It has been hectic the past couple of weeks. It was a very momentous end of the year for me and my family. This was because it was the first time our grandparents had come down to Sydney for Christmas, the previous times it was always us going up to Canberra since the early 1990's. I guess the reason was due to our grandparents become older, and being comfortable and sedentary, so them coming to Sydney was kind of a big deal. So my brother and I took out our fake Christmas tree (I know, I'm a bit slack!) and decorated it with the usual tinsel, lights, Christmas balls. Below is a picture.
Our grandparents and aunty and her fiance arrived in Sydney on the 23rd, and the 24th and 25th December was quite rushy. Full of buying presents and wrapping them, opening them and the Christmas lunch on Christmas Day. And to top it all off, I was tweeting to numerous artists and my friends wishing them Merry Christmas also. And let's not forget the Boxing Day test match (cricket) between Australia and India starting the 26th Dec. So with all of that stuff occurring during the past few days, it is easy to become distracted and believe in the mentality that Christmas is all about busyness and presents. But now I can step back and authoritatively say that it isn't.
Christmas is simply this. God sent Jesus down to earth to be born in a manger so that we could have new life. Powerful isn't it? Giving humanity, with all of our screw-ups a second chance... The meaning of Christmas, however is null if Jesus did not die and rise again during Easter time. However Jesus did die, and did rise, so now humanity has a chance to have a relationship with Jesus Christ! Now there's a reason to celebrate! There's a reason to exchange gifts!
Now I don't know about all of you, but our grandparents aren't Christians. Of late, it's been remarkable, as God has given us as a family quite a few times to witness to them, with more positive results. I can only hope and pray that God does His work in their hearts.
How about you? Are there any family members in your family that are not Christians? Have you tried to witness to them? Many times in the past we have, yet our grandparents wouldn't budge. There has been times, I admit, that I can succumb to the pressure and actually try to water down the gospel so that our grandparents can understand. But I have to check myself. The gospel isn't something that should be watered down at all. Because the gospel is a life and death matter. One day, Jesus will come and separate the sheep from the goats. And if we have not accepted Jesus before the second coming of Christ, that's it. Game over, and there won't be extra time. No golden goal. And that day will be sad for some people. So as Christians it is our calling to evangelise to as many people as possible. And what better way to do it than in the festive season! It's time to but the 'Christ' back in Christmas!
Now before I leave you all for the year, let me ask you this question? Whose life do you want to impact this year? Your relatives, close friends, work mates, superiors? The only way that can happen, is not through presents, but only by God's presence. I reckon Mike Donehey says it quite nicely in the below video. That we already have been accepted by God so we do not have to do more and try harder. So this new year, think about one person. Then ask God to touch their lives and soften their heart. Then go out. Spread the gospel. As said in Matthew 28: 19-20 "... Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It has only been in the latter part of the 2000s where I’ve comprehended what it means to leave my ‘story’ and to be placed in a far bigger story. I’ve learnt that many times, we are afraid to be in God’s Story because we have a wrong idea of the Father himself. You see when someone mentions ‘Jesus’, society immediately thinks of theWorld Youth Day’s staged by the Pope every 3 years, with the 2008 WYD being in Sydney, the 2005 WYD in Germany and the 2011 in Spain. Society would also think of St. Mary’s cathedral, not to mention ‘radical’ Hillsong who are always controversial in how they conduct their services. Nevertheless, the public’s perception of Christianity is one of disdain. Because they don’t understand what is going on, they believe that if you’re a Christian, you don’t have a normal life like the rest of the world. You don’t ‘have a good time’; you’re always following rules and regulations.
And it’s true, some Christians, just like everybody else, are bound by law. Bound by fear, bound by the sense of control, wanting to control the unforeseeable future...but what I can tell is that Christians do live great lives. They do have normal lives; I know I have had a lucky escape from the clutches of death, so if you would call it a second chance, then my life has been a miracle. But that’s not to say that there have been times during my life where I have been just utterly confused about whether I stay in God’s Story, or I jump back on the paddy-wagon and ride into the self fulfilling glory of the sun-set...my own story, that is OK for a while, but when the knots are untied, uncoiled, when everything in hanging bare, I realise that my glory is temporary. If I want to sing a song about my greatness and how my story is the one that matters and will continue to matter, the only person that will be fulfilled is me, for a while, because everyone else, if they just follow my example, would be focused on their own ‘me’ stories. The story’s main goal is to make me famous, and to make me count, but when all is said and done; what would I have to show for it? A clap; an applause? Those things are temporary, and will not go with me when I die. If I just live for me, I may end up with 3 ex-wives, 5 children who don’t talk to me, and a fractured family. Our lives were made so much more than to be worshipping and living a story about nothing greater than what I’m going to eat for breakfast, and what I’m going to do tonight, and how I’m going to manoeuvre the next guy out of the way so that I can get the glory.
I guess everyone has heard of the phrase that we should all look out for other people, but if there was no over-arching story that engulfs all of mankind, if there was no truth in our lives that didn’t change even if the polls did, if there was no God, if there was no purpose, if there was hatred, malice, sin, and destruction, then why do we look out for our fellow mankind? If there was no meaning in our stories that we live, why worry about the next guy, whether he can pay the mortgage or not? It’s his problem, and if everyone else gets hurt while I get the fame, then so be it...Everyone knows that we should not and will not live this way, that our lives were meant for the extra-ordinary. I guess that is why everyone wants a ‘Superman’, everyone wants a ‘Batman’, because everyone fantasises about their lives counting for that cause, the cause that when you look back at your life and you count your blessings and your failures, you can look back and think, ‘Gee, life was worth it!’ But I have learnt that you don’t need a Batman or a Superman for your story to be great. Batman isn’t God, nor is Superman. In my life, when I acknowledged that when Jesus came and died for every soul of humanity; that is what he did, died for every soul of humanity.
Hard to imagine, Jesus dying for Adolph Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Joseph Stalin, even all the great people like Alfred Nobel, Benjamin Franklin, William Shakespeare, Walt Disney...but it’s true, when Jesus hung on that cross, he died- so that everyone might live.But I thought that all the great people, the ones who are famous, do they need saving?Yeah, they do. I mean, I bet you that there are things that they have done, that were behind closed doors, that they may be ashamed about; that they may be hurting...no one is perfect. And because of that, because of us longing for the perfect life in the imperfect world, our stories fail. Our stories, the ones we carve, the ones we try to make great, will eventually crumble because of the sinful nature of us humans. Because we sinful men cannot be and shouldn’t be trying to mould the ‘perfect life’ because we will never get there.
God's story is the only one where we need to latch ourselves onto, and following from a post not too long ago, we need to be free from being pressured by ourselves, or maybe even by our friends and family, to make our story great. And God settled that. It tells us in Philippians 2: 5-8 that “...the attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had; He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death- his death on the cross...” Wow. Just read that verse before and close your eyes. Think a little bit. That is what true love is. That is what true forgiveness really means. Forgiving someone, for all the wrong doings, lets them ‘off’ the hook so to speak, but not without a cost. The cost may be for you to not trust your wife to the extent that you did, maybe because of an affair. A cost may be a fractured relationship with your brother, because you agree to forgive the debt owing to you. But God’s forgiveness is far beyond what you can imagine.
God forgave our debt, all our wrong doing. But not without a cost. Not without a price that was to be paid, Jesus Christ. Jesus faced death itself so that you and I might live. So that you and I may be free. Now I don’t know what your definition of freedom is. But the Macquarie Dictionary says this: “civil liberty, as opposed to subjection to an arbitrary or despotic government...political or national independence...a particular immunity or other privilege enjoyed, as by a city or corporation...” But this definition is in terms of physical freedom. But what about spiritual freedom? What does that look like? I’ll tell you. Not having to be bound by the fact that one needs to impress to be loved. That you are loved, no matter what you have done, by a God who spoke the cosmos into being, so big to do that, yet so concerned and so intricately involved in your life. The freedom to live life with no regrets, to live life in the never-ending story of Christ, to live life, as if the Son has set us free, then we are free indeed. I mean really, think about this phrase. If the Son has set us Free, if it is not any old god, not any old Lord, not any old Saviour, but the Son of the true Living God, if he paid the ultimate price, we are not bound by anything, not even death. We are truly free, in this life and the next.
I guess it all comes down to what you’re passionate about. It may be music, it may be writing, just like me. Or it may be drawing, learning about science, accountancy, taxation, not to mention being a culinary chef, an actor or a sportsman. Whatever you do, I believe that you should do it all, with all your might, and do it knowing that it will fade away in the end. Do it knowing what comes first. Do it knowing that, if you had to make a choice to either take a job promotion that would probably require you to work longer hours, or to have a family holiday, that will set you on the back foot at work for a little bit, but would give you quality time with your family; you’ll know what to do. Many people do make the wrong choices in life. And this can lead to a lot of things, misunderstandings between families and friends, family breakdown, divorce, extra-marital affairs, not to mention fractured parent-son/daughter relationships, as well as unrealistic demands from bosses. Sometimes we need to know that we are not Superman and we cannot be a dad/mum, raise the kids, pay the mortgage, catch up with friends, not to mention maintain such a good career and meet deadlines for that to all at once. Some things we need to say ‘no’ too.
I know it’s hard to, but people judge you about how you spend your time, simple as that. If you’re working back late a lot, it is safely said that you worship your job. But this is where the never-ending story of God comes into the equation. Sometimes stories can be ‘fiction’ and we’re not hungry for that as a nation. We can tell truth from what isn’t. We watch Hollywood long enough for us to decipher, there are certain things that can that happen in real life, and there are things that are just ‘Hollywoodized’. In my life, I have realised that in every single movie, every single book, every single story ever written, there is some kind of moral at the end of it. That is why we’re so fanatical about the stories. Because we know that stories are a window into a person’s soul.
We know that stories reveal to us aspects of ourselves that we need to change. As much as we’re humans that love to stick to the ‘devil you know than the devil you don’t’ we want a life that counts. We want a life that is more than ‘get a good education, get a good career, raise the family, retire and die’. We know that stories are a way of revaluating our lives, even if it is for a split second before we go back into this mundane existence again. And why do we go back, eventually to our mundane existence after we chew on the stick of a story? We want something that lasts for more than a story has to offer. Always, after the movie, after the song, after the book, as much as it presents ideals that should be, it’s ‘back to reality’, as we cannot possibly make stuff happen in society that is apparent in such novels, films and songs, either because they are too far-fetched, or 'I’m just not ready'. We judge ourselves, all the time, and no better place to do it than to do it whilst reading a story.
But as I have learnt from Restoring Broken Things, written by one of my favourite Christian music artists, Steven Curtis Chapman and his pastor Scotty Smith, God’s Story is unlike any other story we have ever encountered or ever will. God’s story is bizarre, everyone knows this. And sometimes fact can be like that, strange, and this is why Hollywood was created. Why do we believe Hollywood, which we know is fiction, but yet not facts, because they are bizarre? Jesus turned this world upside down. He started to proclaim ‘Blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek, blessed are the unrighteous...’ Bizarre? Sometimes we were meant for the wacky, the weird, in order for us to sit down and think, ‘Gee, if this was true, no matter how far-fetched or just plain mind-boggling it is, just imagine the complexity of everything that I’ve come across. Surely then how much more power, authority and love that God has for his creation, for me...’ According to Chapman and Smith, we are not spectators in the story of God. If you see a movie or read a book, you can only go so far into immersing yourselves with the characters, because you know that they are make-believe.
Instead, as Chapman says in his book; “...God’s Story is ‘taking us with it’ into Jesus’ commitment to demolish all systemic evil, injustice, and oppression. God’s Story condemns all forms of corruption and abuse, and zealously advocates for the marginalized and neglected members of society, such as the poor, widows, and orphans...indeed, story must not become for us just another metaphor for personal fulfilment. Anne Lamott writes, ‘A human life is like a single letter of the alphabet. It can be meaningless. Or it can be a part of a great meaning.’ God delights to make words, sentences, and paragraphs of grace through the broken and rebellious letters written into a ‘grander narrative’. As followers of Jesus, we’ve been placed not just in a big story, but also in a much better story than our lives demonstrate. We’ve got a long history of hypocrisy and inconsistency, which the Bible itself chronicles. God is telling an authentic, non-spin story of selfish, broken people; who are in the process of being made new by Jesus. That’s why Jesus has the lead role in God’s Story. But He’s not the only character. He’s making us characters too. We are carriers of God’s Story- targets for hope who’ll serve as agents of hope, and candidates of mercy who’ll live as conduits of mercy. Jesus is bringing restoration to broken individuals as a means of bringing healing to other individuals, families, communities, and, ultimately, to the whole universe. The Bible tells a story of personal, not privatized blessing. God’s Story is not a metaphor for self-actualisation or a vehicle of personal validation. It’s to be the means by which narcissists become servant neighbours, materialists become material witnesses to the outrageous generosity of Jesus, and the conceited develop an astonishing concern for the least and lost in society...we are made to live in God’s Story, for God’s glory, with God’s joy. It’s only within God’s Story that our stories find their true meaning and destiny. This is the story that we have in common with God’s people of every generation. Think about it: though we spend much of our life relegating God to bit parts in our little autobiographies of self-fulfilment, God generously ‘enfolds’ us into His cosmic Story of transforming love! Could any of us possibly want or hope for more out of life? We are called into a story that enfolds our own stories in a grander narrative- a story that is going somewhere, a story that is taking us with it. There really is a Great Story that goes on forever, in which each chapter gets better than the one before. We dwindle or we grow. Which will you choose?...”
Stories are powerful mechanisms and ways of how to live, in fact it was Jesus who probably invented the notion of ‘story’ through his famous parables. A few of them stick out in my mind- The Good Samaritan, the lost son, the lost sheep, the mustard seed, the rich fool, the unforgiving servant, the wedding feast, the sower...there are hundreds of parables Jesus told. Each one of them, the earliest form of a story, also maybe have crept their way into the folklore of today’s society. May be a different name, different characters, and a different time period or person who officially ‘wrote’ and ‘thought of the idea’, but essentially it’s the same concept and notion of what these type of stories do to people and their psyche. The difference about Jesus’ stories and those of today’s society, is that He spoke about what the Kingdom of Heaven was going to be about, in the basic language where his disciples would understand. That is what I believe is the beauty of stories, is that they can speak to the very heart of what is human, no matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, when you hear a good story, whether it is in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese or just plain Aussie, you will be touched to the bone and afterwards things will never be the same again for a very long time. In whatever language they are written, stories potential have the power to change lives- and none does it better than such stories, true ones in fact, from the Word of God.
In what way would you learn the most? Listen to a boring lecture in university on atoms and neutron scattering, or to watch a riveting movie with a good and meaningful plot (Movies are just stories on screen, stories made for the eyes, those who cannot sit and concentrate on a good read)? Or how about a dive into a suspenseful mystery with ethical morals, with characters posing questions of the beginning of the universe? Would that win in amount learnt over a stressful job as a financial analyst? Would you rather spend another mundane day at the office, or wishing for a break to come in the passion that you really love? Now I’m not knocking what people do, as some people may get a kick and sense of satisfaction out of these things, but the majority of the people in this world prefer listening, watching, and dreaming of stories, rather than doing the real jobs...I mean let’s face it, would you rather change the world as a fireman, or a journalist? A doctor or an actor? An international speaker or a stockbroker? There are the jobs that everyone loves, and the jobs that only the minority loves. But underneath all of the denial, the stress, the working long hours, doing it all for the family thing, under all of that insecurity that many of you may be feeling, all you need and want is a story for you to unfold in your life that make you feel that for once in your life you are alive for a reason that goes beyond the normal and the ordinary.
And let me tell you, God has a purpose for you. Yes, you, who may feel insecure, unsure of yourself, and have low self-esteem, but that, will not matter to God. God can use even the littlest of people to make a real difference in this world. Look at all of these factual stories in the Bible and the people that God used to further His kingdom- Moses, Jonah, Daniel, Samuel, Noah, Abraham, David, Ezekiel, Hezekiah, Solomon, Ester, Job, Gideon, Ruth, Samson, Peter, even Paul had a grand role to play in the ‘story’ of God that never began and will never end. I nearly fell off my chair when international speaker and pastor Louie Giglio spoke that definition of 'story', in a DVD that I recently bought. A story with no beginning or no end? That’s the kind of story that I’m talking about. One to reflect God’s glory, his majesty, and ultimate purpose in everyone’s life. The big story that is filled up with all of the little stories of Christians playing a part, (not the main, because that belongs to God and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity), but Christians all play minor roles in fulfilling God’s major plan for everyone here on this planet. But isn’t a story something that is completely fiction, I mean it could never happen in reality, right? I used to think for myself that that was true. But then I found out the various meanings of ‘story’. According to Encarta, one of the meanings of the word ‘story’ is a factual or fictional account of an event or series of events.
That means the story of God, unfolding around all of us, can happen to everyone, in fact anyone can join it at anytime, and God doesn’t place any restrictions on the number of characters in the story, nor the number of chapters. No matter what you’ve been through or where you’re at in your life emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually, God can rescue you, your leading role in your me-story that ends (yes, everyone does die); and you can join the never ending story. Just like how one can become lost in the stories made by this world, by many successful and prolific authors, and not realise that the story only lasts until one finishes the book and read the words ‘The End’, or until you get sick of reading the book and come back to it in a couple of years; as humans we can also become lost in a belief that the story we’re starring in (the me-centred story) is the major story and that there is not other and that if there is, it absolutely cannot compare to the one we’re involved in. But there is in fact a story that is the greatest above all stories, the story of Jesus Christ, dying on a tree, so that he can give us all new life and the opportunity for us to join the grand story that never ends. And the good thing is that you can come and enter God’s story no matter where you’re at, no matter if you think you’re not good enough, God will meet you where you’re at.
Look at Moses, a murderer at age 40, only at 80 he was called by God, in the form of a burning bush, to go back to Pharaoh and demand him to let God’s people go. I’ll bet he was shaking all over, trying to talk his way out of it, or if it was in today’s time, he’d be going to his therapist or doctor just in case he ate some magic mushrooms or something like that. Or how about Job; his life was not smooth at all and in complete and utter disarray. His livestock and family left him for dead, literally, and Satan gave him boils on his body, yet he still praised God. Jonah was swallowed by a whale after he took his ‘story’ and wanted to trade his small role for a starring lead; and Abraham, slept with his mistress, trying to control his sperm and have a kid at age 100 as he didn’t want to face up to the fact that his wife was barren. How about Peter, faithful disciple to Jesus who denied him 3 times just before Jesus’ death, or Samson, who wanted to please God as well as his mistress Delilah? Paul, former Christian hater prior to his conversion, when he became blind through God showing his presence in the form of the brightest light in history, didn’t also receive a smooth transition into Christian life either. See, he was prone to fights, as he and Barnabas agreed to disagree, and they parted ways soon after Paul started his ministry- he joined Silas soon afterwards and I guess everyone may know the story of Paul and Silas in jail. David wrote most of the Psalms when he was in the pits of despair and he succumbed and submitted to his temptation of adultery when he slept with Bathsheba, a married woman, and gave the orders, for her husband, who died in battle shortly after, to be placed in the front line of attack. Solomon, while very wise, still doubted God’s promises, so much so he wrote a whole book about it called Ecclesiastes, and later on in his life he was heavily involved in idol worship, as he married 700 women and slept with 300 more on the side (No, I’m not kidding!). Now, when I tell you about all of these bible characters, these men and women who lived and breathed in history, having all of these fears, doubts and temptations long after they chose to follow God, what hope does that leave us all? None at all, I tell you. Just because we are part of the flock doesn’t mean that we have a bubble around us that the wolves cannot get to. Quite the opposite, as being part of the flock is vulnerable, is scary, but we know we are in safe hands and we have a Shepherd who will go to the ends of the earth if one of us is lost, and will never leave us or abandon us.
However, sometimes in this grandiose story of God, we do feel terrible and some days are worse than others. Just part of the Christian walk, what I have learnt to do is to call upon God, as His ways are all more powerful and make more sense than our ways. Just because we may not understand what He is doing in our lives at a particular time doesn’t mean our ‘story’ in God’s never ending one is in jeopardy, nor does it mean that we should give up and accept that God wants no part of our lives in His. Instead of this negative attitude, that I reckon is given to us by the deceivers of our society, what I reckon is what we ought to do is to question Him in a way that says, “OK God, I do not know all the answers, I do not know how I got into this mess, and I do not know how You’re going to pull me out of this, but I’m going to trust You from here until eternity, and let You do Your thing, and show me what to do.” After all, what do you think an epiphany is? Yes, that’s right, God giving us clarity and direction, guidance, and a heads-up on how our ‘story’ would be turning out if we head down a particular road. We all need a revelation once in a while. We all need a heads-up. There will be times during everybody’s lives where we feel as if we cannot go on, and it is during those times when our faith gets tested. There will be trials, but God has promised to be there all the way. We just have to trust that God knows what he is doing (and he does!), and that is all we can do. Sometimes our lives can lead us down uncertain roads, roads that do not seem to end, but we should know that there is hope for everyone, that everyone can play a role in the ‘story’ of all stories- God’s never-ending story that goes on forever, but the twist is that every upcoming chapter is so much better than the one before.
As I finish, let me say this: we arrive at this conclusion of surrender into God's never ending story through many different ways, one of which is through listening to music- the Lord does speak through whatever He wants, and recently for me, it has been though music. And now to share my no. 2 song after 'History Maker', 'I Am Free', by Newsboys:
Some songs speak to the heart, and this is one of them. Mull over the song a bit, hope this song touches you like it has done for me.
Who the Son Sets free, is free indeed (lyrics from I am Free).
Everyone on this earth that ever lived, that are living now and are destined and ordained by God to be born and live in the future, has a purpose in their lives. The one thing that we all know that we were made to do is to worship something. No, it isn’t to make it big and famous and earn heaps of cash, live in a 5-storey mansion with a flashy Lamborghini and a sanitised pool; nor is it to be the most popular kid in school and make sure you have the most autographs on your shirt at the end of high school- because these things are superficial. They all bring meaning to your life but it is in fact momentary. Worship, however, leaves a meaning upon your life that is long lasting, that will never fade away; even when the strength of your finances falls, or the housing market.
See, no matter what your circumstance, I personally believe that life should be lived out according to the way Jesus wanted it to be lived out, and that means, to the full, and when that happens, I reckon it is only human to grade and prioritise preferences according to various factors. You spend more time studying rather than hanging out with friends because there’s a big assessment coming up worth 20% due in a week and you haven’t started. You choose to spend quality time with your wife and children instead of working overtime at work, because you know that the time well spent is more valuable than any promotion, pay rise or new office than your boss could ever give you. Or you spend time at the beach rather than indoors on an overcast day because you enjoy the rush and the edge, making your adrenaline increase. In all of those scenarios, it is indeed clear that people value something over another, it is prioritised, and I guess it can correspond to what you treasure the most.
What is on your mind, what do you value, what can’t you live without? It might seems like I’m describing an unhealthy addiction, but in fact worshipping something is putting it at the centre of our being, at the core of our lives, the first and foremost thing that we feel as if we ought to do. Now right here right now, let me ask you a question. Think about how you spend your time, and evaluate how much is spent on the things you love. Probably more than 50%? I reckon so. Simply put, what you worship is what you value, what you constantly think about, what you want to strive for, what is of highest value on your throne of importance.
As Christians who we ought to strive to worship is Jesus Christ, as even He has said, in Matthew 6: 24, 32-34 “…you cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn’t life worth more than food? And isn’t the body worth more than clothes? ...these are the things pagans are always concerned about…instead be concerned above everything else with the kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these things…”
Going back to the crux and what I believe is the most important aspect of Christianity, there is no better feeling in the world that I can honestly put my finger on that correlates with the feeling of placing your life in the hands of the One who made the cosmos and moulded the very fibres of our being. Jesus Christ, the Son of God came down to earth to die on a cross for mankind so that we can believe and know Him in a personal way and become saved from eternal separation from God, is worthy of being worshipped, is worthy of all of our praise and adoration, because he chose to become the sacrifice for mankind and offer up His life. I guess many Christians do not dwell upon this fact as much as each one of them should, but let me tell you this. Jesus was selfless, thinking of others and the chance they’d get of receiving salvation, but that could only happen if someone stepped in and took everyone’s place. Think about it...would you die for someone close? Probably your parents or your spouse or children, but anyone outside of immediate family may be a dead set no-no. And why? Because they haven’t done anything for you in return, anything worthy of dying for. In this society of me-centred stories and egotistical plots concerning no one but yourself, we all fall into the trap of ‘why should I give up my time and money and my effort, when he (or she) has stabbed me in the back, or hasn’t appreciated it in the past and won’t in the future, or we don’t even know each other’ because we will not give way and compromise for any random stranger.
But God gave his life for humanity, for everyone...regardless if they join ‘the Story of God’ or not (but God’s heart beats for a grandiose story where everyone does join...) and that’s what makes the never-ending story unique and like no other (besides the fact that it has no beginning and no end). It doesn’t matter where you’ve gone, what’ve you done and what state you’re in when you come to God, He will still accept you as His child, stretching out His arms and offering the blood of Jesus Christ to wipe your slate clean and give you a second chance. Not that we are deserving of this chance, far from it, but Jesus has bridged the gap. And that’s why we can worship Him and He should be the ultimate desire on our hearts and lips to be worshipped.
But even after the first time you've accepted Christ and started to worship Him, temptations do arise and before you know it, God’s story is now MY STORY and ‘story’ resonates no meaning inside you anymore. But God can change it all. Thought about the footprints in sand story? That’s exactly what Jesus Christ does for us, when Satan tries to destroy us in any way possible and tries to redirect our centre of worship and the main character of The Story, God is there, carrying us through it all. The storms as well as the triumphs. Because that is what life is- a package of good and bad. While at times you may think God is great, at times you may think you are the main act. Because that is what we call human nature. But that’s ok, because God has paid the price. He has redeemed us and no matter what we do in this life, if you accept Jesus Christ and accept His invitation to join the bigger and better Story, unlike the somewhat twisted Aesop’s Fables that have theoretical applications but hardly any practical implications, you will feel freer than almost anyone else who’s devoted to any other form of worship. There is a sense of satisfaction when God is worshipped than any other person or object. This is because when you are trying to make yourself great, you will never live up to your expectations. You will always fail. But there is good news. The revelation God has placed on each man’s heart, regardless if they are a Christian or not, regardless if they intentionally turn away or not, never goes away. We are all searching for something and believe me, we can find it not in making ourselves ‘great’ through what we wear or listen to that is fashionable, but in the God-centred story and the worship found in Him, the freedom of living life with no regrets and knowing that God will carry us no matter where we go, even if we’re on lofty peaks, or to hell and back- God will always remind us that it is his name that is ought to be made great.
I hope you can find out what it is you worship. Maybe have a heart-to-heart with God. Sit on this, pray a bit. But let us be reminded this Christmas season that God has invited us into a never ending story, and it is our choice to consciously everyday step into it and live it out. God has never said that this life will be comfortable, easy and breezing. Jesus came to Earth to comfort the afflicted, however He also came to afflict the comfortable.
And to leave us on this note, let me quote Louie Giglio, from his book, 'The Air I Breathe'- Worship is simply about value. The simplest definition I can give is this: Worship is our response to what we value most. That’s why worship is the thing we all do. It’s what we’re all about on any given day. Because worship is about saying, ‘This person, this thing, this experience (this whatever) is what matters most to me, it’s the thing I put first in my life.’ That ‘thing’ might be a relationship, a dream, friends, status, stuff, a name, some kind of pleasure, whatever name you put on it, this thing or person is what you’ve concluded in your heart is worth most to you. And whatever is worth most to you is-you guessed it-what you worship.
