yesterday i met up with huiying for shepherding.. then she was sharing with me about the book that she has been reading.. it's 'Mere Christianity' by C. S. Lewis.. a very famous Christian literature, i would say.. a question that was brought was that if you are contented with life and that's good enough for you, and you even think that you are actually quite a good person.. and maybe religion means nothing to you.. so why must you believe in a God?
i have heard it more than once from the friends around me.. lol.. as we were talking about it, it strikes us that why is it much easier for people who are the so called bad people to receive Christ.. actually, it is pretty much simple.. cos they recognise the fact that they are not worthy of what Jesus did for them cos of their sins.. however for people for think they are good enough and contented with life, they never thought of how sinful and how unworthy they are.. and that Christianity is just another religion that people go for to make themselves feel better.. so sad rite? i may have been one of them actually.. cos my life is rather normal.. not very rich or very good.. but it is not that bad afterall.. and i am quite in my studies.. i think if circumstances never hit me and make me see God is real in my life.. i think i would be like them too.. as humans we all like to be in control of things or to say as many things as we can.. not wrong cos God made us to rule and reign with Him in the first place.. but are we trying too hard to take control of things that we couldn't possibly take control of? God wants us to rule and reign with Him not on our own cos He knows we are not capable to do that on our own.. only when Jesus is in us and with us then can we do it..
"26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." "
-Genesis 1:26-29-
"4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.""
- John 15:4-6-
frankly, after knowing God and experienced Him working in my life.. i can't comprehend the kind of life that i am going to lead without Him.. maybe it is good and normal.. but i don't want to settle for just that.. i want the best and i know only He can give me the best.. if you have the best, why settle for second best or just good enough?
in fact, God knows about us wanting to settle for what we already have.. He even knows that it is going to be very hard for people who have great wealths in life or great achievements in life to want to accept Him into their lives..
16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 18 "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' " 20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
- Matthew 19:16-24-
why pursue all these riches, achievements, relationships and so called happiness, knowing that at the end of the day, there is nothing that you can bring away with you when you die? and at the end of the day, how are you feeling? lonely? sad? a void that has always been there but never exactly filled? no matter how hard we try to find means and ways to fill it? i have been there done that.. i don't say i am not happy for some time, i was indeed.. it was just a fleeting feeling that i have.. looking deep i only found myself with nothing and all alone.. everything is just a chasing of the wind.. even the most wise on earth, Solomon said that..
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 2:10-11-
so because of God's love for us, He don't want to see us like that anymore.. so He sent Jesus down to identify with us, die for our sins and give us a life to the full..
"God so love the world that He gave His Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life"
- John 3:16-
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
- John 10:10b-
"14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
- Hebrews 4:14-16-
just something to ponder about..
Don't settle for second best if you can get the best!
Love,
Naomi
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