As You Are

And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy. Luke 15:5

He sets him on his shoulders with great joy.

No judgmental words were spoken. No scanner to run through the lost soul. He does not inspect the once was lost and now is found. Does it have what it takes to belong to the flock again? Does it have the same wool after it has gone in it’s own way? How much he has changed in his unfruitful journey?

No interrogation was conducted. Why did you leave? Where have you gone? Don’t you know the way back home? Why did you not call or scream? No light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Only light coming from the Shepherd’s heart radiating on the found.

There was no quarantine needed. No need to wait for waiting hours. No need to fill up clearance papers before going in. The lost sheep gains full access again, not only to the flock but to the Shepherd. The wanderer wonders, “After all, I’ve done and have gone. My Shepherd opens his arms, opens his heart.”

He just puts him near him. He just lifts him up, together with his spirit. He carries him like never before so the sheep knows he is welcome. His search all shadowed with joy, great joy.

Such is our Shepherd, Lord Jesus Christ.

Whatever you are when he found you. Whoever you are where he set his eyes on you. He is just joyful he found you.

He will carry you back. He will take you, as you are.

Amnesia

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. Isaiah 49:15

It was a deliberate short-term amnesia.

I left my mother as I marched down to my high school graduation. I was one of the students getting honors and my mother came to march with me. I did not call her out that the entrance ceremony was about to begin. She made her dress by herself for this day. She prepared for my big day. She was proud of me but I guess I’m not of her. I marched down alone as my classmates held hands with their fathers or mothers.

I got the hardest scolding of my life after that. She was trembling with anger that I deliberately forgot about her. She was asking for explanation why I did what I did but I had no reason for my fault against her. And she has every reason to forget that I am her son.

But she did not. She continued to be my mother. She blessed me every day after that. She gave me life’s insights through her words and actions. She cared for me up until her last breath on her bed. She did not forget.

Just like God.

How many times you have deliberately have forgotten about him? When it is high time that you hold his hand, and declare he is with you, you turn your head to the other direction, clasp your own hand and forget to call his name. There were times, publicly, you have shunned association with this living God who loves you and cares for you.

Yet, this is the same God who stays with you and stays being your loving God. He is the same God who blesses your days and guides you to lead you to a prosperous life, a future and a hope. A God whose tender love gets you through the difficult times. A God who continues to remember his faithfulness in the midst of your unfaithfulness. A God who remembers to pull you out of the deep waters whenever you focus on the winds rather than on him. A God who will stand up for you and with you when people around you are about to stone you. He never forgets you. He will never forget you.

He got no amnesia.

Ripple

Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. Luke 5:29

It’s unstoppable and contagious.

Levi heard Jesus’ invitation and followed him. He left his post. He left everything.

At the next scene, Luke tells us that Jesus and Levi having dinner. But they were not alone. They are with a large crowd of tax collectors and others. Imagine a large table for a large crowd.

Jesus called one sinful man. One sinful man who left everything for him. Next minute, a large crowd is eating with him. What is this?

It’s like a tiny water drop in the ocean creating a wave, not just an ordinary wave, but a huge wave enough to put a liner in one direction. Like a puff in the wind developing into a typhoon ready to swarm and blow a city. It cascades. It rippled.

These large crowd may have heard about Jesus. News may have reach them about his teachings, his healing touch and his invitation. Or they heard about their long time colleague Levi just resigned, left everything and offered his life on earth in following Jesus. They may be curious on how a man like Levi gets an invitation despite his life as a public knowledge.

I say the large crowd heard both. They heard about the Master and the follower. They got hold of the invitation and the response, how Jesus welcomes a sinner and how a sinner can become a saint. They may have realized no sin can separate Jesus’ love and the sinner.

May you be like Levi, hear and heed Jesus’ call to follow and leave everything for him. Let the people hear about Jesus and your changed life. That you, who is like a tiny drop of water or a puff in the air, may create that huge wave and that gusty wind.

Let it ripple.

 

 

Unfamiliar

…and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

I woke up in an unfamiliar place.

Once a month, we go down to New Jersey to attend our community’s prayer meeting. To cut cost on hotel, my family sleeps over a brother and sister’s home before or after the meetings. We sleep in their comfortable basement yet every time I wake up in the morning, I get this unfamiliarity. I have to take my whole bag to the bathroom, which I don’t do at home. I come up to their breakfast table wondering where will I get my tea or food which I usually and easily does in our kitchen back home. In all these unfamiliarity, I get to miss our home.

He woke up in an unfamiliar place.

Manger. Hays and horses. Lowly shepherds and wise men mixing it up. Teenage mother bearing him in her arms. Carpenter father looking with amazement. This is the first sight of Jesus’ eyes. Unfamiliar.

He is King, now he is an infant. He is worshiped day and night, now he is in the middle of a dark cold night. He tells angels to come here and there, now he is dependent on his earthly parents. He has a Father who created the universe, the world, everything, now he has a father who creates something out of wood.

Let me tell you why he is in this unfamiliar place. For him to become familiar to you. He came to that unfamiliar place to come near to you for you to know him and love him. He came to that unfamiliar place for you to know how much he will go to express his love for you.

Wake up!

Losing and Finding

The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” John 5:13-14

He lost Jesus but Jesus found him.

He will surely lose Jesus for he did not know who healed him. He was not walking and was lying on his mat for thirty-eight years yet when he was healed by Jesus, he did not take note who healed him. Maybe the healing was instant. Maybe it was too fast for him. Maybe it was too fast for him. Maybe he was focus on the healing and not on the healer. As the crowd ate Jesus, the man who tiptoes in his first steps, loses his healer.

It may happen to us. When we are fixated on the blessings and not on the One who is blessing us, we lose sight of him. When the healing is too much for us, that too much can crowd our hearts and forget who did it for us. Overwhelmed by his grace, we can take for granted his constant presence in our daily lives of constant routine. The crowd of career, family and friends may get in the way for us to acknowledge him.

But Jesus found him. Jesus sought him. The sheep lost the shepherd and the shepherd found him. In his first steps, he loses sight of Jesus. In his next steps, Jesus finds him. Jesus did not go to another town to pursue his mission, the man was his mission. He sought this man for once again he loses Christ.

Jesus finds us when we lost him. He seeks the lost who lost him. He has given us much but he will give us his presence, its all we need. The shepherd will go out of his way to bring us back to his way. He makes sure our hearts will be in the right place when we are in the wrong place. When the crowd is too much for us, Jesus will emerged and will say his first word to us, “Look…”

We lost Jesus but Jesus finds us.

Out of Town

The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?  They went out of the town and came to him. John 4:28-30

This was a field trip.

There was no connection between her and the people. No part of the people were her friend. They ignore her and she ignores them. She was alone at the well taking water.

Check that. She was not alone at the well. She was with Jesus. Being with Jesus made the difference. Speaking with Jesus opened her to a new life. Knowing that Jesus knows her sins yet sat with her and spoke with her mattered to her. He did not ignore her.

It changed her.

She goes to the people. She used to ignore them. She used to go where they aren’t. She gets water when they are all drinking water. But now after meeting Jesus, she goes to them. She spoke with them and breaks the news about the Messiah.

It changed the people.

They listened to her. They don’t used to be near her but now she is inches away from them. They used to talk about her and her husbands but now they are talking to her. Not only that, they believed her that they wanted to know what she knows — the Messiah.

Change brought by Christ brings you out of yourself. Out of your sinful nature. Outside of your comfort area. Out of your dark past. Out of your discriminating norm. Allow yourself to go out of your zone and speak about Christ to your family, friends or neighbors. A group of people may go out of themselves when they hear out someone’s life changing experience with Jesus.

One destination — come to Jesus. One action — out of town.

Sinnergy

Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. Luke 18:10

It’s the study of sinners.

If Jesus is a science teacher, Jesus discusses two species for you to ponder who will you be.

The Pharisee does not expose his sins to God, who knows his sins. He is confident of his righteousness. He is boasting of his work. He comes before God like he is attending a masquerade party, he has a mask. He even points to others and not to himself. He exalts himself, he acts like he is looking to God yet he is looking at himself.

The tax collector exposes himself as a sinner. He is not confident of himself but he is confident of God’s mercy, he is confident God forgives his transgressions. He does not boast of he does or what he did but surely he boasts of God’s merciful work. He comes before God without any cover on his face, he uncovers his sins before God. The tax collector points only to himself as the prime principal of sin. If he is in a police line-up, he declares himself as guilty. As he pinpoints himself, his heart opens up for heavenly grace. He does not exalt himself, he acts like he is looking at himself yet he is looking to God, for his mercy.

At this point, choose who will you be before God. A Pharisee or a tax collector?

Be confident of God’s mercy. Expose your sins and yourself to him for nothing is hidden from him. Depend on his work and not on what you have done or what you can achieve, boast of God ‘s work. Uncover your sins for God loves you in spite of these. If you want to point to someone else, make sure that someone else is you. Exalt God by humbling yourself.

Friends, reflect on how you pray and come before God. Study sinnergy.

Big Brother

He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. Luke 15:28

He must have understood of all people.

After all, he is the big brother. He is the older one. He must have matured throughout the years, since he did not ask for his inheritance just like the younger son. He must have more understanding on how the father felt when his sibling packed his bags and went afar. The father’s loneliness must not have been a secret from him. He might have saw his gloomy eyes at the dinner table. He might have asked his father to take more food as the father seems to have hard time since the departure of his little brother.

His brother was gone for some time. Did he not miss his brother? He might have heard the news about the sad plight of his brother. Did he do something to help him out? Now his brother sits at their home. Did he want to sit with him again? Now his brother needs assurance more than anything else. Did he give it? For all the questions above — No.

His line of thinking was reminiscence of the Pharisees and scribes.

He questions the father’s actions. He lets out his immaturity. He pouts. He is angry. He even stays outside of the house and outside of the family circle. A big brother should look out for his younger blood. He protects them. He cares for them. He looks for their benefits. But not in this case. As his younger sibling is welcomed home and given a feast, he lets go of his being a big brother.

One thing we read is this — “the father came out and pleaded with him”.

The father did not come out of the house when his younger son went out of his way. He did this when the big brother acted like a small child and did not act as a big brother. He does not want his older son to suffer. He does not want his son to be hungry for his love. He does not want his son to be lost. He wants him to be near him. The father knew what was like it, so he did his own his search and rescue. He came out for him. He pleaded with him. A father going after his son. The father’s request for him was not so much to be a big brother but to be a brother.

Before he will be lost, the father found him. So the big brother who became small is not big again but again a brother.

In Between

For I know my offense; my sin is always before me. Psalm 51:3

Let’s try to dissect David’s statement. What did he mean when he said about knowing his offense, and his sin is always before me?

When you sin, you know you sinned. You can deny it before your family and friends. You can keep it to yourself. Nobody might know it or not. Or nobody don’t care if you did it or not. Or maybe people may not come up to you to confront you about your wrongdoings. But between you and God, you know you have sinned. There is no denying the fact you step out of bounds in your relationship with the loving Father.

So when you know you sinned, your sin will always gives you this conviction that you have done it. You always see it before you. It will bug you. Is it guilt or shame? It’s up to you. When you look in the mirror, you see the sin you did. When you are before your friends or family, you have this wall, your sin, in relating with them. It’s just not the same stuff. Your sin may not be publicly exposed yet your mindset in your eyes see that sin in front of you.

Most importantly, when seen is before you and when you come in God’s presence, there’s something in between you and God. Sin. This is will turn out to be good or bad.

Bad because if your heart is hard to repent from the sin, the gap before you and God stays. You can’t see God fully as the sin blocks you. You know the sin gives you a certain distance from God yet you allow it to remain.

Good because if you are confessing the sin to God, you are asking for forgiveness from Him, you are exposing the sin to the merciful Lord. You are not denying it. You are being true to your weakness. You are saying you can’t do it alone, asking for his strength. You are being confident of his mercy. You are allowing him to renew you and restore you.

So, today, dissect your heart. Examine your life. You know your offenses. You see your sins before you. Decide to confess and repent.

With God and you, don’t let come sin come in between.

 

No Perfect People

But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

“There’s no such thing as perfect people. There’s no such thing as a perfect life.” These are words from a song of Natalie Grant. The song describes we are all broken and scarred and we can only be changed by our God, a perfect God. We don’t need to masquerade as righteous and holy. When Jesus told them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”, He knows there’s no such thing as perfect people. We all have sinned. We are all imperfect. We are all in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.  God knows about this. Jesus knows about this. And we must know about this, too.

Everybody has value. There will be no highly or lowly regarded. We see every one as equals. We listen attentively to anyone not looking upon their status in the society. We will consider everyone’s opinion not looking upon their educational background.  We will magnify each one how much significant is their contribution.

Everybody is accepted. There will be no out of place person in the room. We will stretch our arms to anyone. We will turn our eyes to anyone who needs care. No color considered. No position required.  No one will be put down.  No weakness will be specified.

Everybody needs encouragement. A good word will be available to my boss or to the person who reports to me. We will be extravagant in giving affirmation and honor to anyone. We will stand by anyone if they need a wall to lean on. We will point everyone to what lies ahead. We will live as cheerleaders.

Everybody is loved. Our hearts will know no ID. We will feel affection for the familiar and unfamiliar.  We will be like the sun; our brightness will shine on everyone. We will be like the moon; we will light everyone’s night.  Everybody will receive our love letters, by our deeds and by our spoken poetry.

God alone is perfect. No stone will be thrown for no such thing as perfect people. We should know this.