Monday, September 18, 2006
School is problematic. It resembles workers labouring on a hot, sweaty day as though without a purpose. Church, on the other hand, is a place of peace and complete happiness with fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ. That is the picture I had established in my mind since young.
However, that picture had started to change gradually over the last couple of years. Yet I had been blind to see it until recently. Was it intentional? The answer might just be too obvious and cutting to the heart. If not for some recent events and a fellow brother, I might just have carried on in intentional ignorance to what is happening.
The last YP lesson we had was on [Reaching out to others]. With Uncle AhBeng overseas, William at Depot Walk and YJ in the land of dunno-where, it was up to JinLong to lead in the lesson. Things started to get out of hand as we started to form little conversations among ourselves and people (NO NAMES!) started to say and do things that would not usually be said or done in a bible study lesson. As the cruel remarks start to surface, I was wondering at the back of my mind:
What must God be thinking now? How does He feel?
A question was then posed by a by-now-fuming-inside-but-not-showing-it JinLong: Are you leading lives that are different from in church?
Even I find myself answering a feeble yes. As I see many others around me giving the same answer, I see how God must have been feeling at that point and understood why it rained on Saturday.
How are we supposed to go out and share the good news of salvation, when our lives show that we are like everyone else?
A brother told me recently about how situations were getting worse, actually reaching the point of cruelty. Jokes and remarks being made without regard for a person's feelings. Is that how God really meant for us to live?
Each time it rains, think about it..
posted at 9:12 PM