Inspired by some sharing regarding relationships during cell last night, I browsed through my notes during YA Camp and found something precious. So, I'd just share it here.
First, let's recalibrate our understanding about relationships, it definitely includes the male-female relationship, but it's also far beyond that. Secondly, we've to know that there's a threefold relationship that makes us bigger:
1) Between man & God - it's a matter of obedience
2) Between man & others - it's a matter of enriching one another
3) Between man & nature
I'm particularly helped in the second point - the relationships between a human being and another human being is actually a matter of enriching each one's life. Why is that so? Our lives are enriched when we enrich others' live and this is how and what makes us bigger. Individualism makes us feel small, restless, lonely, lost, and meaningless. Therefore, we need to relate & minister to others.
What does enrich and minister mean? Actually, I don't really know. But I believe, deep within us, we know who are those whose life we can enrich and how we can do it. He or she maybe a cellmate, a church member, a colleague, a sibling, an acquaintance, or even total strangers. Maybe a smile, a prayer, a simple hello, a wave of your hand, a ride in your car, an email, anything, as long as it brings joy and eventually Christ to the person, I believe these little actions are our ways to enrich and minister to others.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." ~ Galatians 5:22-23
What's 3 'B's and 3 'I's?
One point that I like about being human is that we're always be found in relationships. There are 3 types of relationships:
1. With God.
2. With man (other human beings, male or female).
3. With nature.
This reminds me of sheep flocks. Sheep are found in flocks because its their nature to stay in a flock. A strayed sheep is pitiful. It loses its sense of direction, purpose, and security. Worse, it may get killed if it strays too far away from the comfort and security of its flock.
Remember the story of Cain who murdered his brother Abel? Cain talked back to God arrogantly, "Am I my brother's keeper?" after the murder. This is what we called the way of Cain.
We all are and should be our brother's keeper because we're always be in relationships with males and females.
The way of Cain leads is the way of Individualism, Independence, Isolation (3 'I's).
The way of a brother's keeper is Bond, Bless, Build (3 'B's).
Do you see the contrast? Sheep, by nature, bonds and stay in the flock. As Christians, typified by sheep, we can't live alone. It's almost impossible. We need to bond with fellow Christians - whether cellmates, church mates or even colleagues - and we bless one another so that we're built together. This is when we regain our sense of direction and purpose of life. This is the way of a brother's keeper, not the way of Cain that the whole world is taking today.
Don't you agree?
Let's keep this short, sweet, and simple.
1. To be BIGGER doesn't mean we can or need to do a lot more things FOR God. Our natural understanding is that bigger equals more capable, more able, and things like that. Well, it's not.
2. To be BIGGER, we need to come back to the basic by knowing what does becoming a human being mean. It simply means acknowledging the facts that:
* we're made in God's image (Gen. 1:26-27)
* we can do nothing apart from the Lord (John 15:5)
3. To be BIGGER, we need to realize that what we are is more important than what we can do for God. It's a matter of being a human BEING, not human DOING.
4. To be BIGGER means we're subjected to responsibility and accountability for our deeds in our daily living despite the fact that God has given us freedom of choice. We can't blame others or circumstances for things that we did.
5. To be BIGGER means God enlarges our capacities, especially in our ability to hear His speaking. He enlarges us, not for us to do a lot of things for Him. He wants us to have the capacity to listen to Him and that He can deal with us. However, God does this based on where we are in our Christian journey. So, it differs from individual to individual.
"I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2, Recovery Version
Yes, I've been absent from blogging for the past three days!
Well, I was at Port Dickson as I attended SIBKL's Young Adults Camp 2009!
And, to your (dismal or joy, up to you, hahaha), I shall allocate a quota of one or two posts to publish what I've gained from this camp, especially in relation to the camp's theme: BIGGER! Skip reading them if you're not interested. LOL!
Do bear with me for the next few days and no worries, I'm not changing my blog to a preaching blog. :) I still have more food photos and movie reviews to post! Stay tuned!
Just want to share one little thought before I move on.
"I've lost my identity as a Christian and I've made the choice to abandon the Lord and anything to do with His church for the past two years or so. I replaced and substituted the Lord with my career. However, no matter how successful I am in my career pathway, I'm experiencing an even worse restlessness, boredom, and loneliness, something that I can't explain with words alone."
"By His mercy and grace, He has arranged people around me to slowly bring me back to Him and His church, and I could say, without condemnation and after so long a time, I'm now at rest and peace, realizing that I'll be never be out of His reach no matter how far I ran away from Him. God is really, really faithful."
Inspired by some sharing regarding relationships during cell last night, I browsed through my notes during YA Camp and found something precious. So, I'd just share it here.
