If we have difficulty loving someone, chances are that’s because we are starting from the wrong source: ourselves.
The perfect starting point is to draw from the love of God to us, then with hearts touched and afire, the supernatural outflow would be compassion to others.
Jesus also gave this principle on forgiveness. In the parable of the ungrateful servant, a king forgave a wretched servant of 10,000 talents, therefore the expectation is for that servant to forgive a fellow servant of a comparative few amount.
The best vantage point to love the unlovable is to realize that, objectively speaking, we would be unlovable to God because of our inner filth and mess, but He lavishes His favor on us to the point of sending His Son to the Cross for us.
Once we have tasted this kind of unmerited favor, it would be unthinkable for us to withhold the same affection to those we think don’t deserve it.
Have a great workweek ahead!
Here’s another mystery. In Philippians 2:13, we read that it is God who works within us to will and to act to fulfill His good purpose.
Now have you noticed something astounding? Even our desire and intention to be good come from God.
It is a bit humbling. We may pride ourselves as decent, compassionate, law-abiding people. Some may even go as far as thinking God is lucky to have good folks like us. But even our goodness is by God’s grace.
I’m not a theologian, but some doctrines give me the impression that if we are left to ourselves, we will inevitably degenerate into immoral brutes and it is only by God’s hand that we are not so. Can you imagine how civilization as we know it would be impossible?
Yet the parallel truth is that we are responsible for our actions and if we extend correctly, our moral inclinations.
Therefore, let no one say God “owes” us – whether an earthly blessing or passage into Heaven – because we love doing good. Even that love is from God and as in everything else, all goes back to His good purposes.
For that, our only response is worship, awe and humility.
Have a magnificent Monday!
The conventional wisdom is that our thinking shapes our behavior (thus habits, then destiny).
But today’s passage carries the insightful detail of what channels your thinking. Romans 8:6 pointedly says that our minds can be governed either by our flesh or the Spirit.
If our minds are ruled by the flesh (usually interpreted as our sinful, self-driven nature) then we will reap death. What the death exactly means, we can explore in another venue.
But for now, let’s look at the other side of the contrast. If our minds are ruled by God’s Spirit, we will enjoy life and peace.
Therefore, imagine your mind as a train running down a track and ahead is a fork, and there’s a switch that will make the train go to the left or to the right, where will you pull the switch?
In the same way, choose where your train of thought (pun intended) will go. Will it be towards destructive patterns of desires and living, or will it be towards obedience to God with life and peace as the destination?
Mind our minds and everything should follow.
Have a great weekend ahead!
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).
I love this. While many people (notably parents and teachers) think they can lecture others to become wise, the reality is that wisdom is more caught than taught.
I learned a lot of wisdom from observing how wise people conduct their business, make decisions, deal with difficult people, and so on.
But here’s the thing. It is not really true that we learn from experience. It is reflecting on that experience that yields lessons and principles, the cumulative body being wisdom. In fact, wisdom involves both insight and teachability.
Practical application? Hang around with wise people: folks you look up to, men and women of godly purpose, those whom you can count as mentors.
Conversely, stay away from toxic and twisted-logic crowds, they will dumb you down and thus drag you down.
Be ever hungry for wisdom, know where to look for it, and how to process experience to live that beautiful life you seek. TGIF!
Today’s passage, Psalm 23:3, ends with a counter-intuitive angle.
One may assume it will read “[God] restores my soul, He guides me in paths of righteousness for MY sake.” But interestingly, it ends with “for HIS NAME’S sake.”
We all heard sermons where they sound as if we are the center of the universe, that yes God is good and He is good to us because we are precious.
That is gloriously true, but a higher truth is that EVERYTHING God does is ultimately for His glory. Yes, He loves the world so much that He gave us Jesus (John 3:16).
But before we get to be puffed up in our self-importance, passages like Ephesians 1:6 put our perspective in place: our salvation is for the praise of His grace.
Therefore, one prayer is to appeal to God’s glory, not ours. “Lord, please do this not for my sake but for Your name’s sake. It’s ultimately Your glory that I’m after.”
It sounds like we’re manipulating God or using some arm-twisting persuasion technique, but it boils down to our true motivation.
Nothing wrong with asking something for our need, but just think: if God will not grant that request because (in His mind) it will not serve the purpose of glorifying Him, will you still ask for it? And will we still seek that His reputation be magnified?
Have a thoughtful prayer life today!
This passage (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) does not explain why God allows affliction or suffering. But it does reveal God’s — to use a modern term – empathy. God is ready, willing and able to comfort those who are suffering but turning to Him.
And here’s an extra dimension. God comforts us that we may comfort others with the same comfort we got from God. Not the comfort we usually give – a cheer up here, a pep talk there – but the comfort that we are heard and we matter.
In one sense, the answer to why God would allow suffering is to show the world what difference God Himself makes, as we can see in one suffering with God’s comfort and others suffering without God being involved at all.
I do hope this helps those who are still wrestling with the classic problem of pain and evil. Have a good day!
Have you an experience like this? You’re dead tired. You went to a vacation or you just enjoyed a great movie, but after that, you still feel tired.
That’s because there is physical rest and soul rest, the latter being deeper and can’t be resolved by physical means.
Sometimes it comes from being so busy that you wonder what is the point of it all.
Sometimes it is an existential angst: whether you matter or not.
Sometimes it is this stubborn sorrow, as if you don’t deserve to be happy.
All these would be the weariness Jesus talked about when He gave His famous promise “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest”.
The weariness is deep and mysterious, but Jesus gave one offer: Himself. He spreads His arms wide to welcome those who seek the soul-rest we desperately crave.
Purpose? Come to Him.
Self-worth? Come to Him.
Joy? Come to Him.
And yes, that offer still stands for you and me.
One of my favorite expressions is “Oh, I learned something new today.” Each new discovery comes with a burst of delight, as if I were a child all over again.
Truth be told, I am using maybe 20% of what I learned in college. And 80% of what I know to lead a successful career, I picked them up on the job, as I go through life, and from others.
Now I am not saying you dump all what you learned at school. But the reality is that we have to be lifelong learners if we are to flourish in our chosen profession. Here are some principles to keep in mind:
1. Change is the norm, not the exception.
I still remember my first cellphone. It was this bulky unit that looked more like a military walkie-talkie… complete with antennae!
Then over a span of few years, cell phones got smaller and cheaper. What used to be a status symbol for the rich is now available even to domestic helpers. Needless to say, I threw away my walkie-talkie… I mean, cellphone.
Therefore, always be aware that change is happening around us. Some are rather obvious, while others can be so subtle that they hit us before we know it. Some can be comparatively trivial, while others can be game-changers.
We may not be able to keep track of every change that is happening around us, but the first step is to live on the premise that what works today may be obsolete tomorrow.
2. Be ready to unlearn.
A sage was once asked why there are people who resist change even if it’s for their own good. The sage replied, “Because they still believe they’re right.”
Thus, change is not merely appealing to reason or logic. One may intellectually agree that a new way is better. But because he tends to decide on what makes him feel happy, correct or secure, he would still stick to the old way.
Yet the price for not learning is usually steeper than the discomfort of unlearning. In practical terms, the penalty may be a stagnant career, wasted resources, missed opportunities, even going out of business.
Once we understand this principle, we are ready to unlearn. The promise is that it is better to go through the discomfort now and reap the benefits later, rather than staying in our comfort zones but pay a higher price of needless difficulties later.
More in the next post. Meantime, what have you discovered lately?
August 21, 2023
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