Love them like Jesus

2008 has been ups and downs for me so far. goodness, and it's only halfway through january.

but it's true. there's so many things going on in my life right now. and certain things just seem so broken. and it really really hurts.

it's not just me. i know others who are going through so much too. and i just can't help but ask God - why??

why are we going through all these?
why do we find it so hard to love one another?
why are things so broken? why are situations so discouraging?
why do we seem so lost?
why? why? why?

but there seems to be no "correct" answer to it all. God never gave me a clear "because..." and that makes me keep wondering and it keeps getting more and more frustrating. in the end, i just want to give up all together.

but in the end i realize, if we keep asking "why" we never really get anywhere. instead, it should be committing circumstances and everything unto God and asking Him what he wants us to do. but it's not so easy, i admit.

it's not that we do not know what God wants us to do, it's more like we rather choose not to do it.

we know we should love others more, love them like how Jesus loves us and them. but can you honestly say, you are showing God's love through your life to the people around you? to the people who hurt you and who irritate you? who back stab you or go against you? it's really not easy to love everyone.

Love for Enemies (Luke 6:27-36)

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

but this is what Jesus is asking us to do. the passage talks about loving our enemies. but somehow, it seems like we're not even loving and caring for the people around us, our friends, our classmates, our families, even other christians. how can we love our enemies, if even the people who we're with everyday, we don't show love to? is this obeying what God is asking us to do? i don't think so.

this is just a small part, there's so much more. and i'm sure all of it hurts God so much too, it breaks His heart. and it breaks mine too. what Jesus did on the cross for us, that love is so amazing and so wonderful, that love paid the price for the sins of man, that love sets us free! why then are we not sharing this great love with others? why then are our lives not showing this love of Christ?

it all boils down to our own decisions in the end. and for me, i want to start by trying to love and care for others more. to love them like how Jesus loves me. not easy, but i've got to start somewhere.

Dear Lord,
help me to love others, the way You love me.

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

Casting Crowns - If We Are The Body

byebye 2007, hello 2008

the year has passed by so quickly. all in all, i had lots of memories in 2007. there were the good ones and there were the painful ones. there were so many moments in 2007.

it felt like one crazy roller coaster ride! there were ups, the downs and the 360 degrees turns.

at times i felt so close to God and other times so discouraged and distant, it hurt so much.

i won't say i am satisfied with the way i lived my life in 2007, i did and said things i regretted. i felt i was a hypocrite at times and it was such a hard thing to bear.

but i would say, 2007 has taught me a lot. i've seen so much of God's amazing grace and unending love, His forgiveness. it has at times comforted me and other times broken my heart.

i thank God for the people God has brought into my life. the encouragement and prayers they gave. God really pulled me through the year. with SPM, leading the CF, the demises of loved ones, farewells, etc.

2008 is going to be so different from the past year. for one thing, i don't go back to school in january. i'm going to NS in march and i'm going back in june for Form 6.

it marks another phase of my life. and i really don't know what to expect at times. so uncertain. yet i am assured that God is going to be with me through it all. and that in itself is a promise i know i can hold on to.

Dear Lord,
Thanks for bringing me through 2007.
this year, 2008, i pray that i will walk closer to You.
help me through the times of change,
and the times i feel uncertain and lost.
i commit the new year into Your hands.