A home in this age

While reading the classics it has dawned on me that there was a time where community had its place in the teachings of the children of the age. That because of a common moral, ethical and religious foundation, coupled with a common nursing ground (e.g. The nursery or village) the children grew learning these traits. From a macro viewpoint, a child would essentially be tutoured by default in social and communal ethics, and by the environment learn aspects of religious and communative properties.

Everything that is taught by parents or daycare centers in our age. As a keen result of such a practice, a common child is brought up to understand the world as an entity that is too vast to comprehend rather then a world to explore, with a home base to return to when needed.

This in turn facilitates the propagation of limited post-modernism, where truth is unattainable and everything is relative upon the beholder.

Lost in service

Caught up with some readings today and stumbled on an interesting story about the demon Moloch.

“Set in an obscure village in the mountains, word had been spreading of a demon who had been enslaving the population, demanding from them sacrifices in exchange for peace. A hero from the neighboring castle soon rose to the moment and sought to free this village. However unknown to him, the villagers were never enslaved, rather, they had chosen to be as they were, in order to obtain prosperity. Angered though sadden, the hero made the decision to massacre the townsfolk, cutting down all who were alive. In the end as he returned home, the people of the realm hailed him a champion; a champion who sacrificed himself to walk the darker path in order to pursue what was ‘right’.”

The story intrigued me somewhat, for therein the story several questions were present. First in this existence, is there such a thing as to be dark for the sake of the light? For if therein Light can be propagated by indulging in the dark, what sort of ‘light’ would it be? In accordance to scripture, we have come to know that in the Lord no measure of darkness exists, hence He would never resort to evil to further good, no matter the cost. Even the Christ when tempted in the desert by the enemy to take the shortcuts to His ministry, refused to do so; He sought to do but one thing, to do that which the Father had willed…

And second question, what was the point of the hero’s sacrifice? For he had given himself into the slaying of innocents to stem out what was ‘evil’, the author would then ask at the end, who was he sacrificing for?

Often in life, such is the case, especially for those in the direct service of the Lord. For whenever one loses his focus and ceases to look to the Lord who has called him to walk on the rough waters, only despair, depression and nihilism remains; Man alone has not the capability to solve the root problems of this world, only push it’s inevitability back for a time.

Even right now, have I forgotten whom i serve?

 

 

Leaving the Past behind…

Had my first sharing with the Youth’s today and it was rather interesting, teaching on the topic of original sin, dependence on God and the nature of our own. Funny how using the dark ages as a platform such a topic could be built; yet it was also a time that i would rarely speak off. A time where the corruption and perversion of good had reached such a pinnacle, that light became dark, and the salt and light that Christians were called t, came to mean the opposite of what it was intended.

At such a time as this, the bastions of light became bastions of evil.

How did such an event take place? Simply put, those who were leaders of the church sought to further their own authority, seek power and forgetting that the very position they were in, was given by the Holy God. Therein our initial sin came to surface, self dependence, man being unsatisfied with their portion, sought to be God.

Thinking on it, even in this era, such practices are still prevalent, humans seeking to be financially ‘free’ in order to ‘make’ time to do whatever they want. Or to be independent in order to be ‘free’ from the grasp of parents, from the authority that binds them, from the ‘tyrannical’ grasp of God? If the basic assumption of a word is missing, the entire action of a person will cease to be steered correctly; as though a man without a past who tries to build a present and a future based on fiction. In the end the only future a man would have is one built on air, lacking any roots to firmly hold him in place.

As a people of God, are we starting to build our foundations on things other than the Lord?

For the mind is unable to understand the perfect, hence in our hubris, we define it as lack luster, calling it darkness rather than light. Even the Pharisee’s accused Jesus of casting demons through the authority of demons… a truly human trait. That when one is steeped in his own definition of justice, holiness, righteousness, even the Holy becomes demonic.

Truly, as man, without our link with God, paid in the price of His own blood, we have no future, for we have denied our past.

Random encounter

Had a little food for thought today as i traveled to work. The cab driver was exceptionally talkative today and a simple inquiry into the mooncake festival drove him into a frenzy of reminiscing. Yet it was in such a conversation that sparked an interesting concept.

Lets presume that all that Jesus had taught be the a 100% status bar, at what percentage are we today?

In a short 2-3 decades, society has changed so much. A society of trust and mutual happiness has changed to a concrete jungle, compartments that we call apartments, that segregate us from each other. When we are home, we are in our own dimension, our own kingdom, what we do is our business and what our neighbors do is theirs. For all we know, the only time we do interact with them is IF we see them at the lift lobby, or perhaps at their doors, a simple nod of the head, a brief hand gesture indicating our acknowledgment of their presence. If one may generalize, we do what is most convenient for ourselves.

Or perhaps one may semantically argue that they are but strangers, granted then, lets assume that it is valid (though it is not by the way), look at family. Sisters are no longer sisters, brothers no longer brothers; in the family, they are almost strangers. If apartments segregates family from family, rooms will segregate sibling from sibling. A simple shut of the door and a new ‘world’ is created. No one interacts anymore, unless perhaps it is convenient. A simple nod of the head,  brief hand gesture indicating our acknowledgment of the others presence…

In a simple 30 years, so much has changed… If one had to fully explain the change in society in full detail, i am sure that any sociologist would be able to draft a minor thesis out of it. Yet from a christian standpoint, nay, a disciple of Christ’s standpoint, are we being salt and light to those around us? Or have we excelled at being as the philosopher is, a thermometer of the current age, who while knows the age, is powerless to steer it away from nihilism…

In the end, has the Word of the Lord changed and preserved me, or has this world succeeded in turning me to be part of it’s flow? Have we diluted the Word, interpreting it from the perspective of our experience, imposing our ideas on the author’s ideas rather than spending the effort in understanding the text from the author’s point of view?

Hmm… much to think on i would say today has wrought. What percentage of His teachings are we keeping today?

I (God) will provide… and i mean under any circumstance

Interesting Monday today has been, waking late and succumbing to laziness i rushed out of my home to work. In my haste i hurried a prayer, looked around, spotted another lady waiting further up the road (i would have gotten it first but conscience didn’t allow, she had been waiting longer) and called a cab, only to be stunned when 5-6 empty cabs went by; unable to flag them, due to my idiocy of calling a cab, all i could do was watch and stand in awe…

Such was the lesson for me, in my haste, my strain, i limited what God could do in my mind. I used every human faculty to obtain what i needed though He was but a breathe away, ever close, never far. At the end of that extra $2.50, i felt Him telling that He would provide, regardless of how bleak the situation is, how rushed, how stressed, how impossible everything looked… God isn’t limited to the situation, we end up thinking He is…

^“22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
²³they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”

-Lamentations 3:22-23

Bump on the road

Encountered my first bump on the road today… one that revolves around the issue of pride.

It is interesting at times when due to zeal, one would end up running so fast ahead of the group that it would take another to tell you to slow down, often not too subtly- such was the case for me; for even the most pure of intention, the most innocent of zeal, when left on it’s own, would soon turn to darkness, to self gratification, self worth that leads to self destruction…

Irony never tasted so vivid, for it was only not so long ago that an exposition on the first 4 of the 10 laws was done; the 2nd of which was to not create any idol. Isaiah 44:9-20 then spoke extensively on this topic, citing the irony of how man would use the same material to make the fire to cook his meals to also craft into idols. Ultimately, it is not the god of the air that they worship, but the hands of their own. Such is the world and it’s spirit, for as long as man does not recognize the creator God, anything goes. Chesterton could never have voiced it better when he said,” there are multiple angles with which one can fall, but only one in which he can stand.”

There can only be one God, and surely it can never be man, for man in his depravity corrupts everything he touches, just like King Midas, whose touch turned all to gold. Such is the nature of us humans, for even the most precious of objects, most noble of items, when handled by us and us alone, soon turns to something hateful, a perversion of what has been intended by the creator…

Who then can save us from such a fate?

Thanks be to the creator God, who sent His begotten one, to be a propitiation for us, to bear our depravity and reconcile us with Him.

 

Immanuel

Noon, a time where the sun reaches its highest peak in our sky, where shadows are but a dot on the floor and light at it’s highest.

By and by 3 weeks have gone by and so much has happened; lives being changed, old connections lost, and new ones created… Looking back now, it has been one hell of a ride, and, i survived… True that there are some frayed chords, truer still there are adversaries from my old place of worship setting itself against me.But the fact remains, i. am. still. alive. Not by strength nor by power, but by the mercy and grace of the Lord.

Just a day ago, the shear and stress of the season took an ugly turn, pressures from old and within were stifling, choking, burdening, long has it been since i felt such a strain on the psyche; my mental walls were crumbling, torn to shreds under the constant barrage of the strain. Being in a new place such as this, there was no common soul to speak to, no human counselor, no mentor, no friend i could share anything with- being alone, never weighed heavier…

Yet, it was in also in such a time that the reality of Immanuel becomes so clear. When our siblings become our nemesis, when solitariness becomes a foe, when comfort a stranger, it is in such barren lands that His touch and voice becomes clear; and it is in such a time when logic combines with feelings and with a tinge of faith, is blessed with the miracle of peace.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

-2 Corinthians 12:9b

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Bitter-sweet

“Do not forget the honor and responsibility of one who instructs the lives of the young, teaching them to think, indoctrinating them on the ways to live a measured life, fair, ethical and moral according to the measures of the Lord and His endless grace; yet forget not also the sorrows and pains that shall come, for not all shall love wisdom, or cling to these old ways.”

While musing today in the office over matters, a teacher’s philosophy came to my mind. The night before was spent listening to the joys of a brother; for God, has seemingly answered his wish, he had found a partner to walk alongside him in life. A man of over 20 years, a good soul, a kind soul, has finally found one who would walk along side him, therein lies a measure of joy… if only matters were not made so utterly murky.

She did not share a common faith…

I really wished I had an answer to all this greyness, knowing a certain youth leader from my home church, she would have set the foot and called in the thunder if he were a leader- good for her that life can be so black and white. Un fortunately, it isn’t always so.

The only emotion i had was bitter sweet, happy that he found some one, sad that it was so murky…

At times, truly as Ezekiel once responded to a query by the Lord, “only you know Lord, only you know.” Such an honest and humble reply, for it was one that did not assume anything but the acceptance of His sovereignty… In response to my student, that was all i could say… for who am i to presume that she would not see God through this student’s conduct? And come to fall in love with Him?

Yet the opposite is also true, for at times, doors are opened, not to tempt us, but as a measure for us to see where our allegiance lies; are we able to fully trust our Lord, trusting that He will do what is best in the sight of what is good? For often enough, good, is the nemesis of the best. And oft enough, it is the foreign woman who leads the man astray…

Sigh… the complexities of life that we as humans introduce… though in the end, what is done, is done, as a teacher all that is left is for me to pray, that the best outcome would emerge from this…

Amen

New stuff

4:30am… my alarm rang and warned me that i had to get up soon, i’m expected to arrive by 7am at a place an hour and half away from my home…

5:30am… the first bus arrives and i managed to get on.

5:45am… the train comes and i squeeze with the school crowd to get to my place… i make it, somehow, by 7am…

 

Man… previously at my old pow (place of worship) i felt underused, only to discover at this new one how ‘overwhelming’ it can get; just 4 days into the field and i can already sense and observe the various vibes/philosophies coming from the various staff in the place. Teachers, pastors, staff, lays, the place is running like a body indeed, segregating parts and portions to various work tasks that akin to the generalized mind of a male, are black boxes that do not touch.

Attempting to do so will result in loss of limbs…

The ‘smoked’ screens and metaphorical flash bangs going off all over, silent arrows tipped with the poison of hidden meanings, sniper shots coming from over the hill, subliminal warnings of ‘do not enter’…

Somehow i can’t help but feel that my Lord is getting me to learn as much as i can, in as short amount of time possible; at a glance i does feel overwhelming, yet somehow deep within the dark recess of my mind a voice speaks,” this is gonna be fun…”

Weirdly still, in a random article i was reading i stumbled upon this, “I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” an excerpt from Matthew 11:30 (msg)

God truly speaks in unexpected moments…