I'm not OK, but it's OK

There's a story of a cracked jar who thought it was worthless. It carried half the water of the full jar. but the farmer, who knows of the crack, still uses it to carry water. In fact, the farmer uses the crack to water beautiful plants. Without the crack, there may not be any plants.

What light shines the brightest? Naked, unhindered light. Those that come through transparent objects, cracked glasses. For what happens if we completely cover the light? It won't shine. It is completely sealed away, not able to be of use.

So what happens if we seal away our life? When we cover up our sins, hiding them away. God's light can't shine through. How will people see God if His light can't be seen through us? So we need to open up. Be transparent. Reveal our cracks so that His light can shine through, brightening up those lives around us.

And it doesn't matter who you are or how set your life is. You may seem OK, but I know that there's always cracks. For we are human. Humans make mistakes. Humans mess up. We mess up big time. We all always end up cracked, broken, soiled, full of the holes made by our errors.

So what do we do with these holes? We can cover them up or... we can allow God to shine through it. Surrender them to Him. Offer it as a sacrifice. For God takes it and in His wisdom, makes it all beautiful.

2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (NIV)

The Next Level

Imagine you are on the 2^nd level of a hotel. As you look out the window, you see a wonderful view. Unfortunately, it is blocked by the trees and that construction site.

So you want to get a better view. How do you do that? You take the lift to the 6^th floor. There, much better. Still, the construction site is blocking part of the view. So how now? No choice, you have to take the stairs to the roof. Aaaahhhh… here you get the best view. That view you like, it’s clear now. In fact, you can see a much further view, and it’s more beautiful.

Isn’t that like what God has for us? From where we stand, we can see some things. Even as God points out the future, we can’t see the full picture. Challenges block our view. We are also blocked because we only see the work in progress.

So God says, “Come, let’s go to the next level”.

So we go up. It’s not as comfortable but with God, we are lifted fast and we get a better view. Now we can see past the challenges that lie ahead. Yet, we are still troubled. We still see the work that needs to be done.

So God now says, “Come on, let’s go to a higher level.”

It may take a little more effort though. Nevertheless when we get there, it is a beautiful sight. We now see the full picture. We can see the end result, past the work that is required. We see the rainbow after the storm. Even more, we can see further, see more of what we can do, of what God has in store for us.

Perception

What your eyes see, your brain accepts. What you perceive, becomes your reality. 

There is a secret why people don't get along. There is a reason you and your best friend are mates. Any action, right or wrong, is based on a judgement developed from our perception. A thief steals because he knows no better way to get money. A child cries to get attention. We pay more for branded goods because we think it is better quality.

Perception is a powerful thing. More often than not, it's the reason behind our decisions. It's that X-factor that determines if we like something over another thing. It's the mysterious justification why we love certain brands/people/music/songs/etc.

Perception is built on our experience. What we have gone through, what we have learnt, all plays a part in shaping us today. And as long as we keep learning, we are continuously shaped. Our perception keeps shifting. We either enforce it, or we are led to a different perspective.

You see, perception is like two sides of the same coin. It's like the story of the 7 blind men and the elephant. Because they each touch a different part of the elephant; their perceptions of the elephant are all different. Similarly, we see issues and problems through our perception. A war veteran may argue that besting down an enemy is the only way to win. A pacifist may say instead that negotiation is the way to go. Who is right? Both and neither. Sometimes, a peaceful discussion is all it takes. Sometimes, a fight is needed.

That is why it is important to understand the other party's perception of an issue. 2 parties can amicably solve their differences when both can see each other's point. In any argument, we must seek to understand and to be understood.

The phrase "to walk a mile in another's shoes" is very true in this respect. To understand why someone thinks this way, we must first know what is his background. We build our arguments around the proof we experience before. Our past shapes our future. God brought us through that journey to lead us to where we become a blessing.

Please note that the past only SHAPES our future. It does not define it, it does not dictate it. Having a bad childhood does mean you have to live a bad adulthood. It means it can motivate you to live a better life and bless others with the same. Sometimes, only a burnt victim can reach out to another burnt victim.

It's important to know that God can put you in the right situation. What you do with it, what choices you make, that is entirely up to you. The good news is: you have a Best Friend in Heaven who can advise you. Better yet, put your life in His hands and He will lead you into a better life.

God's Purpose For Us

Last weekend, we celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why do we celebrate this event? After all, many have been resurrected before. We celebrate it not because He came back from death, but because He took all our sins away with Him when he died. The importance of the cross isn't the death and resurrection, it's the washing clean of our sins.

You see, God's only desire was to have a relationship with us. Since the fall of man, that's all He ever wanted of us and what He has been working to do with us. But we are sinners and God can't see sin. In olden days, sacrifices were made as a show of repentance and that we desire to turn back to Him. But that wasn't good enough. We couldn't work our way back to Him. So He sent Jesus Christ to be the ultimate, perfect sacrifice. One so pure, that He alone can take all the sins of the world and take the penalty of sin for our sake.

That's the reason Jesus Christ came down from His throne all the way up there, to be born in a manger.He came to die for our sins. Please don't misunderstand this. This is why He isn't just a prophet though He pointed people back to God. That is why He isn't just a good man though He did not sin. He also isn't just a healer though he healed many. For do you not know, but He has granted us the very same wisdom and power, that we also can point others back to God. We can heal many and bring people back from the dead. In fact, the prophets did that before even Jesus came! But what Jesus came to do, was to be our saviour. His purpose in life is to take our sins away, so that we now can come before God; pure and holy.

That's why Christianity is about a relationship with God, not a religion. It's about knowing Him and obeying Him, not following a set of rules. God desires to be with us, guide us and to do life with us. When we mess up, He wants to pick us up again. When we want to let go, He holds on to us, even tighter. And every challenge we go through, every mountain we climb, He is right there with us.

He is so in love with us that everything He does is for our sake. When we are challenged, He builds us. When we are hurt, He comforts us. When we bless others, He blesses us back more. At times, it really can feel like the entire universe is orchestrated for our benefit. Circumstances engineered just for us; so much so that all we can do is take a step back and marvel at the works that He has done.

Which is why it's not about others. It never was about other people. It's not about who they are or what they do. God's only question to us is: "What are you doing?". We give tithe to honour God, not to bless the church. We obey His word, no matter what the other person can return to us.

People hurt us, God asks us to forgive and move on.
People betray our trust, God asks us if we would trust them again.
People let us down, God asks if we would continue to believe in them.
People wrong us, God asks if we would surrender our vengeance to Him.

For it was never about them. It's was, is and will always be about us. God cares about our heart. He wants to build our character, to grow us physically and spiritually. When God speaks to me, it's always "Will you..." not "Will they...".

The best example of this is again, the cross. The very same people Jesus came to save heckled Him. Whipped Him. Condemned Him. Sent Him to die. Even to the cross, God so love us that He would still die for us, even though we let Him down. And after the cross, He still send us to do His will. We make mistakes, we fail. We who rejected Him, left Him alone. He still uses us. He still wants us to be the vessel to do His work.

And it never was about our mistakes or past. You think God doesn't know? He created you! He knows your character, He knows your likes and dislikes. He has seen our past. And He doesn't care. He says, "I have died for you, you are clean now." Your sins? Poof, all gone. Jesus has taken care of it. Your mistakes? Wiped clean. Your failings? God is using them to bring you up and bring others to know Him.

So don't condemn yourself because God didn't condemn you. Don't condemn or judge others, for God has not yet condemn or judge them either. But hold on to God's love and bring it to the world. In the end, that's all God ever ask from us.

Commitment and Focus

Everyone knows the story of the tortoise and the hare. The moral of that story is slow and steady wins the race. I've recently realize one thing: it's not the slowness that wins the race; it's the steadiness. See the hare had a major factor against him: he wasn't focused on winning the race. He wasn't committed to see the race through. He went off the race path, he decided that he's gone far enough. He kept looking back and look at his competitors; not the finish line.

This also reminds me of another cartoon. Remember those wacky races shown on TV? You have the gruesome twosome, the professor, Penelope Pitstop, the Ant Hill Mob and other racers. And of course, Dick Dastardly and Muttley. If you remember the cartoon, you'd know that Dick will always come out with some trap to sabotage the other cars. While it was enjoyable, it got me thinking: if Dick would just buckle down and race, he would have won most, if not all, the races. I mean, the guy kept getting in the lead! Quite clearly, his car is fast enough to overtake the other racers. So why does he keep losing? Because he was too focused on the people behind him, and not enough on the finish line in front of him.

These 2 examples are very good lessons for us in living life. Paul describes life as a race (Heb 12:1-3, 2 Tim 4:7). The world describes the working world as 'the rat race'. Quite clearly, we are all running races, figuratively or symbolically.

So if we are running a race, that means we are all runners. And runners are only focused on 1 thing: to reach the finish line. Their eyes are on the tape that marks that they are done. And until they reach that line, they do not stop, they do not break. They don't look to the left, nor to the right. They also can't afford to look behind. All they are focused on is: forward.

Just like the blinkers on a horse, it's there to focus the horse on the job of pulling the cart/carriage forward. He's not allowed to look left or right, lest he gets distracted. Then the cart will topple, the carriage will spill its passengers. But having the blinkers on means his view is restricted. He's not able to see much, only forward. Just like a runner can only look forward, he can't see the fans, the officials, nobody and nothing.

So in life, focus and commitment is necessary but it also involves a price. When we see the finish line, everything else becomes immaterial. We will have to let go of some stuff. We can't afford to get sidetracked. It means giving up some stuff, whatever that does not bring us closer to that line. ¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. - Hebrews 12:1 (emphasis added)

God has called us to focus on Him. He is looking for someone who will commit him/herself to the cause. You see, to do great things for God is very simple: just say yes when God asks. Volunteer, submit. God doesn't have any prerequisite for His tasks. Why would He need? After all, all that we do is by the power of the Holy Spirit and by His grace. That's why Christianity is very simple. It all boils down to 1 question: will you obey and follow God in all that He asks of you? Will you run the race, fight the good fight, keep the faith? Life is a race, we have to run, be focus on the finish line. Life is a fight, we need to commit to standing up for God and take the punches. But to do both these things, we need faith in God because only with Him can we actually succeed.

There are only 8 words I tell God and will continue to repeat to Him. But in those 8 words, it means I'm focused on Him, I'm committed.

Here I am, send me. I will go.