I used to be able to put down into poems each loss I suffered. After (and during) every heartbreak, words will just arrange themselves in my thoughts and beg to be put to paper.

But this time...this time the words won't come. The first time they're playing hide-and-seek, and there is just silence and deep sorrow within.

This time, tears have stolen the place of words.

This time, dear Lord, let love never fail!!!

"For nothing is impossible with God.......Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

God, why are You so arrogant?!

Quite a common question, this one. Why is God so arrogant?

On the face of it, it does seem that God is arrogant, claiming that only through Jesus can we be saved.

But on deeper analysis, is He, really?

Consider this: Would an arrogant God voluntarily give up His place in Heaven and descend to Earth to live as a human? Nope. But Jesus did.

Would an arrogant God restrain His power in the face of temptation and disbelief? I think an arrogant God would show off His powers immediately when the people around Him scoffed at His ability (What, you want Me to show you a sign? Sure! Take this lightning bolt!!! Zap!!!Hah!!! Believe Me now???). But Jesus restrained Himself and did only what was necessary, like healing people from diseases, delivering them from demon-possession, and raising the dead. He used His divine powers only for the good of others, and never to show off.

Would an arrogant God keep quiet in the face of false accusation? I bet an arrogant God would punish anyone who questioned Him. But Jesus kept quiet when the Pharisees and head priest accused Him.

Most importantly, would an arrogant God die for sinners because He loves them? Gee, what do you think? I say an arrogant God would just leave them to rot. But Jesus willingly gave up His life for us so that we can be saved. It was not a quick, clean death either. He was flogged, spat upon, beaten, and crucified, all so that sinners can be cleansed, saved, and live.

Some say that Christianity is an arrogant religion because it claims to be the only way through which sinners can be saved. They see Christianity as an exclusive club. But Billy Graham's daughter has a fantastic answer to this: Christianity isn't exclusive, because Jesus died for everyone! He will never turn away anyone who seeks Him. The only problem is that not everyone wants to accept His salvation!

The way I see it, God, Creator of the universe, of every single person, has the right to do whatever He wants. It's already amazing enough that He died for us, and that He loves us so much.

To say He's unfair because Jesus is the only way to salvation is like complaining it's unfair that water is wet. God made it like this. That's the way it is, that's the way He made it to be, that's the divine and sovereign right He has as Creator. And He's been more than fair and just, because He has made a way for us to know Jesus.

The analogy is this: God has already chartered a plane for us to get to Heaven, at a dear cost to Himself. The question is whether we want to book seats on that plane...and for Christians who already have the ticket, whether we actually make it a priority to get on the plane.

Look at it this way. As sovereign, Almighty God and Creator of the universe and everything in it, He could have simply made it compulsory for everyone to worship Him. God could easily have created us as beings that worship Him. But He didn't, because He loves us. He gave us free will, so we could make a choice to love Him. And He has set out to woo us. Sadly, most of the world ignores Him.

God has done so much for us. All that He asks in return is our love. And when we do respond to His love, He blesses us!

Imagine, a God who yearns to bless us! As opposed to, say, other deities, and spirits who have to be 'appeased' with offerings so they don't get offended and punish you, who give you something only if they're satisfied with what you give them first.

Imagine, a loving, omnipotent, omnipresent God who is with us, no matter where we are! As opposed to gods who dwell in places made by human hands, who can be found only at certain places, who need their worshippers to go to them. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts, knocking, waiting for us to invite Him in.

Who's the arrogant one? Definitely not the living God!

I admit, however, that some Christians do spoil God's reputation. With good intentions, they spread the good news. The problem is that they lack love and grace, and it comes across as self-righteous arrogance instead. So to all non-Christians out there who have had unpleasant encounters with professed Christians, I plead with you, please don't judge Jesus Christ by the way some of His people behave! Get to know Him personally, because He really is the nicest, most loving friend you could ever want!

And to those who know me personally, if I've ever come across as self-righteous and arrogant, I'm sorry! Don't judge Jesus by my actions!

Doubts

Last night on the Discovery Channel, there was a program on Jesus. The purpose was to find out who He was.

I was only half paying attention to it, but the host interviewed a few people, and the conclusion he presented included Jesus being a political revolutionary.

And then there was the discovery of the Gnostic "Gospels", among them apparently one written by Thomas, one of Jesus' 12 disciples. In this "gospel", apparently Thomas did not stress on Jesus' divinity, thus making a case for detractors that Jesus wasn't the Son of God.

It was so historical, so neatly presented, so authoritative, that even I had slight doubts, as in "Hmmm...is it possible?"

Of course, I brought my doubts to God. And immediately God reminded me that the devil is a great liar, and that at the end times, lots of false teachers and teachings will appear trying to deceive 'even the elect, if that were possible', and ultimately that Satan masquerades as an angel of light.

And to reinforce the point, He gave me another encouraging reminder: I was browsing through the March-May 2008 edition of Our Daily Bread and the page opened to March 25 - The Tomb Of Jesus, written by Dennis Fisher.

He had a really good point - "Most compelling is the fact that every disciple except John died a martyr's death. Central to their message was Jesus' resurrection. If Christ had not been raised from the dead, why did the disciples choose to die rather than deny it?"

This is so true. They left everything behind to follow Jesus. Even after His death, they continued living the way He taught them to. And trust me, Jesus doesn't advocate a cushy lifestyle.

Not only is this willingness to die for the true gospel confined to the 12 disciples. Even in recent times, people are still willing to die for Jesus. And by 'dying for Jesus', it doesn't mean kamikaze-style-take-unbelievers-out suicides.

They were willing to die for Jesus in the sense that they would rather die when persecuted by authorities than renounce their faith. In Japan, the believers were tortured, hung upside down over a pit, and forced to step on a fumie (a likeness of Jesus) as a sign of renunciation.
Why would these believers go through such torture if they did not believe in Him?

In Roman times, Christians would be rounded up and cruelly left to face lions and tigers in the arenas and amphitheaters for the entertainment of spectators.

Even in modern times, believers are not exempt from persecution. I have heard of a girl whose hair was cut in an ugly style by her angry mother, just to shame her in hopes of preventing her to go to church. And that's just one of the milder persecutions.

Christians have been martyred and persecuted from Jesus' time until now: http://www.persecution.com

Why would they persevere if Jesus and the gospel aren't real?

The God of All Comfort

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-7


I think it's simply marvellous that the God I serve is a God of all comfort! And that Jesus is intimately acquainted with all the sufferings that I have gone through, am going through, and will go through.

How is it that Christ's sufferings have flowed over into the lives of His followers? Let's see. He was rejected, falsely accused, humiliated, persecuted, deserted by His friends...He faced unbelief all around...He was in physical pain and emotional distress...He was hurt... I'd say that pretty much sums up human suffering.

The best part is that although Christ's sufferings flows into our lives, through Him comfort overflows! Our sufferings will never ever outweigh our comfort.

There is no pit that deep, that He is not deeper still! His love is all-encompassing.

I don't know about people out there, but I'm glad to have a God who sympathizes with my sufferings, a God who actively cares and looks out for and loves me unconditionally, not some deity looking for worship, impassive, cold, not giving two bits about me. My Jesus died for me, for humankind.

The God of all comfort...not just a God who's there when I'm a 'better' person, or a God waiting at the outside of the shithole I'm in, but a God who is with me, helping me to be a better person, cheering me on, encouraging me, and pulling me out of the shithole.

Now that is a comforting thought.

Sometimes we're torn between what we really want and what we actually need.

We wish - pray, hope - that what we want will become what we need.

The two forces are so strong that we are beaten down by the struggle.

Sometimes, it feels like dying.

Somedays, I really need God's grace, mercy and love to keep on living...