Posts
Reading the newspaper article recently made me wonder what the world has become. I believe this is the 5th case that I read so far about another teenager opening fire in his campus within a year! What actually happened? Was it his upbringing? Or has life been undervalued & taken for granted? One wonders if it was the immense pressure within the killer, the rejection and/or abuse that he faced that contributed to this senseless & cold blooded shooting. It’s almost as if an invisible, pervasive & uncontrollable force overwhelmed him that day & dragged him out for a murder spree.
When reports like these surfaced before you repeatedly, I cannot help but wonder if evil has triumphed & goodness forgotten. It reminded me immediately about the parable of the wheat vs weeds. The parable did not answer why the weeds were allowed to grow together with the wheat but it pointed us to the final result – the wheat will be gathered while the weeds will be uprooted & thrown out. This morning, like similar ones that I have witnessed previously, I am once again reminded of the goodness that continues to exist. While commuting in a crowded train to work, I witnessed a young lady giving up her seat to a pregnant woman. It is little daily actions like these that reminded me that goodness, with her soft, unnoticed, little voice, still prevails. For every bad report publicised in the media, there are probably 10 other good deeds that have gone unnoticed.
There are often a few theories when it comes to Christ's Incarnation. Some believed that there's so much stuborn-ness & irreparable evil/damage in the world that God has to activate His Plan B - to send His only Son to earth to redeem us. Another advocated that God made the world and proclaimed that "it was good" (Genesis). It was so good that He has to come & dwell in His creation, to live among them, to proclaim His kingdom is in their midst. um...let us pause & entertain this thought for a moment. Is it far-fetched? Can we accept this as a possibility and truth? The kingdom is already here?! It's within & with-out us. I only need to see & realise that. And the scary sequeal to it, is this : I got to start living/behaving like I am in the kingdom! Christ came to show us how to start living - in every literal sense. To give us life to the fullest. And I am capable of every good/bad deed. Every day, I'm challenged to be the herald of good/bad news. The kingdom of God begins with me. The choice is mine to make.
When reports like these surfaced before you repeatedly, I cannot help but wonder if evil has triumphed & goodness forgotten. It reminded me immediately about the parable of the wheat vs weeds. The parable did not answer why the weeds were allowed to grow together with the wheat but it pointed us to the final result – the wheat will be gathered while the weeds will be uprooted & thrown out. This morning, like similar ones that I have witnessed previously, I am once again reminded of the goodness that continues to exist. While commuting in a crowded train to work, I witnessed a young lady giving up her seat to a pregnant woman. It is little daily actions like these that reminded me that goodness, with her soft, unnoticed, little voice, still prevails. For every bad report publicised in the media, there are probably 10 other good deeds that have gone unnoticed.
There are often a few theories when it comes to Christ's Incarnation. Some believed that there's so much stuborn-ness & irreparable evil/damage in the world that God has to activate His Plan B - to send His only Son to earth to redeem us. Another advocated that God made the world and proclaimed that "it was good" (Genesis). It was so good that He has to come & dwell in His creation, to live among them, to proclaim His kingdom is in their midst. um...let us pause & entertain this thought for a moment. Is it far-fetched? Can we accept this as a possibility and truth? The kingdom is already here?! It's within & with-out us. I only need to see & realise that. And the scary sequeal to it, is this : I got to start living/behaving like I am in the kingdom! Christ came to show us how to start living - in every literal sense. To give us life to the fullest. And I am capable of every good/bad deed. Every day, I'm challenged to be the herald of good/bad news. The kingdom of God begins with me. The choice is mine to make.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
~ Anne Frank
No comments:
Post a Comment