LINEAGE AND GOD

Do you know who your ancestors are? Today most of us could count only the names up to five or six generations. It is a fact that most of the people today do not know the lineage that they came from. Ask them and some may be fortunate to mention the names but if you dig deeper they will not be able to answer. What does it mean to trace back once lineage.

Our Gospel for today speaks of the lineage that our Lord Jesus Christ came from. The Gospel for today narrated the lineage from Abraham until Christ. The names in the Gospel are people who are important personages in the Old Testament. They played an important role during their lifetime. Some of them we are familiar of like Abraham, David, Jacob and Joseph. No matter how big or small the role that they have partaken, what is important is that all of them have said yes to the plan of God.

Some of these personages have once in their lifetime fallen yet they stood and followed the Will of God. What made them unique is that no matter what circumstances they are into, most of them have felt the presence of God in their life. They have recognized that they have God in their journey.

Allow me to quote a story that I heard from the priest who celebrated the mass this morning. There was a young priest going to a chapel he is not familiar with. Since that priest was new to the place, he asked for a direction to a man walking along the street. He said, “Excuse me, can you tell me how to get to the Holy Cross Chapel?” The man answered, “Sure. Follow this road, upon meeting an intersection turn left, from there turn right after two more intersection, then count 5 houses and turn right to a narrow road, from there you will see a green house turn to the left, follow that path and you will see a cemetery, after it you will see another intersection and turn right and after turning right you will see a big Acacia turn and beside it is the chapel that you are looking for.” After hearing the man, the young priest was at a lost after some few turns. He then asked again for a direction. He asked an old man. The old man replied, “Okay, let me accompany you!”

Accompany! Like the Old man, God also accompanied the personages mentioned in our Gospel for today. Knowing also the lineage that we came from we also allow our ancestors to accompany us in our journey. Through the great example of how they live their life, through knowing the mistakes that they have done, through hearing the stories that they experienced we learned. We do not only know the people who came before us but we also allowed them to teach us how we should live our life. God is telling us today to allow Him to accompany you by learning from the past.

Our ancestors surely in their love, they have also felt the love of God. We likewise if became wise enough to learn from them, will surely not only learn more so feel the tenderly loving care of God towards us. Feel the love of God in your life. Allow Him to accompany you through the experiences of your ancestors. Know where you came from and life would be a smooth sailing. 

DEVOTION: MISA DE GALLO

Just this early morning was the start of the Misa de Gallo. The feeling was gloomy. The atmosphere was different this year than in the previous years. I asked my self, why is it that my feeling is gloomy? Upon reflection after the mass, it came to me that in the parish that I belong to, few people have came for the celebration of the mass in comparison with the previous years.

Upon seeing that the Church was not anymore that filled, it was disappointing since even in devotion people have already become lukewarm. I am not saying that all have been lukewarm. However, the numbers of people are increasing. It is quite alarming. As Catholic, Christ is the center of our life. Devotions, such as the novena in preparation to Christmas season, are trademark of our faith. Other people have misunderstood us on our devotions just like the Misa de Gallo but we remained firm with our faith throughout the years. Such case is already a sign of a future crisis if we keep on neglecting details.

We need to strive more to educate our young brothers and sisters on the importance and significance of devotions. Through them we could inculcate the future of the journey towards a brighter future. What then can we do to encourage our young brothers and sisters?

As parents, ask them to join you in celebrating the Misa de Gallo. They may feel obligated at first but as time goes by they themselves will clearly see the importance of devotions such as it in their life. We do not instill Catholic Faith but as discipline.

As a minister either as altar server, acolyte, lector, choir member, ask your friends also to take part on such celebration. As mere invitation to them, God is already using you in calling them to partake in His table banquet. Be an instrument of God in welcoming your brothers and sisters in the House of God.

Simple acts in proclaiming the faith, simple acts of being an instrument of God are already a sign of our dedication to God. We do not only bring God to them but we even bring ourselves closer to Him. Invite others to partake in such wonderful celebration. It is a indication that we surrender ourselves to Him. Let us say, "Lord, I surrender myself to you. Use me to call others. Use me as you please."

PRAYER TO ST. JOHN XXIII

Oh, St. John, your simplicity and meekness carried the scent of God and sparked in people’s hearts the desire for goodness. You spoke often of the beauty of the family gathered around the table to share bread and faith: pray for us that once again true families would live in our homes.

With outstretched hands you sowed hope, and you taught us to listen for God’s footsteps as he prepares a new humanity: help us have a healthy optimism of defeating evil with good.

You loved the world with its light and darkness, and you believed that peace is possible: help us be instruments of peace at home and in our communities.

With paternal gentleness you gave all children a caress: you moved the world and reminded us that hands have been given to us not for striking, but for embracing and drying tears.

Pray for us so that we do not limit ourselves to cursing the darkness but that we bring the light, bringing Jesus everywhere and always praying to Mary. Amen.

St. Jon XXIII, pray for us.

PRAYER TO ST. JOHN PAUL II

Oh , St. John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing! Bless the church that you loved and served and guided, courageously leading it along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who were your great passion. Help them dream again, help them look up high again to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth.

May you bless families, bless each family! You warned of Satan’s assault against this precious and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth. St. John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family and every life that blossoms from the family.

Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions, wars and injustice. You tackled war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love: pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace.

Oh St. John Paul, from heaven’s window, where we see you next to Mary, send God’s blessing down upon us all.

St. John Paul II, pray for us.

TRUTHS ABOUT CREATION

“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).  As a child, we were taught at our earliest age in school, in our church and in our home about the seven days of creation. The verse mentioned above is the starting passage of the story of creation we can read in the Sacred Scripture.  As we grow older, we start asking questions about the story. Some of them: did God really created the world in seven days? Which was first to be created man or animals? Did God also created the dinosaurs? Unfortunately, we will reflect not on these questions but on questions that are essential in our lives.

Let us begin our reflection on creation with the truth that creation was not created of necessity or by chance. Creation was made with purpose. We may ask then what is the purpose of the creation of the world? God, maker of all things, made the world with a reason. The Catholic Church holds on to the truth that “The world was made for the glory of God.”[1] This is also the purpose of creation. It is worthy to note here that the world was created not because God needs the world. He created the world for us men to glorify Him. We need to clarify that God does not need us. God does not need praises coming from someone. He is the Almighty, the source of all goodness. What we are trying to explain here as the purpose of creation is that we wanted to draw the line that our purpose, the purpose of creation is to glorify God and not disobeying him or disregarding the presence and power of God.

We can now ask ourselves, do we appreciate the world? We also need to know that the truth behind the creation story in the first book of the Sacred Scripture is not about what came first but to stress the following: God created the world out of nothing; He created it good and in an orderly manner; God sustains what He had created. We then give emphasis with these truths.

First, God created the world out of nothing. As we have discussed with our reflection on God as Father, He is almighty. God is the creator of the world. The creation story in the book of Genesis highlighted it that He created it out of nothing. Is this possible? It is POSSIBLE! The greatness of God is not limited. To create someone out of nothing is something that God can do. It is noteworthy to recall a saying that “WITH GOD NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!” For God is the alpha and omega. He is the almighty creator of the world. Believing in this truth, allow us to recognize that nothing comes from us but rather all that we have, all that we see, and all that we can touch were created by God. If such is the case, there is only one thing we could brag about that is OUR GOD CREATED EVERYTHING.

The world is good. If someone will say it is bad, he or she does not know the truth. God created it good and in an orderly manner. This is the second truth regarding creation. God intends that the world and all it contains remain good. We, humans are more blessed than any of the creations of God, not only because we are created in the image and likeness of God but because God gave us the freedom to desire to be good. Creation deserves also her dignity. Creation is good. The cause of disasters is not God but us. Our hands and faults make disasters happen. It is also up to us then to hold on to this truth not only about us but to the entire creation of God.

After creating, God did not stop. He sustains it. This is the third truth we can find in the book of Genesis regarding the creation story. Our naked eyes may not recognize His amazing hands at work but the truth remains that He sustains what He creates. What we see is not His hands but our hands. As created image and likeness of God, we have the responsibility to become stewards of creation. We have then the responsibility to be his instruments to sustain what He had created.'

God is calling you. WILL YOU IGNORE GOD? Answer and you will find it fulfilling!  

[1] CCC, 293.

HOLY SPIRIT: THE FORGOTTEN PERSON

Among the persons of the Blessed Trinity, the third person is known as the forgotten person. Why is this so? It is because people seldom express the Holy Spirit, the third person, in words or writings. Most of our prayers are directed towards the Father or the Son. Seldom do we direct our prayers to the Holy Spirit.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said, “Catholics are rather weak in pneumatology. Unlike the Eastern Churches, we seldom find a school of theology with a full tract on the mysteries of the Holy Spirit. Catholics frequently feel the need to “experience” the Holy Spirit only during exams, in Mass of the Holy Spirit to open the school year, in extreme cases of need, but not in our day-to-day life.”[1] This is true nowadays. Theological schools have fewer courses regarding the Holy Spirit. People have only thought of the Holy Spirit in certain instances as above mentioned.

Is the Holy Spirit then important? The answer is YES! If we will base it on the Sacred Scripture, it spoke a lot about the working of the Holy Spirit. Some of which are found in John 14: 15-17, John 14: 25-26, John 15: 26-27, John 16: 7-11 and John 16: 12-14. The question that we need to ask is how then can we translate such importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

First, we need to be generous. Generosity is not only about giving something. Generosity is recognition of one’s resources coming from above. When we become generous we recognize that all that we have comes from God. It is the working of the Holy Spirit that allowed us to act and give. Many times we have forgotten the reality that it was the Holy Spirit working in us. We become proud and lose the sense of dependability with the Holy Spirit. We need to recall what happen in the upper room with the apostles. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. It was then that they were strengthen and generous enough to lay down one’s life.

Second, we need to be humble. Since all we have and give comes not only from our own effort but also with the help of the Holy Spirit. We need to remain a child. We need to be humble for all that we have comes form God. We cannot brag anything except that the Holy Spirit is working in us. Humility is a step closer towards exaltation of the Holy Spirit in our life.

Lastly, we need to have silence in our hearts. Silence is not just abstaining from talking. Silence in this sense means contemplation of everything that we have done. In today’s world were every minute is being wasted; most of us have forgotten the presence of the Holy Spirit. We only recognize it when we are in need. Silence allows us to internalize to check the reality. Without the Holy Spirit, we will not be able to move. Without the Holy Spirit, all that we have and are will be nothing.

It is noteworthy to end this with what the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Orthodox Bishop Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Lattakia, wrote:

Without the Spirit,

        God is distant

        Christ is in the past

        And the Gospel is a dead letter.

Without the Spirit,

        The Church is no more than an organization,

        Authority is domination,

        Our mission is propaganda,

        Worship is recalling to mind,

         And Christian action is a slave morality.

[1] Luis Antonio G. Tagle, An Easter People: Our Christian Vocation to be Messengers of Hope (Quezon City: Jesuit Communications Foundations, Inc., 2003), 83.

JESUS: THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT

Who is Jesus? Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the Son of God who came down from heaven to become the greatest expression of the love of the Father for humanity. He took the responsibility by dying on the cross and rising from the dead for the remittance of our sins. These are only a few of the many things we could say and will hear about Jesus.

Who is Jesus? St. Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in You!” Such passage from the confession of St. Augustine is still very much applicable in today’s generation where many of us have forgotten the core value of following Jesus. Many of us have been baptized in the name of Jesus yet we could not find Jesus in our hearts. Such is the case since even many of our Catholic brothers and sisters do not know who Jesus is. Let us then try to reflect on who Jesus is.

The Sacred Scripture says that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light (John 14: 6). Our reflection on Jesus would center on this passage since we already had a previous reflection on who Jesus is. Let us begin with Jesus is the way. Have you ever been in a long ride? Was the road rough or smooth? Was it enjoyable or annoying? Jesus could be compared to a way. When we travel we have in mind a destination.

Our goal is to reach our destination, which our path leads us. It is also the same with Jesus. Jesus, throughout his preaching, his miracles, his actions and his life leads us toward the Kingdom of God. Jesus wants us to reach the Kingdom of God and be with the Father and with Him. The road that Jesus is leading us is not an easy trip. It takes courage to face it. It takes patience to bear it. Yet the end is satisfactory. We should remember that the way is Jesus. His life is an example for us to imitate. He is asking you to follow Him and take the journey of his way. Would you follow Him?

Jesus is the truth. Today even after 2000 years after Jesus stepped on the world, many still do not believe that Jesus is real. Remember that during the public ministry of Jesus, the content of his preaching is in unison. Jesus proclaimed about the Kingdom of God. Moreover, He did not refer to himself directly as the Messiah, Savior or the Son of God, but he rather used the word the Son of Man which after analysis will conclude that such terminology he used refers to himself.

Jesus proclaimed Himself indirectly. He is the truth. He is the word made flesh. If Jesus is the truth then all that he has done should be emulated. Jesus dying on the cross and resurrecting from the dead is a fact that we must hold on. All of his actions then are example for us to be guided. The question then is if Jesus is the truth, are we followers of the truth? Do we imitate his life here on earth?

Jesus is the light. Does this mean that Jesus is the light that is endless compare to electricity, lamps or candles? He is in a different sense. In one of the many occasions during the public ministry of Jesus, he has turned bright like a light. It was during his transfiguration that literally Jesus was bright like a snow. However, such description of Jesus as light is not at all that there is.

What then do we mean when we say Jesus is the light? Jesus is the endless light that leads us to the Father. Jesus becomes the lamppost in our journey towards the Kingdom of God. He allow us to see where we are going and how can we reach our destination. As we walk towards God, Jesus journeys with us. He becomes the light that accompanies us. Jesus is the light manifested by showing us how we should live our life. His becoming a man is the greatest demonstration of the light we need here on earth. Do we see the light or are we blinding ourselves?

Jesus is inviting you to allow Him become the way, the truth and the light in your life. The journey that He is asking you to take is not easy. It takes courage, patience and strength to overcome the trials that lies ahead. Moreover, we should be confident to overcome whatever comes our path since Jesus himself promised us. He gave us hope, a hope that will become our courage, patience and strength. Jesus says, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). It is a beautiful promise that we can hope for. With Jesus, we will succeed. Would you then accept Jesus in your Life? If yes, open then your hearts for Him to enter and feel the difference!

GOD AS FATHER

Let us start our preparation with the reflection on God as Father. Why do we call God as Father? Are we Sons and Daughters of God? Christ taught his disciple the Lord's Prayer. In it, Christ granted us to call God as our Father. Why? It is because with the coming of Christ here on earth, we became adopted sons and daughters of God.

God as Father has a horizon of denotations and elucidations. “The Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity.”[1] When we say father, what comes in our mind? There are two implications when we talk about God as Father. First, God as “the first origin of everything and transcendent authority.”[2] God created the world for us. He created it not just because He has nothing to do but because for us to live in it. Even our very own existence is due to the creating hands of God. The Israelites, whom the Sacred Scriptures speaks of as chosen people of God considered God as the Ultimate creator (Deut. 32:6).

Second, God is at the same time goodness and loving care for all of his adopted sons and daughters.[3] Instantly, we think of God here as being a provider. A father is someone who gives all and provides everything that a family needs. He is considered the breadwinner of the family. He works hard to provide what the family needs. God as a Father provides us with all the things we necessitate.

It is then but proper to respond to such action of God. As adopted Sons and Daughters of God, we are asked to respond in love. How do we respond in love? It is from our actions towards the created things that we can respond in love.

God as Father provided us the world not to destroy but to use and take care of. We then need to cultivate such gifts from God. Our lives as well as all the things we see must be taken care of. We then have the responsibility as adopted sons and daughters to promote goodness for God himself as Father is good. All He had created are all good, the plants, the sea, the trees, the animals even us are good.

Many of us complain that God is not here. Well literally, it is hard to feel the presence of God. But he himself assured us through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that likes any father, he is always with us (Mt. 11:27). He guides us. He comforts us. He accompanies us every second of our life. Such is the love of God as a Father for us. What we need to do is search the deepest core of our connection with Him so that we can see Him, feel Him, and touch Him.

The questions then that we need to ask ourselves are what are we doing every moment of our life? Where is God in our hearts, in our minds and in our lives?

[1] CCC 198.

[2] CCC 298.

[3] Ibid.

PREPARATION FOR THE POPE FRANCIS' VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES

Pope Francis, the 266^th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, will have a four-day visit to the Philippines on January 15-19, 2015. This will be the third time that a Pope will be visiting the Philippines. The first two visits were during the time of St. John Paul II as the Pope and Pope Pius VI.

It will be a glorious day to commemorate and celebrate. It will be also a stepping-stone for the preparation for the celebration of the 500 years of Christianity of the Philippines. It is then but proper that Catholics in the Philippines should prepare themselves not only physically for the said event but also internally. On the succeeding days, weeks, and months, let us then try to reflect on the Catholic Faith, which I have divided on to the following topics:

God:

Father

Son: God and Man

Holy Spirit

Creation

Church:

One

Holy

Catholic

Apostolic

Authority:

Bible

Tradition

Creed

Salvation

Grace

Sacraments:

Baptism

Confirmation

Eucharist

Penance

Marriage

Holy Orders

Anointing of the Sick

Sin

Virtues

Theological Virtues

Cardinal Virtues

Virgin Mary

Prayer

Personages

Apostles

Saints

Pope

Cardinals

Bishops

Priests

Lay people

Join me on trying to strength the Catholic Faith in the Philippines on the said topics. I would not dealt much on the theological aspect of the topics but connecting them more on the daily life of a Filipino Catholic.

JULY 25: FEAST OF ST. JAMES THE GREAT

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. James the Apostle. This feast has been celebrated in the West since eight century on July 25. But who is St. James? James was the son of Zebedee and Salome (Mk 15:40; Mt 27:59). He is the brother of John the Evangelist.

Among the important events in the history of James, he was the first apostle to shed blood for Christ. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I in the year 42 or 44, according to the Acts of the Apostles 12: 2-3.

James was one of the three privileged apostles, together with Peter and John. He witnessed the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mt 1: 29-31), the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5: 37-43), the transfiguration of Jesus (Mk 9: 2-8), and the agony in the Garden (Mt 26: 37).

Among the passages of the Sacred Scripture that gave a picture of James, the event of the two brothers asking for the seats, one at his right and the other at his left (Mk 10: 35-45); would be the most familiar. The lesson of this feast is like St. James, we sometimes ask of the Lord more than we are ready or worthy to receive. We must become as little children and accept from the hands of our heavenly Father whatever he deigns to give us.

Let us try to look back in our life. How often do we pray and ask God for many things? Most of us would say always. Have we ever thought that He knows what we need? Have we ever considered that instead of asking, he just wants us to talk to him and be with him? This is our task today. Pray not asking things but pray to talk to Jesus and just be with Jesus.

IS JESUS A LIAR, LUNATIC OR LORD?

Jesus is totally unique from any other personality and so is clearly worth knowing. But is there more to him? Is Jesus worthy to be the center of our life? The answer is yes. There is something more to Jesus than to any other person. He is worth paying more attention to than any other man. It is because HE IS GOD.

How do we know that he is God? Is it by his miracles? Miracles only show that God is working through a person. A man could work miracles and not be God. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (Jn 14:12).

How then do we know? The answer simply is that Jesus himself told us so. Time and again throughout his public ministry, Jesus claimed to be God (Mk 14: 61-62). In John, Jesus time and again speaks of his divinity (Jn 12:45, 10:30, 8:58). Jesus’ claim to divinity is a far different claim than Buddha or Confucius or Mohammed ever made. None of them ever claimed to be God. Jesus also claimed that he could forgive sin. Remember the story of the paralytic at Capernaum (Mk 2: 3-12), Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus’ claim to be God must either true or false. If false, then we have two and only two alternatives. Either he knew it was false, in which case he would be a liar, or he did not know it was false, in which case he would be a lunatic.

Could Jesus have lied? If he lied, then he would have been deliberately deceiving his followers. Not only would he have been a liar, he would also be a hypocrite, because he told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while he himself taught and lived a colossal life. He would also be a demon, because he told others to trust him for their eternal destiny. If he could not back up his claims and knew it, then he was unspeakably evil. He would also be a fool, because it was his claim to being God that led to his crucifixion.

We need only to look at his person, his words and his work to conclude that he could not have been a liar. Look at his moral purity, dignity, sound intellect, and air of truth. Consider his character that is so original, consistent, perfect, high above human greatness. He carried out a plan of unparalleled beneficence, moral magnitude and sublimity, and sacrificed his own life for it. Would he die for a lie? The results of his life and teachings have been lives changed for the better, thieves made honest, hateful individuals becoming channels of love. Such a man cannot be a liar.

Could Jesus have been a lunatic? In Jesus we do not see any abnormalities or imbalance that usually go along with being deranged. In fact, his poise and composure would be amazing if he was insane. He spoke some of the most profound sayings ever recorded. Such a man cannot be a lunatic.

If not a liar or a lunatic, the only alternative left to us is that Jesus did speak the truth. He was, and is, the Son of God as he claimed. Throughout the Sacred Scripture, we can read about a number of Jesus’ contemporaries coming to the realization that he was God (Mt 16: 13-16, Jn 11:27, Jn 1:49, Jn 20: 27-28, Mt. 27: 54, Mt. 8:29, Mk 1:24, Mk 3:11, Lk 4: 41).

As many as there were who accepted the divinity of Jesus, there were also others who refused to accept him. How can we have confirmation of Jesus’ divinity? God Himself confirmed it. In the miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11: 41-42), Jesus was giving a demonstration. To the Jews, God lone was the one who had the prerogative to give life or to take away life. But the most conclusive proof is Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead. The tombs of Buddha, Muhammed and the founders of all the great world religions are still with us. Only Jesus’ tomb is empty.

Jesus is making claims that affect us. If he is not God, then we should have nothing to do with him, because we do not want to be followers of a liar or a lunatic. However, if he is God, then we should seriously consider him. Our response will have eternal consequences. Is Jesus a Liar, Lunatic or Lord? The choice is yours.

GOD'S LOVE AND GOD'S WAYS

Do you know what is happening in the world? There are lots of things that happen in the world. There is a serious disorder in the world today. There is war like in Israel and Hamas. There is poverty like people in the Philippines particularly in the streets of Manila. There is starvation in different parts of the world. One would find many poor people even in rich countries. There is murder, particularly despicable is abortion, resulting in the killing of millions of unborn children. There is social injustice.

On a personal level, there is loneliness, depression, fear, insecurity, mistrust and so on. Everyone agrees that something major is needed to correct the situation in the world. Man has made various efforts to improve the world, but their efforts are not succeeding. Let us take for example in the field of medicine, through the ultrasound technique; we can discover the sex of a child before it is born. But some people decide to kill the unborn child if found defective, or if it is not the desired sex. In the field of food production, we have learned better and more productive ways of increasing the yield of the land. However, millions of people are still dying of malnutrition and starvation. The Human race has not learned to share God’s provision with their less fortunate members.

Some even propose solutions through man-made religions and other ideologies just like Marxism or New Age. Man is not succeeding because all these efforts are based on man’s wisdom. What is needed is God’s wisdom and ways. “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Is 55: 8-9)”

We then asked ourselves, what is the way of God? Does God have a plan for bringing us out of our confusion and disorder? YES! The starting point for understanding God’s plan is found in the story of creation in Genesis. What God creates is good (Gen 1:31). The confusion and disorder is not in accordance with the plan of God. God created man in His image (Gen 1:27). The ugliness and sin in the lives of people today are not in accordance with God’s will. Man is meant for friendship with God (Gen 2:8-9). The disruption in our relationship with God is our doing, and is not as God intends. However, things did not turn out according to God’s plan. Original sin entered the picture. And from then, man continued to turn against God and God did not abandon man even if God punished man (Gem 3:21, 15; Gen 4:15; Gen 6ff; Gen 11:1-9; and Gen 12).

From the accounts cited above, we will see how God loves the human race, how God would not leave man alone to his fate. God is neither indifferent nor distant. God is someone who loves us and is interested in having a personal relationship with us. He is interested in the details of our daily lives (Is 48:17, Jer 29:11). In fact, God wants to bring us all back to Himself, to restore our fellowship and intimacy with him (Eph 1: 9-10).

This is God’s plan! It is an expression of His love. God does not want us to live lives of pain, poverty, and injustice. God wants the world to be a place of peace, justice and happiness. A place in which He would reign!

The question then we need to ask, how can God’s plan happen? When we look at the world around us, it seems impossible. Again, we need to turn to God’s wisdom. We need God’s point of view. What does God say about life’s realities? The Bible tells us about the reality of Satan (Eph 6:12). We are not just confronted with particular wrongs in society or in ourselves. Behind all these is something bigger. Satan is orchestrating these evils. On our own, we cannot overcome Satan. God also says that our human efforts apart from Him will prove useless (John 15:5). On our own strength, we cannot overcome the challenges in our Christian life.

What is then the solution? JESUS CHRIST! Christ is the answer. He is the vine from which we draw life, strength and power. In fact, Christ is the fullness of God’s love (Jn 3:16). Thus, in Jesus we experience the love of God. And in Jesus, God’s plan for restoration can begin to happen.

It is clear that God loves us. God sent Jesus His own Son. In Jesus we are saved and restored to our relationship with God, with the fullness of life He intended. So God has done His part. It is now our move. The choice is ours: to live under the dominion of darkness, a life of slavery under Satan, or to live in the kingdom of God, a life of freedom, dignity, peace, and happiness. Let us accept Jesus and the salvation that he brings. Let us begin to truly experience God’s love.

A STARTER: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

A child patterns his or her life to that of the person he or she idolizes.  Like a child, we as Christians derive our identity from a person, one whom we can be truly proud of. He is truly impressive. This person’s identity, which we follow, lasted even after 2000 years after his death. Millions of people today have claimed to be his followers. The book about him, the BIBLE, is easily the number one best seller of all time.

It is this person who won for us our salvation, who restored us to our relationship with God. In him we can have a full and a new life. Thus, realizing the importance of this person to us, we want to know Him more fully. We then ask, “Who is Jesus Christ?”

Most of Christians today have been born and raised as Christians. Due to the negligence of our time, we take for granted our conviction that Jesus is the Son of God. However, we should also take note that this was not so for his contemporaries. During the time of Jesus, people found it hard to accept that He was not just an ordinary person. “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him (Mk 6:3).

What we want to know is whether there is any reason not to put Jesus on the same level as Buddha, Confucius, Lao-Tze, Socrates or other wise men. Was Jesus more than just a great religious man or moral teacher? History is full of men who have claimed that they came from God, or that they were gods, or that they bore messages from God. How is Jesus different from them all?

Three things that make Jesus an absolutely unique figure in human history. First, he was preannounced and his coming was expected. Because of Old Testament prophecies, people for a long time were waiting for the messiah, which saw its fulfillment in Jesus. Second, once he appeared on the scene, he struck history with such impact that he split it in two, dividing it into two periods: BC and AD. Lastly, every other person who came into this world came into it to live. Jesus came into the world to die. His death was the goal and fulfillment of his life.

To better have an understanding of who Jesus is, let us try to look about some of the details of his life. Jesus was a young carpenter in Nazareth. For three years he became an itinerant preacher. He was never more than 100 miles from his home. He had never been into cities with a population larger than 50,000.

Within three years he was dead, killed in little Jerusalem on the fringes of the Roman Empire. He was crucified for stirring up the people. By right he should simply have faded into complete oblivion. Instead, he is surely the most famous, honored and best-loved person who ever walked the earth.

Jesus is a man whose words and life demand a response from us. He is making claims that affect us. If he is not God, then we should have nothing to do with him, because we do not want to be followers of someone who is a liar or a lunatic. But if he is God, then we should seriously consider him. Our response will have eternal consequences. Who is Jesus? The answer is in your heart. He is waiting for you!

Raison d'être of My Promise

Promises are meant to be broken. This is the typical sensitivity of some people but is it really factual? There are times in our life that we are asked to make a promise. Such promise we make speckled depending on the circumstances. Often in an amorous liaison, lovers make promise such as loving him or her alone or forever will be the man or woman in her heart, or will make him or her the happiest person or will never cheat on one’s partner.

What is a promise? A promise is an unconditional avowal of one's commitment to do something due to the covet for the exhilaration of the person making the promise and the other.

Looking back, I too made promises. One of the promises I will forever keep is that she, the person I loved, will always be in my heart. Such promise is not bounded by time. A promise has no expiration date. If the romantic relationship ends, it does not mean that such promise should also be terminated.

A promise is to be kept. Why? It is because a promise should be fulfilled no matter what comes our way. In my case, though we have let go of the romantic relationship, the promise remains. One may wonder, is it possible? It is possible. Is it not contrary? It is not contrary. Being in one’s heart is different from having a romantic relationship. Some may marvel what is the difference. It is true that most of the time when in a relationship, a promise would be made but the genuine value of the promise is not taken into consideration.

The promise of forever will be in my heart is much deeper than having a romantic relationship. This defies the inclination of holding on. When in a relationship, one tries to hold on. Imagine yourself holding a paper, you could hold on to it as long as you like. However when you have the choice you could easy let go of it. Such is a contradictory of that with the case of a promise. When one promises of forever will be in my heart, it is placing a thing in an anodyne treasure box that will ceaselessly be revered and its significance is increasing as time goes by.

The value of the promise made boosts with time. Yet, the question remains, could this be achieved? Some may have reservation. Some may argue that it only a promise, which could be broken and still others would believe that it will be shattered in a flash. What differentiates this promise from other promises is the person making the promise. Like any promises, the person who made the promise defines the path of the promise made. If I don’t have the confidence to keep it then surely time will come it will not last. However, if I believe and forever be reminded of it then I know that my heart will always guide me to fulfill such promise.

It is not only about the person but the feelings that accompany the person. If it is true love, no matter what comes in the way, no matter how far the other is, no matter what kind of relationship they will have in the future, it will be kept. Love creates that protective buffer against doubt. Love covers the promise with trust. Love inflames the joy of keeping the treasure of the promise.

She may have doubted me from the start. She may even have doubts when we were still in a romantic relationship. However, now that we are back at the starting line of a new path, I know that the promise I made with her will forever persist. The promise I made will never forget the love that she has shown me, which gave light to the darkened room. The promise I made will never overlook the sweet smile on her face that makes my heartbeats faster. The promise I made will treasure the saccharine melody of her singing. The promise I made will always be reminded that one’s in my life, there was a beautiful lady who have treasured and shared her life with me.

This is my Raison d'être, which I believe will keep my promise moving. How about you, what is the Raison d'être of your promise?