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Having a personal relationship with God is great… it’s probably the best feeling there is… but you shouldn’t think that your life serving God stops there. Praying to the Lord and cultivating a productive and effective prayer time IS NOT enough… remember, it isn’t ever about YOU… it never should be. It’s all about HIM. What does He desire for all of us? It is for us to strive hard to become disciples… followers… to become instruments of blessing and to be fishers of men.
Our mission here on Earth is not just to know God… not just to understand His word… not just to connect with our Creator… it is to be a part of something far far greater than ourselves… to be able to spread the Good News to every corner of the world. To let Christ be known everywhere. In our own little way, we can minister and share God’s love to others… be it your neighbor, your classmate, your friend, officemates, even your enemy.
Has God touched you in a special way? Has he performed miracles in your life? Perhaps, a blessing or provisions that he has showered upon you? If so, don’t keep it to yourself… share your story, chronicle it and testify as to how the Lord has changed your life… let every event in your life serve as a means to glorify God… every event… everything. Yes, everything… including your struggles.
How you may ask?
By overcoming these difficulties through God’s grace and power, people can see how the Lord works in your life… ultimately, it is the Lord who is lifted up and glorified. Through every achievement, every recognition… praise Him. Praise God for everything that comes your way… fade into the shadows and let Him be the one to take center stage.
Serve Him with all your heart. Put Him ahead of everything else… regardless of how important other matters may be to you… nothing but nothing comes first BUT the Lord. Especially when he calls upon you to serve… or to act upon something. You’ll never know when He’ll seek to use you but when He does… we should all be ready to drop everything and respond faithfully. This is where we are tested. Can you actually do it? Really? What if you’re supposed to work on something that client requires which is supposed to merit you a substantial financial gain in return? Can you forego something like that to heed God’s call?
Worldly thinking would consider this to be stupid. What if I desperately need the cash? What if client gets mad? What if my boss doesn’t understand? What if…? What if…?
Don’t expect them to understand… just simply follow the Lord. Blind faith. Total surrender. Godly surrender. Respond.
As the Good News says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all else shall be given you besides”. Nothing… nothing else comes first. Do not allow anyone to tell you otherwise. Individuals inclined to worldly thinking would be quick to disagree… naturally. Worldly ideals… matters and crooked morals that have been embedded into our culture and materialistic way of life would be quick to question how one can sustain a life of true discipleship.
But it IS more than possible. It is life’s best reality. And it is only ultimately comprehended once you actually engage in the practice of this kind of surrender.
The first step is always the hardest… but the Lord asks this of us all.
To blindly surrender all worldly norms… and live under the norms of true Godly spirituality.
The norm under which the Lord intended for all of us to live by.
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It’s true that you can’t realize how fortunate you are in spite of all the hardships and trials you go through… UNTIL you see others who are in worse situations than what you’re in.
You think the world has conspired against you… that the walls around you are crumbling… that you cannot bear any more problems than what you are already trying to endure.
I have been recently serving at “Elim Missions”… and Rosario, Cavite has been the location assigned to me. This has been a total eye-opener and an awakening experience.
Let me just tell you… things are pretty bad over there. The conditions that most of our dwellers are living in is just terrible! Each child over there has his/her own story to tell… mostly sad and tragic ones. Elim Rosario dwellers mostly come from “Dreamland”… a huge dumpsite area that also doubles as a home for poverty-stricken families and individuals. As if that wasn’t enough, their area is completely devoid of electricity and clean water.
Over at the church where we hold our services, these kids would usually gather around us and play with us. Try carrying them once and hold them in your arms… you’d soon notice that they literally don’t want to let go. You can tell that they lack a great amount of love and attention from their parents and relatives.
I met this one kid, 13 years old, in the care of the parish priest of that town… he saw his father shot to death in front of him… his mother soon after joined another man… and he’s been maltreated and frequently thrown out the window by his stepfather… totally abandoned and forgotten by his mother.
Seems like a scene right out of a tragic drama movie, right?
Funny how we complain about so many things… petty things most of the time, in fact… no soda, no time for a coffee break, bad airconditioning, a low-end cellphone, soiled clothes, a banged-up car… things like that. And we think that life has conspired against us to put us in the situation we’re in.
We are so caught up with ourselves that we become oblivious to what happens around us. It’s all a matter of perspective…
Look around you… the reason you’re probably able to read this blog entry is because you either have your own computer and Internet connection, surfing in the comforts of your own home… or you’re seated in an Internet cafe and can afford to pay the hourly surfing fee to check your mail. Either way, you’re better off than most of the kids I’ve been meeting during our mission service… way better.
So, if you’re one who loves to sulk in your own private corner, feeling pity on yourself… thinking of how you can’t seem to comprehend life’s “so called” injustices on you… try reevaluating your situation through the eyes of those kids who would do anything just to have a little taste of the life YOU ARE IN.
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It recently was the first Saturday of December and my kids are well aware that every first Saturday of the month means that it’s “Kidz Life” time! The gathering started a bit earlier than the previous months (about an hour ahead).
Kidz Life, for those wondering what it is, is actually a praise and worship assembly made just for kids. They sing songs, dance, participate in different activities and learn more about God.
Earlier, they sang a few joyous Christmas songs, they created cute paper candles with a birthday greeting to Jesus which they pasted to a big paper cake.
Here are some pics and videos of my kids during the recent event…
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Fellowship and Community, to me, can be likened to an intense blazing fire… while it’s people are the flame’s embers. It is vital that we, the members of community, stay within that fire… it is what keeps our hearts burning for God.
No one can maintain such an intense zeal all by his/her lonesome… a person needs to belong to a fellowship… a group of individuals gathered for the same purpose.
You feed off of one another… you share experiences… you lift each other up.
Take away an ember from the fire and the ember’s glow diminishes slowly… similar to a person taken away from community and fellowship for long stretches of time.
In order to maintain that zeal and enthusiasm, one needs to be part of active community worship and service.
I thank the Lord that I found my family at . My KG (Koinonia Group) buddies in “Disciple 1″ have always been there for me as we all have for one another. I always look forward to our gatherings and actively participate in sharing and discussions. It brings me great great joy to praise and worship the Lord every day!
I enjoy prayer time… I love talking about God… I look forward to Sunday Mass every week. It’s the most wonderful feeling I have ever experienced.
Looking back now, I seem to wonder how I survived not belonging and actively participating in any community in the past.
All I know now is that, I am never going back to my old life…
I found God… in a very personal way… and boy, does it feel great!
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Most people I get into conversations with normally say that the path towards righteousness is easy…
I say, “If the path of faith on which you are taking towards purity is considered ‘light’ and ‘easygoing’, then most likely the way that you have been traversing has been riddled with compromise.”
I am still at what I consider to be, the “infant stages” of my journey towards God’s finish line. I know very well what lies ahead… the struggles and challenges that must be overcome along the way… yet the rewards of obedience are far greater than anyone’s imagination could fathom.
I look forward to this journey… I am excited. I happily anticipate each obstacle… for these hurdles further prove my resolve and conviction to follow my Savior.
To walk forward with the Lord… no compromise.
