Sometimes I feel like God is trying to give me a gift, but I won't accept it because I am too caught up with what the world thinks. In the society we live in, it is normal for people to try a few different options before committing to anything. In fact, it's actually wise to do that. For Christians, a lot of people like to church hop. They visit different churches and fellowships until they find one that they feel they can gain the most out of, whether it be in community support, spiritual growth, or other aspects. And that is all fine and dandy. When a person arrives in a new city, it is good to visit a few churches and find one that he/she feels most comfortable in. Then there are those who leave because they feel like their church is lacking something that their ideal church should have. Their church just isn't doing it, the pastor's sermons aren't great, the bible studies aren't invigorating, the fellowships are lacking spiritual depth.
Lately I've been thinking about this concept of being a servant to others as a Christian. And the point is that we are here to serve, but not be served by others. I remember Iris, our retreat speaker, telling us that she senses the men in our fellowship are a little less mature than the women. This is something that we are all aware of. The women in our fellowship are older, have mostly finished their post-sec education or are doing grad studies. They are smart and well accomplished. The men in our fellowship are younger (generally), many still doing undergrad and at that stage in their lives where they're figuring out what they want to do with their lives. Fang made a joke that if the guys and the girls in our fellowships switched ages, education background/jobs, we'd have a lot of married couples by now. And before I always wondered why this was and wished things could be a little more balanced. But slowly I am starting to think that God gathers a certain group of people together for a reason. Isn't it true that God works for the good out of all things? I believe that I (that we) are to embrace what we are given by God and focus on how we can make the best out of what we have, instead of wishing that things were different, were better, and that the "grass is greener on the other side."
I know God has brought me to this church, to this fellowship, and to be with these people. If we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, God being the parent, then we are not able to choose our siblings, but to love them as we've been commanded. It is important to pray for God's empowerment so that we are able to best support and serve those around us. Again, it comes back to prayer, prayer, prayer. Tonight after finishing a conversation with a friend that had somewhat gone sour, I felt helpless as I felt the rising anger take over me. Then, I said a prayer. It didn't work, I was still mad. But after a few minutes, the anger actually subsided and I was able to admit to myself of my own faulty sayings in that conversation. This goes back to what I was saying about prayer, it is powerful, it is important. It is through prayer that we find strength in our weaknesses. It is in prayer that we find God. Let's continue to pray feverishly for our church, and for our fellowships, and for our families, and for the world, and .... the list goes on ;o)
Lately I've been thinking about this concept of being a servant to others as a Christian. And the point is that we are here to serve, but not be served by others. I remember Iris, our retreat speaker, telling us that she senses the men in our fellowship are a little less mature than the women. This is something that we are all aware of. The women in our fellowship are older, have mostly finished their post-sec education or are doing grad studies. They are smart and well accomplished. The men in our fellowship are younger (generally), many still doing undergrad and at that stage in their lives where they're figuring out what they want to do with their lives. Fang made a joke that if the guys and the girls in our fellowships switched ages, education background/jobs, we'd have a lot of married couples by now. And before I always wondered why this was and wished things could be a little more balanced. But slowly I am starting to think that God gathers a certain group of people together for a reason. Isn't it true that God works for the good out of all things? I believe that I (that we) are to embrace what we are given by God and focus on how we can make the best out of what we have, instead of wishing that things were different, were better, and that the "grass is greener on the other side."
I know God has brought me to this church, to this fellowship, and to be with these people. If we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, God being the parent, then we are not able to choose our siblings, but to love them as we've been commanded. It is important to pray for God's empowerment so that we are able to best support and serve those around us. Again, it comes back to prayer, prayer, prayer. Tonight after finishing a conversation with a friend that had somewhat gone sour, I felt helpless as I felt the rising anger take over me. Then, I said a prayer. It didn't work, I was still mad. But after a few minutes, the anger actually subsided and I was able to admit to myself of my own faulty sayings in that conversation. This goes back to what I was saying about prayer, it is powerful, it is important. It is through prayer that we find strength in our weaknesses. It is in prayer that we find God. Let's continue to pray feverishly for our church, and for our fellowships, and for our families, and for the world, and .... the list goes on ;o)
1 comment:
well said, I like what you say about prayers, God does answer them, that being said, I'm going to start my prayer book :)
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