SS Thoughts #19. Perfection: A Myth?

Over the course of history, many things have been built by man with the intention of being perfect….. but were not:

1.     The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable, but sank—with great loss of lives—on its maiden voyage.

2.     The Hubble telescope was built in the 1970's at a cost of about 2 billion dollars, and launched into space. Its mission was to take pictures of the universe from space, but it sent back no pictures. Its construction was faulty, and another 1.5 billion dollars was spent for repairs. In fact almost 10 billion dollars have been wasted to tell us what we already know – God created the heavens and the earth, and hung the stars in place.

God, who alone is perfect, created a perfect world—a paradise where everything was ‘very good’. Indeed the entire week of creation was perfect, with a perfect day of rest and God-communing time at the end. 

Unfortunately, the first man and woman chose to exercise their free will—in clear rebellion against God—and suffering and death entered our world. God sent a flood, and only Noah’s family was saved in an ark – built on God’s perfect specifications. And at the end of the flood, a perfect rainbow was formed, as a sign, a hope, a promise, that the earth would never again be destroyed by water.

Yes, our world is imperfect, sin-sick, and full of injustices, but it won’t always be this way. We have the blessed hope of Christ’s return, when the earth will be restored to how it was in the beginning. It will be perfect with “no more sickness, nor death, nor crying, nor pain”, (Rev. 21:4).

Adding 3 lines from one of my favorite hymns - O love that will not let me go - #76 SDA Hymnal: 

      "I trace the rainbow through the rain,
      And feel the promise is not vain
      That morn shall tearless be."

Aren’t you looking forward to that day?

[Feel free to leave a comment]

SS Thoughts #18: Tired Waiting?

Imagine this….. You take a little seed, plant it and water it—for a whole year…. and nothing happens. The second, third and fourth year you continue to water it… and nothing happens. Not even one tiny green shoot. You are beginning to feel frustrated and discouraged! The fifth year you still continue to water the seed…. and suddenly the tree sprouts and grows 90 feet in 6 weeks!!

This is the story of the Chinese bamboo. Its seeds lie dormant in the ground for 4 years, before springing to life in the 5^th year and growing faster than any other tree in the forest. Moreover bamboo plants stand together to support each other, and their roots are also intertwined for support. In fact a group of bamboo (or other) trees growing like this is called a stand!! (See picture below)

Life is much like trying to grow a Chinese bamboo – it is often discouraging. It seems like you are praying and praying for answers, or direction…. and nothing happens. It feels like you are reaching out to others about Jesus for sooooo long…. and nothing is happening. And you are sooooo tired of these cold-hearted people! Keep watering. Or you are the person opening your heart to the message, but others say you are making a mistake. Don’t listen…. Keep drinking in that living water.

Remember what it takes to grow a Chinese bamboo….. Do not give up. Perhaps you should triple or quadruple your efforts. Just when you might feel like giving up could be the time when you will see the results. And it will be the right time – it will be God’s time……

[Feel free to leave a comment]

SS Thoughts #17: Too Much on Your Plate?

Scriptures have shown that when God needs people for His service, He does not look among the idle, but among those who are active and busy in different types of work. For example:

1. David was busy taking care of his father's sheep when he was chosen to be king.
2. Simon Peter and Andrew were busy casting nets into the sea when they were called to be Christ's disciples, and fishers of men.
3. Moses was busy running away from Pharaoh when he was called to lead the Israelites out of bondage!

What if YOU are the next one called? Would you say you are too busy? Would you say your plate is full? Think about this…. God can do it without us. He can make the rocks cry out and the donkey speak!! But He wants us to be disciples – involved in helping to win souls for His kingdom. “Discipleship is obedience to the call of Jesus to abide in Him, to do what He bids, and to be for His sake the salt and light in this world”. (Teacher’s Adult SS Lesson, Q2 2015, p.48)

What’s holding you back??? Technology has made global communication soooo much easier, e.g. using FB*, WhatsApp, etc. Do not let busy-ness stop you from telling others about YOUR Jesus and all He has done for YOU. After all, if you don’t tell them, how will they know?

(*Based on figures extracted from “the Estimator”, there are more than 900 million Facebook users across 211 nations. If FB were a country, it would be the 3^rd largest country in the world. China has the world's largest population (1.4 billion), followed by India (1.3 billion). The next most-populous nations – the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan – combined have less than 1 billion people. Jul 11, 2014)

SS Thoughts #16: A L-o-o-o-n-g Road Trip

The story of the Israelites journey from Egypt to Canaan is amazing. It was only about 250 miles—and should have taken only a few months. Although it entailed faith, it was not meant to be a ‘blind’ journey. There were several different routes, including a splendid highway up the coast of the Mediterranean Sea through the land of the Philistines. Instead the Israelites traveled the longest route; wandering up and down through the wilderness. The account of their arrival in, and exit from Egypt, takes up seven books of the Bible!

But the journey was never intended to take 40 years. The Promised Land was to be theirs by faith—not fight. God Himself would drive out its inhabitants with hornets, hailstones and plagues.

So by faith, the people followed Moses out of Egypt. And the Lord provided everything they needed – His own presence in a cloud during the day and in a pillar of fire at night; a dry path through the Red Sea; daily manna (with a double portion on Friday); water from a rock; etc.

Yet their faith became weak. They became bitter, frightened and rebellious; and the Lord refused to give them the Promised Land. None of the adults who left Egypt were allowed to enter, except for Joshua and Caleb, and Moses himself was only permitted to see it from afar.

Are we any better? Are we holding on to our faith, and fixated on the sure promise of Christ’s soon return? Or are we grumblers and complainers, and as shortsighted as the faithless Israelites? Perhaps we too might not see the Promised Land.......