wake up call

hello!

i haven't been writing something of a substance for quite a while, have i? since tomorrow's friday and i'll be sharing in cells, let's do a recap of last sunday.

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?
"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
"Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
(Luke 13:1-5)

we often question, "why bad things happen to good people?", for instance, when someone you know as a "good" person suddenly pass away, the question will inevitably pop out in your head. here, a more recent example, the Victorian bushfire. those people are not all "bad", right? so, why? why all these?

well, living in an evil and fallen world, calamity is bound to happen, no matter who you are. yes, there are such things as God's providence, yet again, who are we to tell Him what to do and what not to do? though, it doesn't mean we can adopt the que sera sera way of life.

we're such a bunch with no sense of urgency, taking grace for granted, bearing the "yeah yeah if i sin today i still can repent tomorrow" mentality. how does it change our life, or at least our attitude towards life, knowing well that death strikes without warning? we are the same as those people, sinners, who will eventually succumb to mortality, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a). why the hell are we still alive?

take heed, the fact that we are still alive doesn't mean we're less sinful than others. that perspective is waaayyy wrong. there is no such thing as more sinful or less sinful or as sinful. we're not even an iota better than other people. what makes it different is that God gives us a period of grace. a second chance to repent. don't ask me again, how about those other people? mind you i'm not God. honestly, i don't know.

what i know, this revelation of such truth should be a warning for all of us who are still breathing at this very moment, that we are living in grace. how grateful you are in this life should be well reflected in the way you live. do we lead a wasted life? or do we lead a fruitful life?

in the ending of Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai, the Emperor of Japan asked Captain Algren to tell him how Katsumoto died. yet Algren answered, "i will tell you how he lived."

this life we're living, is a gift from heaven, an opportunity to live and not to perish, so that people in the future will be able to say of you, "oh he[she] was a marvelous man[woman] of God, i will tell you how he[she] lived." wouldn't that be so awesome?

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

whatever wrongdoings we've been up to, repent today when His grace is still available and start to live anew.

a life worth telling.
a living testimony.
a life not wasted.