he had also transmitted STD to her and her condition was incurable. Despite all these unspeakable betrayal, she still wanted me to save her marriage. As a Christian, she told me that a marriage is meant to be forever as spelt out in the marriage vows, "Till death do us part". But sadly, I told her deadpan that most spouses suffer from what I can "mortal impatience". They just can't wait till death to part with his or her partner. Death is too long a time for a divorce. If the marriage vows were to be more realistically updated for their sake, it would read, "Till boredom, do us part" or "Till another hot-thing comes along, do us part."
My client could not accept divorce because she mistook "fantasy" for reality. The marriage vows are idealistic declaration. It is like a public announcement on par with the PA system in a shopping mall. Of course, we are admonished to treat the vows seriously. And I do not doubt the sincerity of a marriage couple declaring their vows to each other and the world at large. Alas, if only marriage is as perfectly worded, neatly aligned, systematically paragraphed and impeccably presented as the declarative, romantic and touching wording in the marriage vows. In other words, the marriage vows are perfect but we are not.
Our marriage does not revolve around the vows. Neither is it defined by it. At best, we take it as a reminder or a guide. Our marriage is, more appropriately, defined by our daily choices and actions and in making the right daily choices and actions. Do not, for one second, mistake pre-marriage bliss with post-marriage bliss. Or pre-marriage understanding with post-marriage understanding. Marriage is a lot of work and it does not end with a grand Chinese dinner or a public declaration of a mutually kindred inner resolution. Like driving, getting married is like obtaining the licence to drive. It is just the start. The road ahead, however corny this analogy may sound, is invariably long and winding.
If I can only name one enemy of love, it should be boredom. Boredom robs love of its passion like cancer takes away life from a person. So, be on guard against boredom. King David was bored when he committed the one act that marred his kingmanship for the rest of his life. Moses was bored (among other emotions) when he killed his fellow kind and became a fugitive for a major part of his life.
Personally, my marriage would have faltered or stagnated if not for the injection of some creative, child-like fun and humor once in a while. I am a lot of things to Anna, mostly not so positive. But one ability I have is the ability to make her laugh at the most unlaughable period in our marriage such as when she was fuming mad at me. Maybe your gift is different. I guess it could be being romantic at the right opportune time? Or making your spouse feel important and secured? Or making her feel treasured and loved? Whatever it is, don't take your spouse for granted. Take this as a rule of thumb: if you feel that she or he is okay or fine, that is usually the time you should start to inject some excitement in the marriage. So, go tiger!
Let me end with this thought: Always love for the love of the sake of love. A bit convoluted right? It is quite deliberate, for emphasis. Anyway, it simply means to let your love be an end in itself. God is love. And God is the uncaused cause, or He is uncreated. He just is and will forever be. So, if God is love, then love is the ultimate cause or the final explanation of all things seen or unseen. Love is the ultimate motivation of all our actions. It is therefore an end in itself.
Love is not contingent or conditional. We jeopardize our marriage if we love with strings attached. It is like telling your spouse I love you but only in a way that you uplift my image or you make me more secured and less lonely. Worse still if you say I love you because I need to apply for a HDB flat. This is a needy form of love. And it is self-centered and self-profiting. It is simply a love based on quip-pro-quo. Or a love based on "what can I get in return for loving you". So in the end, borrowing the words of Richard Templar, who authored The Rules of Love, we must want to love and not need to love. Pause for reaction?
This dreamy December, let these words by Jack & Carole Mayhall of the Navigators, who co-authored Marriage takes more than Love, breathe life, soul and passion into your marriage, "Marriage is an enormous enigma, a colossal conundrum. It is agonizing, adjusting, pain and pleasure, delight and demands. It is a mixture of the mundane, the ecstatic, the commonplace, the romantic. It comes in waves, ripples, bubbles and splashes. Its days contain thunder, sunlight, hail, wind, rain. Its hues are the rainbow's spectrum, but prominent are shades of red, purple, yellow and grey. It is intimacy, distance, closeness, awayness. It is a quiet melody, an earthy novel, an obscure mystery, the greatest show on earth. It is choices. Choosing to love, to understand, to enjoy, to know. It is choosing...marriage."
Your challenge for what's left of this year is: To love your spouse in ways that surprises even yourself. So, go tiger!
Have a Romantic December!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday's Recap (141108)
Last Friday, we had a discussion about hell. As you know, Hell is a topic that will raise a few eyebrows. We all know that hell is a place of suffering - fire, sulphur, brimstone and all that. In this day and age, it is almost a social taboo to talk about hell. Wealth and health would be a more seductive alternative than hell. Churches all over would rather embrace the "how to get rich with God" teachings than to talk about "rejecting God and go to hell" warning. I had mischievously labeled today's grace-is-a-licence-to-do-as-thou-pleases indoctrination and the Jesus-wants-you-to-be-very-rich mantra as "Casino Christianity".
The danger of Casino Christianity is that of dethronement. When preachers take upon themselves to redefine Christianity based on personal enrichment, indulgence and convenience rather than obedience, sacrifices and humility, God takes second place in the hearts of the congregants. An imbalance emphasis on wealth, material possessions and riches as promises of God will definitely attract crowds, lots of them, but not personal conviction. Put it another way, when the bait of the gospel is "getting rich with God", the catch would expectedly be overwhelming. But a gospel of this sort is shallow and superficial. The peril of associating the gospel with self-interest, personal convenience and well-being is that we turn God into a genie in a lamp rather than the savior of our souls. By the same token, we have turned our creator into a jackpot machine ready to dispense with chips at one's lucky pull of the one-arm-bandit.
You have heard the gospel hymn "Amazing Grace", "I once was lost but now am found." Casino Christianity sings to a different tune called "Amazing Disgrace", "I once was found but now am lost." There is therefore nothing on offer from Casino Christianity except temporary pleasure, false hope and blind faith.
So, beloved, do not practise selective believing. The gospel has two sides. The wealth and the sacrifices. The joy and the broken heartedness. The victory and the suffering. The answered prayer and the trust and obey. The blessed assurance and the carrying of the cross. The heaven and the hell. Both sides require equal emphasis lest we stunt our spiritual growth and degenerate into Christians defined by personal convenience and enrichment - that is, Christians looking for a quick fix, quick buck or quick medicate.
Let's go back to hell. In my view, Hell is a necessary evil. It is necessary because justice demands it. Our God is a God of love and justice. And justice is not just a concept of putting things right, it is also about punishment or paying the price. By the same reasoning that a convicted felon is sent to jail or rehab for his crime, men and women who reject God are correspondingly destined for hell as a place of eternal punishment.
Of course, the skeptics have raised hell about the disproportionality of the punishment of hell. While a man convicted of 1st degree murder goes to prison for life, it is extremely unfair that a person who merely rejects God or chooses to disbelieve Him ends up in a place of eternal suffering with no hope of a second redemption. The basis of this criticism is that God should not be so arbitrary about those who are going to hell and those who are not going to hell. He should consider the circumstances and decide on a case-by-case basis. Let me give you some examples.
Take a little girl of below the age of maturity. She is born with a critical, life-shortening illness. Fate dealt her the final blow at age eight when she succumbs to her illness and dies without the opportunity of listening to the gospel. What should God do in such a situation? Imagine arbitrarily sentencing this little poor girl to eternal condemnation without considering her rather exceptional circumstances. It is times like these that being God is more difficult than being the American President-elect confronting the current financial crisis.
How about stillborn babies? How about aborigines living in some remote parts of the world, untouched by the diffusion of the gospel, dying as unsaved souls? How about the mentally challenged who are unable to comprehend the message of Jesus? How about those who live in ultra-conservative Islamic states who are kept by their culture, government and family from ever being exposed to the gospel? Surely, considering these situations, God would have to make some exceptions to the divine concession of John 3:16. Is there another way to avoid the fiery flame of hell?
The conventional answer is no. There is no exception to the rule. Jesus meant it fully when He said He is the way, the light and the truth. And the only way to prevent going to hell is to accept Him as lord and savior. Supporters of this view, who constitute the majority of Christendom, mitigate its seemingly rigid and uncompromising stand by saying that just as much as God is firm on the position that hell is reserved for those who reject Him, He is equally, if not more, gracious in bestowing the passage of heaven by making it an almost effortless, costless and painless exercise of one's choice. Choosing God is as easy as going to the election booth. It is an informed choice based on personal autonomy or free will. It is as easy as reciting the alphabet. Therefore, saying yes to Jesus is the only ticket to heaven.
But saying yes to Jesus requires one to at least know Him and His promises, right? How does God expect the innocently ignorant to say yes to Jesus without knowing that He exists and that He had promised eternal life to all who believe Him?
So, let me be as unconventional on this as I can. My view, and only my view, is that God is not blind to the exceptional circumstances in every case at hand. Every soul that dies and comes before Him will be dealt with carefully, fairly and respectfully. This is the basic judicial temperament of an earthly judge and I would expect no less from God. The stillborn, the innocently ignorant and the mentally challenged will have their day before the judgment seat. I believe that the day of judgment will not be one that is black-and-white, cut-and-dry or open-and-shut.
By this, I mean that God will dispense with mercy and justice in the very same way He had dispensed with them by sending Jesus to this world to redeem us two thousand years ago. God is wise in His creation, in His redemption and, I believe, in His judgment. So, I believe that justice will be tempered with mercy. God once told Moses that he will show mercy to whomever he shows mercy. The Bible also asks, "Will not the Judge of the earth do right?" (Gen 8:25) This implies that God will do what is right to all in a way that is fair, creative and beyond reproach.
With this in mind, I believe that at the conclusion of judgment day, the words of Ronald Nash , author of Is Jesus the Only Savior?, would resonates in the hearts of all those who had received their judgment, "When God is finished dealing with all of us, none will be able to complain that they were treated unfairly."
Earlier I say that hell is a necessary evil. Having dealt with the necessity of hell, let me deal with hell as a place of evil and of conscious eternal suffering. The Bible describes hell as a lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). Other characteristics of hell are that it is a place of punishment, a place of destruction and a place of banishment. The lost are eternally separated from God and His presence by this place called hell. As far as the Bible goes, this is as much as we know about hell with regards to its physicality and nature. Except for Jesus and some prophetic visions, none of the bible characters have been to hell. Neither have they given a detailed account of hell in the Bible. So, our knowledge of hell as a physical place is limited. Well, it is limited unless you are Mary K Baxter, author of A Divine Revelation of Hell: Time is running out!
Mary Baxter claims she had been to hell sometime in March 1976. It was an experience that changed her life completely. In short, she wrote that Jesus visited her at her home and gave her a tour of hell. The purpose of the tour was to tell the world that hell is real. In hell, she saw enormous suffering that were so depressing that she cried non-stop. She even begged Jesus to stop the untold sufferings but Jesus was restraint to act.
She describes hell as a physical place with different sections. At the start of her book, Mary wrote that she saw large funnels in the sky, spinning in suspended animation. These funnels were the gateways of hell. As Mary entered one of them, she noticed that the walls of the funnel were full of creepy crawlies and slithering serpents. Amidst the scream, the stench and the howling, she accompanied Jesus to the left and right legs of hell. There, she saw many pits like trenches on the ground. In each pit, there stood a soul with burnt and decayed flesh hanging from its body. These souls cried out to Jesus as he approached them and asked for a second chance but Jesus relented not.
Then, Jesus took Mary to the belly of hell which, according to her, was shaped like a body. As she entered the belly of hell, she saw many coffins. Surrounding each coffin is a group of 12 demons with spears. Predictably, inside the coffin lies a soul and the demons were piercing the soul with their spears, tormenting it with no mercy. Mary wrote that these coffins were reserved for preachers who professed God with their lips but sin against Him in their heart.
Walking forward into the belly of hell, Mary saw many cell blocks and each of these cells holds a prisoner. These prisoners were former witches, soothsayers and mediums. Jesus also brought Mary to the heart of hell and to a place called the outer darkness. Needless to say, these places were characterized by torment, anguish and heartrending screams. Accordingly to Mary, there was also a fun center whereby souls, who were surrounded by cheering demons, were torn to pieces by other demons.
So, whether you believe the above account or not, as a Christian, hell as well as heaven are real places. Because we are spirit beings, and our spirits live on long after physical death, our ultimate destination or residing eternal home is either of these places. So, always keep watch and pray that your heart does not fall prey to the two sins that dog every Christians: pride and rebellion. For Jesus did say that not all who call upon Him will be saved. On this somber note, I shall end here.
Have a fun, enjoyable and watchful weekend.
The danger of Casino Christianity is that of dethronement. When preachers take upon themselves to redefine Christianity based on personal enrichment, indulgence and convenience rather than obedience, sacrifices and humility, God takes second place in the hearts of the congregants. An imbalance emphasis on wealth, material possessions and riches as promises of God will definitely attract crowds, lots of them, but not personal conviction. Put it another way, when the bait of the gospel is "getting rich with God", the catch would expectedly be overwhelming. But a gospel of this sort is shallow and superficial. The peril of associating the gospel with self-interest, personal convenience and well-being is that we turn God into a genie in a lamp rather than the savior of our souls. By the same token, we have turned our creator into a jackpot machine ready to dispense with chips at one's lucky pull of the one-arm-bandit.
You have heard the gospel hymn "Amazing Grace", "I once was lost but now am found." Casino Christianity sings to a different tune called "Amazing Disgrace", "I once was found but now am lost." There is therefore nothing on offer from Casino Christianity except temporary pleasure, false hope and blind faith.
So, beloved, do not practise selective believing. The gospel has two sides. The wealth and the sacrifices. The joy and the broken heartedness. The victory and the suffering. The answered prayer and the trust and obey. The blessed assurance and the carrying of the cross. The heaven and the hell. Both sides require equal emphasis lest we stunt our spiritual growth and degenerate into Christians defined by personal convenience and enrichment - that is, Christians looking for a quick fix, quick buck or quick medicate.
Let's go back to hell. In my view, Hell is a necessary evil. It is necessary because justice demands it. Our God is a God of love and justice. And justice is not just a concept of putting things right, it is also about punishment or paying the price. By the same reasoning that a convicted felon is sent to jail or rehab for his crime, men and women who reject God are correspondingly destined for hell as a place of eternal punishment.
Of course, the skeptics have raised hell about the disproportionality of the punishment of hell. While a man convicted of 1st degree murder goes to prison for life, it is extremely unfair that a person who merely rejects God or chooses to disbelieve Him ends up in a place of eternal suffering with no hope of a second redemption. The basis of this criticism is that God should not be so arbitrary about those who are going to hell and those who are not going to hell. He should consider the circumstances and decide on a case-by-case basis. Let me give you some examples.
Take a little girl of below the age of maturity. She is born with a critical, life-shortening illness. Fate dealt her the final blow at age eight when she succumbs to her illness and dies without the opportunity of listening to the gospel. What should God do in such a situation? Imagine arbitrarily sentencing this little poor girl to eternal condemnation without considering her rather exceptional circumstances. It is times like these that being God is more difficult than being the American President-elect confronting the current financial crisis.
How about stillborn babies? How about aborigines living in some remote parts of the world, untouched by the diffusion of the gospel, dying as unsaved souls? How about the mentally challenged who are unable to comprehend the message of Jesus? How about those who live in ultra-conservative Islamic states who are kept by their culture, government and family from ever being exposed to the gospel? Surely, considering these situations, God would have to make some exceptions to the divine concession of John 3:16. Is there another way to avoid the fiery flame of hell?
The conventional answer is no. There is no exception to the rule. Jesus meant it fully when He said He is the way, the light and the truth. And the only way to prevent going to hell is to accept Him as lord and savior. Supporters of this view, who constitute the majority of Christendom, mitigate its seemingly rigid and uncompromising stand by saying that just as much as God is firm on the position that hell is reserved for those who reject Him, He is equally, if not more, gracious in bestowing the passage of heaven by making it an almost effortless, costless and painless exercise of one's choice. Choosing God is as easy as going to the election booth. It is an informed choice based on personal autonomy or free will. It is as easy as reciting the alphabet. Therefore, saying yes to Jesus is the only ticket to heaven.
But saying yes to Jesus requires one to at least know Him and His promises, right? How does God expect the innocently ignorant to say yes to Jesus without knowing that He exists and that He had promised eternal life to all who believe Him?
So, let me be as unconventional on this as I can. My view, and only my view, is that God is not blind to the exceptional circumstances in every case at hand. Every soul that dies and comes before Him will be dealt with carefully, fairly and respectfully. This is the basic judicial temperament of an earthly judge and I would expect no less from God. The stillborn, the innocently ignorant and the mentally challenged will have their day before the judgment seat. I believe that the day of judgment will not be one that is black-and-white, cut-and-dry or open-and-shut.
By this, I mean that God will dispense with mercy and justice in the very same way He had dispensed with them by sending Jesus to this world to redeem us two thousand years ago. God is wise in His creation, in His redemption and, I believe, in His judgment. So, I believe that justice will be tempered with mercy. God once told Moses that he will show mercy to whomever he shows mercy. The Bible also asks, "Will not the Judge of the earth do right?" (Gen 8:25) This implies that God will do what is right to all in a way that is fair, creative and beyond reproach.
With this in mind, I believe that at the conclusion of judgment day, the words of Ronald Nash , author of Is Jesus the Only Savior?, would resonates in the hearts of all those who had received their judgment, "When God is finished dealing with all of us, none will be able to complain that they were treated unfairly."
Earlier I say that hell is a necessary evil. Having dealt with the necessity of hell, let me deal with hell as a place of evil and of conscious eternal suffering. The Bible describes hell as a lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). Other characteristics of hell are that it is a place of punishment, a place of destruction and a place of banishment. The lost are eternally separated from God and His presence by this place called hell. As far as the Bible goes, this is as much as we know about hell with regards to its physicality and nature. Except for Jesus and some prophetic visions, none of the bible characters have been to hell. Neither have they given a detailed account of hell in the Bible. So, our knowledge of hell as a physical place is limited. Well, it is limited unless you are Mary K Baxter, author of A Divine Revelation of Hell: Time is running out!
Mary Baxter claims she had been to hell sometime in March 1976. It was an experience that changed her life completely. In short, she wrote that Jesus visited her at her home and gave her a tour of hell. The purpose of the tour was to tell the world that hell is real. In hell, she saw enormous suffering that were so depressing that she cried non-stop. She even begged Jesus to stop the untold sufferings but Jesus was restraint to act.
She describes hell as a physical place with different sections. At the start of her book, Mary wrote that she saw large funnels in the sky, spinning in suspended animation. These funnels were the gateways of hell. As Mary entered one of them, she noticed that the walls of the funnel were full of creepy crawlies and slithering serpents. Amidst the scream, the stench and the howling, she accompanied Jesus to the left and right legs of hell. There, she saw many pits like trenches on the ground. In each pit, there stood a soul with burnt and decayed flesh hanging from its body. These souls cried out to Jesus as he approached them and asked for a second chance but Jesus relented not.
Then, Jesus took Mary to the belly of hell which, according to her, was shaped like a body. As she entered the belly of hell, she saw many coffins. Surrounding each coffin is a group of 12 demons with spears. Predictably, inside the coffin lies a soul and the demons were piercing the soul with their spears, tormenting it with no mercy. Mary wrote that these coffins were reserved for preachers who professed God with their lips but sin against Him in their heart.
Walking forward into the belly of hell, Mary saw many cell blocks and each of these cells holds a prisoner. These prisoners were former witches, soothsayers and mediums. Jesus also brought Mary to the heart of hell and to a place called the outer darkness. Needless to say, these places were characterized by torment, anguish and heartrending screams. Accordingly to Mary, there was also a fun center whereby souls, who were surrounded by cheering demons, were torn to pieces by other demons.
So, whether you believe the above account or not, as a Christian, hell as well as heaven are real places. Because we are spirit beings, and our spirits live on long after physical death, our ultimate destination or residing eternal home is either of these places. So, always keep watch and pray that your heart does not fall prey to the two sins that dog every Christians: pride and rebellion. For Jesus did say that not all who call upon Him will be saved. On this somber note, I shall end here.
Have a fun, enjoyable and watchful weekend.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Joel's update - Man's dilemma: God's hope
Dear Cell, Joel went under the surgical knife this week. The neurosurgeon removed the benign tumor from his left frontal lobe in a 6-hour operation. He is currently in SGH, recuperating. Initially, under the effect of anesthesia, Joel was semi-groggy. His responses were delayed. But on Friday night, before we left the hospital, he cracked a joke and we heaved a sigh of relief – Joel is back!
Cell, I share with you this because you guys have the right to know Joel’s progress. This journey has been very difficult for him and his wife and their 10-month old son. His parents and siblings and loved ones have all cried silent tears for him, including me. I thank you guys for all your support in prayer. Personally, I had prayed real hard for the tumor to be removed by the divine surgeon. This was one miracle I wanted more than anything before Joel was wheeled into the operating room. I prayed, and some of you heard me, that this miracle would be a testimony to all the backsliders and a booster to our faith. I literally poured my heart and soul into this prayer but it did not turn out the way I had hoped.
This is the second reason why I am writing to you guys. I know that I have been writing quite a few letters on apologetics (defending our faith) or theodicy, justifying the existence of God in a world of seemingly inexplicable pain and pointless sufferings. In my quiet time, I once posed this question to God:-
“Why doesn’t God make Himself obvious enough so that it takes much less time to convince the die-hard atheist, the staunch agnostics and the apathetic deists?”
I mean “obvious enough” in several ways. God could easily intervene when pointless sufferings are taking place. He could stop the gang rape of a little twelve year old. He could teleport an elderly woman out of the way of a motley crew of thugs and murderers. He could deflect incoming ballistic missiles heading straight for a school bus full of students singing their way to school. Maybe, God could end birth deformity so that babies would be born with the same equal socioeconomic opportunity as other normal babies. How about showing Himself in the sky, in whatever form, at infrequent intervals, so as to shut the wagging tongues of skeptics? Then, stretching our imagination a weenie bit, God could answer the earnest prayer of a travailing believer from the crutches of imminent death or irreversible physical pain and handicap. Finally, if it is not asking too much, God could make Himself “obvious enough” by occasionally saving innocent lives and punishing deserving evildoers. Only occasionally…
These acts of God would surely make this world more habitable, more meaningful, more encouraging and more explainable. Not to mention that such miraculous acts would be enough to convert at least 98% of the world population to Christianity while leaving only a handful of rebels who still choose to reject God. A world like this would still give individuals the free will to choose. A world like this would still have suffering to strengthen our character but it would not have pointless suffering that give reasons for the skeptics to mock us. A world like this would explain a lot about God and give us a clearer picture of His goodness, mercy and grace. A world like this can’t be that bad, right?
I mean, didn’t the Bible say that God is good, loving and merciful? Didn’t the Bible also say that God is all powerful, the creator of the universe, without whom nothing is ever conceivable, not to mention ever created? So, how does one reconcile an all–loving and all-powerful God with all the pointless sufferings in this world? I understand that pain and suffering are inevitable. Our growth ultimately depends on it. We mature under pressure. I am not advocating that God eliminate all forms of sufferings. But surely not all sufferings are beneficial. Some sufferings, in my view, have no apparent purpose. Raping and then killing a little girl in some remote part of the world would leave no beneficial legacy behind. How about the killing of 6 million Jews and 5 millions non-Jews like gays, gypsy, Poles, Czechs and Christians under the deranged Nazi machination? Lastly, some natural disasters are deeply heart breaking. The East Asia Tsunamis and the Hurricane Katherine floods are but some examples.
So, can any one out there stand in proxy for God to answer the above question? Some have indeed taken the time and courage to stand up and answer the question. One rabbi concludes that may be God is not all that powerful. May be He has His limitations. He created the world and then decided to leave it as it is after the fall of man. Remember that fallen humanity has fallen consequences. An imperfect world brings with it imperfect results. Sickness and diseases abound because of sin and corruption. Men turn against men and nations against nations. War, pillages and genocide are just part of the consequence of sin.
This explanation is rejected by both the theists and the atheists. Believers do not accept the idea that God has limitations. Didn’t God reprove Job by challenging him with these questions, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?...Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place?...Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?...Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this…”
Atheists rail against this explanation because it is a cop-out. It is just an excuse that Christians cling on to. Saying that God is not all-powerful to explain the existence of pointless sufferings is as good as saying that God does not exist and life, whether we like it or not, is a game of random evolutionary forces that are beyond anyone’s control.
So, going back to Joel, it is difficult to understand why our collective prayers were left unanswered. One can say that all suffering has redemptive value, that is, sometime good always comes out of something bad, even seemingly pointless ones. Romans 8:28 affirms it most elegantly. But by that same token, one can also say that healing Joel miraculously is equally, if not more, purposeful and redemptive than not healing him. Imagine that Joel is healed by our collective prayers. I can picture the scenario. Our faith would definitely rise by leaps and bounds. Joel’s testimony would impact lives. Even unbelievers would have to reassess their atheistic standing in the light of this miracle. The church as a whole would be edified when Joel stands before the crowd and testify. Wouldn’t it be “more good” that Joel is healed than otherwise?
My wife recently asked me, “Why didn’t God heal Joel?” I think this question has been in the minds of all my loved ones after the surgery but none of them wants to bring it up since there are more pressing issues at hand. Further, that question usually begs more questions with no apparent answers and it is therefore better to just move forward with faith than to mope backward in doubt.
So, this is the part of my letter that skeptics are dying to hear: I have no answer. But my qualification is this: saying that I have no answers doesn’t mean that I have no hope. For it is written, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23). Life’s mysteries will always remain as life’s mysteries. There are things most unfathomable even to the best minds of this world. To this day, no intellectual giant can even agree on the definition of life. Some say that it is all about reproduction. Some say it is metabolism. Some argue that it is DNA; others say it is RNA. Still others throw up their hands and subscribe to quirky alien theories to explain life and its origin. Francis Crick, the Nobel Prize winner and co-founder of the double-helix DNA, once wrote, “The plain fact is that the time available was too long, the many micro-environments on the earth’s surface too diverse, the various chemical possibilities too numerous and our own knowledge and imagination too feeble to allow us to be able to unravel exactly how it might or might not have happened such a long time ago…”
And the plain fact for me is this: I have come to a point in my faith to accept the fact that it takes more faith to disbelieve God. I cannot imagine that the world just decided to come into being out of cold, unfeeling nothingness. It therefore takes far more imagination to believe what the atheists believe. I choose to see life as a journey and all the trials that come my way as life’s coaches sent by God to point me in the right direction. For it is said, “Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers: grow, grow.” God whispers to me in my doubts, my trials and my pain. In all of life’s circumstances, God is telling me to grow, to move on, to mature. It may not be the best answer but, like a coach who pushes his trainees to breaking point, it is one answer that leads to great results. CS Lewis once wrote, “They say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.”
So, my hope is forward looking. I choose to see the good that unfolds after a trial or suffering. I believe that my disappointments are only temporal. In the end, there is a justification for everything and God will sit me down to explain it all to me. This is not wishful thinking; it is faithful believing. And this faith is based on a hope that is rooted in His reality, His promises and His timing. For in Psalms 39:6-7, it is written, “Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain: he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.”
Press on, good Christian soldiers!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Friday's Recap (311008)
Last Friday I was intimate with you guys. I shared about my OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Although I have not reached a stage where I needed clinical intervention, I do sometimes overdo things or engage in repetitive routine. I checked my keyhole thrice on regular occasions. I inspected my car thrice to ensure I had locked it. I even talked to myself out loud sometimes to the surprise of passerbys. I know that I am able to control myself but I still indulge in these urges at the expense of my wife. Living with me and my annoying habits can be trying sometimes. Moreover I am rather particular about cleanliness. I am quite obsessed with neatness. I strongly prefer a tidy house with everything nicely arranged, properly folded and closely packed. My wife is quite the opposite. She is the least particular about cleanliness. So, these 8 years plus have been a marital period of adjustments, compromise, heated debates and more adjustments.
I share this because we are not perfect. Marriage may be made in heaven, but a lot of details (and I mean a lot) have to be ironed-out on earth. We are still learning as a couple. This marital journey is going to be long one. So, there is a lot to discover - the good and the bad. It is our plan that we sandpaper each other everyday into characters we esteem to become. We just have to smooth the marital corners and edges until we are well honed and well-adjusted. And that would take years, many years. For it is said, it takes only minutes to make acquaintances, but a lifetime to truly love someone. I only know of one redeeming quality that makes a marriage both durable and a great success, and that quality is the quality of sticking together against all forces that threaten to unstuck us.
A philosopher once quipped, "the measure of a man is what he does with power." If I may add my own, it would go something like this, "the true measure of a man is what he does with love." Love to me is the greatest power in this world or universe. Without it, nothing grows, nothing makes sense, nothing lives. Love changes, empowers and inspires life. Love is a force so strong and mysterious that all relationship flourishes under it. Indeed, God is love. So, to be a real man is to ask yourself, what do I do with love? How do I truly love my wife, my children? How do I change myself for them? What is required of me to transform love so that it becomes not just a mouth-confession by a response from my heart? Food for thought?
So, I have to deal with my problem of impatience directly. I get agitated with my loved ones easily, and especially my loved ones. This is ironic because I am extremely patient with all others. You can say that I am edgy with Anna but smooth with my colleagues. As I confess this to you, I am also reminding myself of my flaws. We need to be reminded sometimes least we grow complacent and dismissive of our flaws. Like the cock who crowed at Simon Peter to remind him of his failings, we need our loved ones sometimes to tell us ours. Character defects only become worse when we trivialize them. It is only when we give our attention to them that we get a better handle to deal with them.
Beloved, remember I said that in a garden, weed flourishes near compost pile (dung hill). This is where we should give our utmost attention to. We need to stop feeding our signature sin(s). We need to search for it, starve it, and uproot it. Stop making excuses for our sins, bad habits and rebellious ways. Stop insulating it from the searchlight of the Holy Spirit. If we don't make a resolute choice to deal with it, God cannot force us to. Remember our marriage, friendship and personal spiritual life are all at stake if we indulge and protect our signature sin by underestimating its impact, dismissing it as inconsequential or denying its existence in the first place. Make the right choice today, and begin today. Every change starts with the first step. Every great achievement starts with a humble admission. This brings me to Repentance.
We shared about two kinds of repentance. One of them is the repentance of Judas Iscariot. The other is that of Simon Peter. In Matthew 27:3-4, Judas repented. He knew he had betrayed a good and innocent man. He was sorry and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priest. Simon Peter also repented. In Matthew 26:75, Simon Peter wept bitterly after he denied Christ thrice. But both repentances were not the same. Judas repented from the head; Simon Peter repented from the heart. Judas was basically sorry he was found out. Simon Peter was sorry he had failed God. And that made the crucial difference. William Nevins, a christian poet, once compared the two repentance to "ice broken" and "ice melted".
Imagine with me a large block of ice in a storage freezer. To break the ice block, you jab it with a ice-pick or an axe. Your chops would have broken it into smaller blocks. But left on its own, the room temperature of the cold storage would re-freeze them. No sooner than you know it, the varied, smaller blocks would consolidate into one more unwieldy, rough block. But to melt the ice, you have to take it out of cold storage and place it under the warm sun. Once taken out of the freezer, you don't have to hit with anything. It would obediently melt by itself. The wonder of it all is that the melting process is irreversible. Once the melting is complete, the large ice block can no longer return to it original chunky shape. It is now reduced to water and it is a road of no return.
Judas' repentance is likened to "ice broken". It is only temporary. It does not result in a heart transformation. In other words, his heart remained unchanged. Simon Peter's repentance is of a different class altogether. He repented from the heart and his life changed direction completely. The book of Acts indisputably chronicled this amazing transformation. His repentance was irreversible. He did not go back to his old ways or sins. After the cock reminded him of his sins, he went down in history to become a great evangelist and one of the greatest apostles of God.
Beloved, we are called to turn away from our old man. We are called to repent from the heart just like King David did when confronted by prophet Nathan for his sins of adultery, deceit and murder. King David paid a terrible, terrible price for his sins. His son died stilborn. His other son raped his sister. In revenge, the rapist was killed by his half--brother. And the killer usurped the throne and made King David an exile. Had King David confessed to Bathsheba's husband, his faithful commander, of his adultery, I am sure he would have been forgiven and thereby avoiding the terrible consequences that followed from his initial refusal to come to a point of humble admission and heart-transforming repentance of his sins.
In Psalms 51, King David presented his broken and contrite heart to God. He cried out, "Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me." In one of the defining verses at Psalms 51:17, King David wrote, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise."
Beloved, at some point in our life, we shared the same fate as King David. Our hearts were broken, torn and even shattered. Betrayed by loved ones, convicted by sin or oppressed by circumstances, we reached the end of our rope. We are cornered by grief, hatred and unforgiveness. It is time we let it all go. It is time we present our brokenness and contrite heart to God for God's assurance to you is this, "a bruised reed I shall not break and a smothering wick I shall not put out." Let God be our deliverer.
Let me end by saying this, God gives fresh beginnings. For everything, there is a start. As long as we are still alive and breathing, however and wherever we are in life, we can surely and safely start over. In our marriages, career and relationships, we can have fresh beginnings. We can stop the pain, torment and grieve by breaking its spell over us. We can leave the past behind and start our present life on a surer footing with God. Earlier I said that the true measure of a man (and woman) is he (or she) does with love. Jesus did it by redeeming us to him. So, let's take the first step to return to our first love and trust that all our pain, grief and disappointments are in His good hands. Ultimately, God will deliver us from all and reconcile us back to Him. That day will come, we just have to remind ourselves more of it.
Enjoy your weekend.
I share this because we are not perfect. Marriage may be made in heaven, but a lot of details (and I mean a lot) have to be ironed-out on earth. We are still learning as a couple. This marital journey is going to be long one. So, there is a lot to discover - the good and the bad. It is our plan that we sandpaper each other everyday into characters we esteem to become. We just have to smooth the marital corners and edges until we are well honed and well-adjusted. And that would take years, many years. For it is said, it takes only minutes to make acquaintances, but a lifetime to truly love someone. I only know of one redeeming quality that makes a marriage both durable and a great success, and that quality is the quality of sticking together against all forces that threaten to unstuck us.
A philosopher once quipped, "the measure of a man is what he does with power." If I may add my own, it would go something like this, "the true measure of a man is what he does with love." Love to me is the greatest power in this world or universe. Without it, nothing grows, nothing makes sense, nothing lives. Love changes, empowers and inspires life. Love is a force so strong and mysterious that all relationship flourishes under it. Indeed, God is love. So, to be a real man is to ask yourself, what do I do with love? How do I truly love my wife, my children? How do I change myself for them? What is required of me to transform love so that it becomes not just a mouth-confession by a response from my heart? Food for thought?
So, I have to deal with my problem of impatience directly. I get agitated with my loved ones easily, and especially my loved ones. This is ironic because I am extremely patient with all others. You can say that I am edgy with Anna but smooth with my colleagues. As I confess this to you, I am also reminding myself of my flaws. We need to be reminded sometimes least we grow complacent and dismissive of our flaws. Like the cock who crowed at Simon Peter to remind him of his failings, we need our loved ones sometimes to tell us ours. Character defects only become worse when we trivialize them. It is only when we give our attention to them that we get a better handle to deal with them.
Beloved, remember I said that in a garden, weed flourishes near compost pile (dung hill). This is where we should give our utmost attention to. We need to stop feeding our signature sin(s). We need to search for it, starve it, and uproot it. Stop making excuses for our sins, bad habits and rebellious ways. Stop insulating it from the searchlight of the Holy Spirit. If we don't make a resolute choice to deal with it, God cannot force us to. Remember our marriage, friendship and personal spiritual life are all at stake if we indulge and protect our signature sin by underestimating its impact, dismissing it as inconsequential or denying its existence in the first place. Make the right choice today, and begin today. Every change starts with the first step. Every great achievement starts with a humble admission. This brings me to Repentance.
We shared about two kinds of repentance. One of them is the repentance of Judas Iscariot. The other is that of Simon Peter. In Matthew 27:3-4, Judas repented. He knew he had betrayed a good and innocent man. He was sorry and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priest. Simon Peter also repented. In Matthew 26:75, Simon Peter wept bitterly after he denied Christ thrice. But both repentances were not the same. Judas repented from the head; Simon Peter repented from the heart. Judas was basically sorry he was found out. Simon Peter was sorry he had failed God. And that made the crucial difference. William Nevins, a christian poet, once compared the two repentance to "ice broken" and "ice melted".
Imagine with me a large block of ice in a storage freezer. To break the ice block, you jab it with a ice-pick or an axe. Your chops would have broken it into smaller blocks. But left on its own, the room temperature of the cold storage would re-freeze them. No sooner than you know it, the varied, smaller blocks would consolidate into one more unwieldy, rough block. But to melt the ice, you have to take it out of cold storage and place it under the warm sun. Once taken out of the freezer, you don't have to hit with anything. It would obediently melt by itself. The wonder of it all is that the melting process is irreversible. Once the melting is complete, the large ice block can no longer return to it original chunky shape. It is now reduced to water and it is a road of no return.
Judas' repentance is likened to "ice broken". It is only temporary. It does not result in a heart transformation. In other words, his heart remained unchanged. Simon Peter's repentance is of a different class altogether. He repented from the heart and his life changed direction completely. The book of Acts indisputably chronicled this amazing transformation. His repentance was irreversible. He did not go back to his old ways or sins. After the cock reminded him of his sins, he went down in history to become a great evangelist and one of the greatest apostles of God.
Beloved, we are called to turn away from our old man. We are called to repent from the heart just like King David did when confronted by prophet Nathan for his sins of adultery, deceit and murder. King David paid a terrible, terrible price for his sins. His son died stilborn. His other son raped his sister. In revenge, the rapist was killed by his half--brother. And the killer usurped the throne and made King David an exile. Had King David confessed to Bathsheba's husband, his faithful commander, of his adultery, I am sure he would have been forgiven and thereby avoiding the terrible consequences that followed from his initial refusal to come to a point of humble admission and heart-transforming repentance of his sins.
In Psalms 51, King David presented his broken and contrite heart to God. He cried out, "Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me." In one of the defining verses at Psalms 51:17, King David wrote, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise."
Beloved, at some point in our life, we shared the same fate as King David. Our hearts were broken, torn and even shattered. Betrayed by loved ones, convicted by sin or oppressed by circumstances, we reached the end of our rope. We are cornered by grief, hatred and unforgiveness. It is time we let it all go. It is time we present our brokenness and contrite heart to God for God's assurance to you is this, "a bruised reed I shall not break and a smothering wick I shall not put out." Let God be our deliverer.
Let me end by saying this, God gives fresh beginnings. For everything, there is a start. As long as we are still alive and breathing, however and wherever we are in life, we can surely and safely start over. In our marriages, career and relationships, we can have fresh beginnings. We can stop the pain, torment and grieve by breaking its spell over us. We can leave the past behind and start our present life on a surer footing with God. Earlier I said that the true measure of a man (and woman) is he (or she) does with love. Jesus did it by redeeming us to him. So, let's take the first step to return to our first love and trust that all our pain, grief and disappointments are in His good hands. Ultimately, God will deliver us from all and reconcile us back to Him. That day will come, we just have to remind ourselves more of it.
Enjoy your weekend.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday's Recap (241008)
Last Friday we had a time of contemplative sharing. We talked about Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:24-31). The message here is obvious. We are spiritual beings and our search for meaning or purpose in this life is more a spiritual quest than an endless physical or material pursuit. Although Lazarus the beggar had a down and out life on earth, he did right in the eyes of God. His reward was eternal rest in the arms of Father Abraham.
The Rich Man was less focused. He pursued the wrong things and ended up in Hades, tormented and in agony. No doubt he had a good life, showered in luxury unimaginable, and pampered by opulence only the hyper rich could afford. But like a game of Monopoly, once it comes to an end, when the buying stops and the dice have all been tossed, the pieces go straight back to the box. After death, the bible says, comes accountability and judgment. No one is exempted.
You will note that the conversation between Abraham and the Rich Man was intense and frighteningly detailed. And it took place in the spiritual realm. The only way Jesus could have related this narrative was because he saw far and beyond what the earthly sight could see. He casts his sight to the fringes of eternality and saw what most men either could not see or took for granted. As christians, we take this narrative as a factual encounter with a few important messages. One of them has been mentioned above. The other message, as discussed on Friday, is this: What defines you in this life?
Two points to note about the Rich Man: His first request was uncharacteristic of a man in perpetual torment and the second is that he had no name. Let me explain the first point first. This may sound trivial but the Rich Man's first request to Abraham was not: Let me out of here! Beam me up Abraham! I want to be in Heaven! I would suppose that a man in his shoes would have craved for immediate relieve and redemption. The Rich Man ought to have begged Abraham for a second chance. But he didn't. Instead, he asked Abraham's permission to allow Lazarus to quench his thirst with his pinkie.
Again, this may be easily explained by conjecturing that the Rich Man has been thoroughly briefed about the futility of seeking a general divine amnesty or pardon from God. That is to say, he knew his sentence is eternal without any chance in hell of a celestial parole. So, he yielded up in complete surrender of his fiery fate in Hades. This explanation is plausible. But maybe, there is another angle to it worth exploring. And exploring CS Lewis did in his book the Great Divorce when he himself related a story that happened in the spiritual realm.
CS Lewis book tells about a fantasy bus trip in the outskirt of hell. On one such encounter, an angelic being met a ghost man with a peculiar companion, a red lizard that was perched on his shoulder. This stroke the angelic being's curiosity and he went up to chat up with this ghost man. The angelic being offered the ghost man a trip to heaven but the ghost man was hesitant, very hesitant. He knew that to enter heaven he had to give up the red lizard on his shoulder and he wasn't pleased with that prospect. He was afraid that letting go of the red lizard means that he would die too.
But it was a precondition to enter heaven that was non-negotiable - the lizard just had to go. The ghost man then applied all forms of rationalization to persuade the angelic being to allow him to enter heaven with the lizard. The argument took some time and finally the ghost man decided with great reservation to let his lizard go. The moment he removed the lizard from his shoulder, it magically turned into beautiful stallion. The ghost man was also transformed into a real man. Together, he rode on the stallion and they galloped joyfully to heaven.
Earlier I asked, What defines you in this life? In the light of CS Lewis' tale, the same question could be couched as such: Do you have a red lizard on your shoulder? Do you have a signature sin that you cannot let go even though you know the cost of not letting go is grave and the reward of letting go is peace? Have you asked yourself lately why do you do what you do not want to do? What is holding you back to be what God has designed you to be? Going back full circle, do ponder on this question this holiday weekend, What defines you in this life?
I posed this question to you guys last Friday and there was contemplative silence as little tiny pins fell on our cerebral carpet. I fully understand that it is a challenge to answer this question because it cannot be answered in a haste, that is, without thought. I can presumptuously identify some "red lizards sitting on our shoulders" like pride, greed, lust, anger, fear envy, gluttony and sloth. It is essential for us to identify our signature sin, that is, the one sin that controls us, keeps us from soaring, imprisons us in a cage of mediocrity and advocates for its own self perpetuation. Yes, a sin, especially a signature or core sin can plead with us to allow it to become a life tenant in our spirit!
In fact, such a sin can sacrifice all other bad habits in our life in a bid to give us a false facade of repentance so as to avoid its own eviction. Ever felt an emotional relief after saying the sinner's prayer and thinking that you were truly set free from sin only to find out later that you had unwittingly gone back to that one sin you had disavowed at the altar? Beloved, that signature sin is your red lizard. It will not want to let you go. It finds in you a residence too attractive and comfortable to ever leave for another. Only you can identify it, smoke it out. Only you can set yourself free from it by the power of the Cross.
I hazard a guess that the Rich Man's red lizard was his riches. You will note that he has no name. In the narrative, Lazarus was known as Lazarus and Abraham by Abraham. But the Rich Man had no first or last name. He was simply known as "the Rich Man". I believe that Jesus deliberately left his name out to make a point. And the point was: The Rich Man was defined by riches, by money, by wealth. The Bible did not say that he was evil, malicious or conniving. It merely says he was rich. Wealth defines him and nothing else. What defines you?
Are you known as the Rich Man to God? Or the Materialistic Man or Woman? Will you still be known by your first name when you die? Will Michael still retain his name as Michael when he dies or will he be known as the Impatient Man? Yes, that is one of my controlling sins. To be exact, it is the Anger Man. I'm very much work in progress. How about you? Are you known as the Greedy Man? The Gluttony Man? The Egoistical Man? Please take a moment to think about it.
There is a very scary verse in the Bible that reads, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanliness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator..." (Roms 1:24). Imagine, God giving you up to your desires! You could be serving, giving and worshipping in church and in the public eye and yet you die a man or woman with a red lizard still on your shoulder. The prospect, my beloved, is awfully grim and disquietingly scary.
Maybe the Rich Man did not want to go to heaven. Maybe he knew that going to heaven would make him the least of them all considering that he had spent his life forsaking the things that truly matter. Maybe he prefers the torment of Hades rather than the uncertainty of heaven. At least in Hades, he is still known as the Rich Man. His wealth defines him and it is one red lizard that he cannot let go. This is the greatest tribute to human freedom. We are free to choose our ultimate destiny - heaven or hell. CS Lewis noted incisively, "There are only two kinds of people - those who say, "God's will be done" or those to whom God in the end says to them, "Your own will be done." All that are in Hell choose it. Without that self-choice, it wouldn't be Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it."
Let me end with this thought. We are called to be radical Christian, pulling out the sins that have grown roots in our spirit. God calls for radical transformation; not superficial conversion. But still, it is a process. This much has to be stressed. Don't expect overnight change. The comfort here is that God has not given us up to our desires since we are still very much attuned and sensitive to His presence and reality.
Beloved, take this road with God to radical transformation. Grow in maturity with Him. In the book Signature Sins, the author Michael Mangis gave this invaluable advice about spiritual maturity, which aptly closes this letter to you, "Spiritual maturity means coming around to the same struggle but from a better vantage point. One of the advantages of a long-term relationship in spiritual direction is that others can see more clearly than we can see how much we have matured. They can reassure us that although our sins may be the same, our cyclical journey is moving ever upward."
Have a fantastic holiday weekend!
The Rich Man was less focused. He pursued the wrong things and ended up in Hades, tormented and in agony. No doubt he had a good life, showered in luxury unimaginable, and pampered by opulence only the hyper rich could afford. But like a game of Monopoly, once it comes to an end, when the buying stops and the dice have all been tossed, the pieces go straight back to the box. After death, the bible says, comes accountability and judgment. No one is exempted.
You will note that the conversation between Abraham and the Rich Man was intense and frighteningly detailed. And it took place in the spiritual realm. The only way Jesus could have related this narrative was because he saw far and beyond what the earthly sight could see. He casts his sight to the fringes of eternality and saw what most men either could not see or took for granted. As christians, we take this narrative as a factual encounter with a few important messages. One of them has been mentioned above. The other message, as discussed on Friday, is this: What defines you in this life?
Two points to note about the Rich Man: His first request was uncharacteristic of a man in perpetual torment and the second is that he had no name. Let me explain the first point first. This may sound trivial but the Rich Man's first request to Abraham was not: Let me out of here! Beam me up Abraham! I want to be in Heaven! I would suppose that a man in his shoes would have craved for immediate relieve and redemption. The Rich Man ought to have begged Abraham for a second chance. But he didn't. Instead, he asked Abraham's permission to allow Lazarus to quench his thirst with his pinkie.
Again, this may be easily explained by conjecturing that the Rich Man has been thoroughly briefed about the futility of seeking a general divine amnesty or pardon from God. That is to say, he knew his sentence is eternal without any chance in hell of a celestial parole. So, he yielded up in complete surrender of his fiery fate in Hades. This explanation is plausible. But maybe, there is another angle to it worth exploring. And exploring CS Lewis did in his book the Great Divorce when he himself related a story that happened in the spiritual realm.
CS Lewis book tells about a fantasy bus trip in the outskirt of hell. On one such encounter, an angelic being met a ghost man with a peculiar companion, a red lizard that was perched on his shoulder. This stroke the angelic being's curiosity and he went up to chat up with this ghost man. The angelic being offered the ghost man a trip to heaven but the ghost man was hesitant, very hesitant. He knew that to enter heaven he had to give up the red lizard on his shoulder and he wasn't pleased with that prospect. He was afraid that letting go of the red lizard means that he would die too.
But it was a precondition to enter heaven that was non-negotiable - the lizard just had to go. The ghost man then applied all forms of rationalization to persuade the angelic being to allow him to enter heaven with the lizard. The argument took some time and finally the ghost man decided with great reservation to let his lizard go. The moment he removed the lizard from his shoulder, it magically turned into beautiful stallion. The ghost man was also transformed into a real man. Together, he rode on the stallion and they galloped joyfully to heaven.
Earlier I asked, What defines you in this life? In the light of CS Lewis' tale, the same question could be couched as such: Do you have a red lizard on your shoulder? Do you have a signature sin that you cannot let go even though you know the cost of not letting go is grave and the reward of letting go is peace? Have you asked yourself lately why do you do what you do not want to do? What is holding you back to be what God has designed you to be? Going back full circle, do ponder on this question this holiday weekend, What defines you in this life?
I posed this question to you guys last Friday and there was contemplative silence as little tiny pins fell on our cerebral carpet. I fully understand that it is a challenge to answer this question because it cannot be answered in a haste, that is, without thought. I can presumptuously identify some "red lizards sitting on our shoulders" like pride, greed, lust, anger, fear envy, gluttony and sloth. It is essential for us to identify our signature sin, that is, the one sin that controls us, keeps us from soaring, imprisons us in a cage of mediocrity and advocates for its own self perpetuation. Yes, a sin, especially a signature or core sin can plead with us to allow it to become a life tenant in our spirit!
In fact, such a sin can sacrifice all other bad habits in our life in a bid to give us a false facade of repentance so as to avoid its own eviction. Ever felt an emotional relief after saying the sinner's prayer and thinking that you were truly set free from sin only to find out later that you had unwittingly gone back to that one sin you had disavowed at the altar? Beloved, that signature sin is your red lizard. It will not want to let you go. It finds in you a residence too attractive and comfortable to ever leave for another. Only you can identify it, smoke it out. Only you can set yourself free from it by the power of the Cross.
I hazard a guess that the Rich Man's red lizard was his riches. You will note that he has no name. In the narrative, Lazarus was known as Lazarus and Abraham by Abraham. But the Rich Man had no first or last name. He was simply known as "the Rich Man". I believe that Jesus deliberately left his name out to make a point. And the point was: The Rich Man was defined by riches, by money, by wealth. The Bible did not say that he was evil, malicious or conniving. It merely says he was rich. Wealth defines him and nothing else. What defines you?
Are you known as the Rich Man to God? Or the Materialistic Man or Woman? Will you still be known by your first name when you die? Will Michael still retain his name as Michael when he dies or will he be known as the Impatient Man? Yes, that is one of my controlling sins. To be exact, it is the Anger Man. I'm very much work in progress. How about you? Are you known as the Greedy Man? The Gluttony Man? The Egoistical Man? Please take a moment to think about it.
There is a very scary verse in the Bible that reads, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanliness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator..." (Roms 1:24). Imagine, God giving you up to your desires! You could be serving, giving and worshipping in church and in the public eye and yet you die a man or woman with a red lizard still on your shoulder. The prospect, my beloved, is awfully grim and disquietingly scary.
Maybe the Rich Man did not want to go to heaven. Maybe he knew that going to heaven would make him the least of them all considering that he had spent his life forsaking the things that truly matter. Maybe he prefers the torment of Hades rather than the uncertainty of heaven. At least in Hades, he is still known as the Rich Man. His wealth defines him and it is one red lizard that he cannot let go. This is the greatest tribute to human freedom. We are free to choose our ultimate destiny - heaven or hell. CS Lewis noted incisively, "There are only two kinds of people - those who say, "God's will be done" or those to whom God in the end says to them, "Your own will be done." All that are in Hell choose it. Without that self-choice, it wouldn't be Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it."
Let me end with this thought. We are called to be radical Christian, pulling out the sins that have grown roots in our spirit. God calls for radical transformation; not superficial conversion. But still, it is a process. This much has to be stressed. Don't expect overnight change. The comfort here is that God has not given us up to our desires since we are still very much attuned and sensitive to His presence and reality.
Beloved, take this road with God to radical transformation. Grow in maturity with Him. In the book Signature Sins, the author Michael Mangis gave this invaluable advice about spiritual maturity, which aptly closes this letter to you, "Spiritual maturity means coming around to the same struggle but from a better vantage point. One of the advantages of a long-term relationship in spiritual direction is that others can see more clearly than we can see how much we have matured. They can reassure us that although our sins may be the same, our cyclical journey is moving ever upward."
Have a fantastic holiday weekend!
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