February 24, 2011
God’s Patience
Today’s reading is a quick visit to the book of Judges (Chapter 10, Verses 6-16), which highlights the patience and the grace of God given to the Israelites who “did evil in the eyes of the Lord… they forsook the Lord and no longer served him.” Many times the Israelites had turned away from God to worship other gods; God’s justice quickly swept down upon them and misfortune came their way. Many times, the Israelites were conquered by other nations and they suffered under the oppression of their conquerors. Many times the Israelites were delivered from the hands of their oppressors by God. Eventually, the Israelites tried God’s patience to the point where a lesson needed to be learned:
The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the Gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” (Judges 10:11-14)
God challenged the Israelites to count on their foreign gods to save them; but they did not. God watched on as the Israelites were enslaved by their conquerors and they suffered greatly under the yoke of their captors. Yet, in these times of trouble for the Israelites, they became remorseful and their inside sincerity finally became true to their repentance towards God.
But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer. (Judges 10:15-16)
Even with so many transgressions against the Lord, the Lord still took back the Israelites with open arms. His patience with us is unfathomable. No matter how we may have sinned against Him, He always shows mercy to those who truly seek His forgiveness. For the same reason, we should extend the same mercy and patience for our spouses and our loved ones. No matter how frustrated we may become with the people in our lives, approaching them with patience and acceptance follows God’s example.
How can you communicate patience and mercy in your actions today?
February 23, 2011
Break It Down Again
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Sometimes when I look at the horizon, I have no idea if I am looking at a sunset – as if my whole world is coming to an end… many of the plans and ambitions that my life has created for myself have never come to light. I spent twelve years preparing for two different professions I never got a chance to advance and practice in my life. Even in my current profession, I am earning half the salary I originally was at over a decade ago. I have been skipped over for raises and promotions despite a diligent work ethic. Even attempts at self-promotion through tireless job hunting has lead to several years of fruitless and disappointing dead ends.
Lord, I give up.
Everything I have tried to do and achieve in this life has led me to here: sad, frustrated and broken. I am tired of struggling at work to do good work… then to only have a coworker or my boss snatch up my labors to take the credit. I am tired of being overlooked for promotions, awards or raises because despite my hard work these things seem totally out of my control.
Most of all, I am tired. I am weary because I have lost my way. I always thought that working hard, achieving and tireless ambition would bring to me success and prosperity in my life. I thought by now I would be living in a large house with my family, be an executive or some high ranking official in my original chosen area of work. Instead, I am here – at a crossroads – thunder and steam gone and the gleam in my eyes have faded away to a dull gray.
Then this morning, I turn to the First Book of Corinthians and started to read this:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. (1 Corinthians 1:26)
I thought I was destined for nobility and influence in my life. But that is where I have made my mistake. Paul reminds us of the folly of pride and human achievement when he writes:
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intlligent I will frustrate.” (1 Corinthians 1:19)
And now it all makes better sense. Perfect grades and test scores in school, countless awards and personal achievements all spelled a recipe for success in my eyes… except God’s. God chooses the opposite of the things that mankind elevates and admires.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. (1 Corinthians 1:28)
Even Paul, a shining figure of Christianity came from a humble heart when he says
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and in fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that you faith might not rest on mens’ wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
When God chose his messengers of the Gospel, he did not pick from the rich and the haughty or the wise and the scholarly. Human knowledge and wisdom falls short of comprehension of God. I realize now that my ambitions or life plans were not the way God had planned for me. Every time I build myself up, He breaks it down with a crushing blow.
But God is a loving God.
I firmly believe that these crushing blows are God’s attempt to remove me from my ingrained, scholarly approach to life. These beliefs in human constructs an achievements were leading me away from Him. The moment I realized that my human failures were simply the result of God breaking through to my heart, it all made sense.
True, I am broken, tired and disappointed (in myself). True, I might not be achieving at the level that I believe I have earned through my labors. The life God calls us to isn’t about that. When life is over, God despises the man who is boastful before Him. For the “foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25) It’s about time that I settle down amongst my failures and take a large dose of humility.
I am at a crossroads in my professional life and there again, I have found God waiting for me; asking me to leave it all behind. It is not through my achievement that I have come this far. It is through His grace and guidance that has taken me here today.
This morning, as I look at the horizon. For certain it is a sunrise. It is a beginning. “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31) I am letting go of my self-promotion and have further resolve to promoting Christ the Lord, through whom we receive our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
February 14, 2011
Where Will You Be?
How Will You Spend It?
Today’s reflection isn’t on designer perfume, but on the concept of “Eternity”. I just found that the ad campaign for this Calvin Klein product seemed fancy and eye-catching enough for the discussion.Ironically, this symbol of “high fashion” is an example of the material comforts that do not last the test of time and in fact, are a part of what we leave behind when we die.
As believers in Christ, we are reminded that life on earth is a mere temporary stop on our journey. Life here is intended only as a testing ground for what lies ahead: an eternal feast in the true presence of the Lord our God.
John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
There is a place for us that is prepared and not one of us spends a day more than God intends us to have on this earth.
Many of us grieve when we have lost a loved one also often ask the question “why“? Author Max Lucado said it best when he writes: “You and I both know I can’t answer that question. Only God knows the reasons behind his actions. But here is a key truth on which we can stand. Our God is a good God.” (Traveling Light, Max Lucado). As inspired in the Book of Psalms: “You are good, Lord. The Lord is good and right.” (Psalms 25:7-8) God’s plan may not be revealed completely to us, but the motivations are pure and loving; it truly is “for the good” that these things happen.
But how could death be good? Isaiah writes: “Good people are taken away, but no one understands. Those who do right are being taken away from evil and are given peace. Those who live as God wants find rest in death.” Death is God’s way of taking people away from evil.What is this evil that the Bible speaks of? It could be a number of things, but mostly they are the things that turn us away from God or the things that harm us or cause unnecessary suffering in ourselves and in others.
That’s where eternity comes into the picture. What length of time is our life here on earth compared to eternity? It’s almost nothing… “In God’s plan every life is long enough and every death is timely.” (Lucado) We all have our season of life and our time, though highly unpredictable is completely intentional and planned by the Lord.
Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
These “days” are the eternity that believers long for – for those of us left behind to live, we should take comfort in the loss knowing that the sacrifice of Christ has ensured the continuation of the journey for the dead in the life of the world to come.
