Monday, February 28, 2005
You know how we all sort of "know" the answers to everything? You know what i mean - when someone is in trouble and having a hard time, you say "All things work for the good of those who love Him", and when someone is weary we go "For those who wait upon the Lord shall soar on wings like eagles", and when we have problems with trusting God, we tell people "God's plan is the best, leave it in His hands"...
I got a news flash for you - all those don't work. Really. Take it from someone who's been down and is (sort of) on his way back up again. The LAST THING i wanted to hear when i was down was that "all things work for the good etc". It doesn't help the situation, and it's sure doesn't stop the pain. All these textbooks answers are only good in the textbook.
You know what really helped? when people came up and "sat" beside me, to listen to me. when people showed they cared. when people gave me practical (and Christian) advice, without all those verses that seriously didn't have any impact. (not that the Bible isn't a comfort - it's just annoying when people tell you things but they don't have a basis and they're just spouting it off the tops of their minds) The most help i received was from someone who had been through exactly the same thing that i was, and someone else who is going through the same thing too!
But it spoke to me especially - we know all the textbook answers, we know all the right things. But do our lives reflect them? Do we live them out? It's so easy (especially with the education system here in Singapore) to simply vomit everything in our heads back out. People who like concepts instead of memory work, like me, have a hard time doing that in real life.
Stop spewing out answers. Stop quoting without meaning. Don't reach heaven and let Jesus say He doesn't know you.
One Life. Live it.
simply jon.pondered @ 8:19 am
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