Just as we seek what we Lost, God seeks what He lost

Just as we seek what we Lost, God seeks what He lost

It has been really long since I last updated.. personally I'm struggling with academic studies but yet at the same time, God has been showering blessings upon me for the past semester.

I feel I do fail God a lot of times as I'm still suffering from "giving up" and also struggling with temptations not to study but God's Love is enduring, He showed me His grace for me this week even as I went through one of the most frustrating weeks (in terms of academic) and also one of the most fruitful (in terms of ministry).

Just this week we had a Blessings project, where I went around the school (along with other fellow Christians) to give out hot beverage on a cold night with some light snacks. That night when I went home I actually lost my wallet. But being too tired out, I did not realise this until the next day. And so, the hunt for the wallet began, with me not pinning much hopes of getting it back. Perhaps the only Blessing in disguise as I thought to myself was that my Matriculation Card (needed for sitting Exams) was not lost as it was in the hands of a Canteen holder whom we placed orders for the hot drinks.

God used this extended time to show and reveal to me once again His heart for the Lost. As I searched for my wallet, I wasn't panicky. Neither was I anxious. But on the journey, God reminded me of what He spoke in the Bible to the Pharisees to reveal God's own heartbeat for something He lost:

This was a series of 3 parables that came one after another to illustrate a single point: That God desires to seek out what He has lost and God is determined and joyful to find it.

The verses are at Luke 15:1-32.

The context of these 3 passages was that the Pharisees saw Jesus sitting down with people deemed unfitting to enter the Kingdom of God: Tax collectors (despised for they worked for the Romans), Sinners (deemed unclean and not to get close to). They were puzzled that Jesus, a man whose powers come from God and is a Rabbi is actually getting CLOSE to these people. Does He not actually know these people are just "not the type" who would enter heaven?

Jesus here spoke not just 1 but 3 parables in a row to Reveal God's own heart to us.

1) The Parable of the Lost Sheep:
a shepherd lost a sheep, and searches high and low, going to great measure to find it back.
And when he found it, he asked his friends to share his joy. Finding 1 lost sheep is even more joyful to be happy than 99 who are not lost...

2) The Parable of the Lost Coin:
a woman loses a silver coin and searches the house carefully to find it. and when he finally finds it, she calls for joy with her friends. Jesus again compares it to the repentance of a sinner that is the joy of the Lord.

3) The Parable of the Lost Son:
Perhaps the most well known, actually, the Father had 2 lost sons. One being the younger who asked for inheritance only to waste it away, returning to his father feeling unworthy to be His fathers son.

But his father had been waiting for him to return, and rejoiced at his return and restored his status as his son. And while his elder son now becomes angry, he also seeks for the elder son initiatively when the elder son fumes and refuses to return to the house.

Here we see God was actually telling the Pharisees that those they saw as worthless are the ones that God wanted to seek out and reconcile with. (Hence 1 sinner who repents over 99 Pharisees who don't need to, also the lost coin). And finally the lost son(s) the father rejoices over whats lost and found more.

God seeks the Lost, who are actually you and me, the people out there who are needing Him one way or another. If I lost my wallet and found it back, I'm joyful, I can imagine the joy of the Lord at seeking and finding His own people He lost through the Fall.

And its reassuring to know one only seeks what belongs to Him. For me, it was my own wallet. But for God, He seeks our own hearts, which belongs to Him. We must therefore mean a lot a lot to God Himself =)

101st post!

Wow. I hit a century finally =)

Time really flies when life is preoccupied with work that is endless. Reflecting on a verse from Ecclesiastes 5: 8- 18 really spoke to me about just how finite and seemingly short it is. Life is really too short to be about ourselves. And God rightfully made it this way so we would fathom at His marvelous creation, that has withstood the merciless passing of time.
(this is a picture I took from the airplane.. can't even see any land in the vast ocean!)

Have you ever wondered just how small the Earth is in this galaxy that we don't even fully understand? Or even how small we are on the face of the Earth? Yet sometimes, as we live our lives, I get the feeling sometimes that we are living for ourselves. This life is all about me. How I want to do things, who I want to become, what I will do in the future..... and before I know it, i have already hit 23 years old.

After going abroad and pouring through videos about the world out there, living for myself seems too small a purpose to live for. When I am complaining about my new shoes giving me sores on my feet, probably somewhere else in the world people are running around without shoes.. :X

God really opened my eyes to see that life is not about us. If this life were all there is to it, how meaningless would it be the day we breathe our last. Perhaps this is best described in:

Ecclesiastes 5: 8- 18
" 8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. 9 The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.

11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?

12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.

13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,
14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.

16 This too is a grievous evil:
As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?

17 All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.

18 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 20 They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart."
Indeed, life has too many things that we don't even make sense of before we die, yet one thing God revealed was for Man to enjoy the fruits of our labour, no matter how temporal it may be, truly, it is better to earn enough to enjoy life to the fullest compared to earning billions and not having the life to spent it.

I do hope as I grow into maturity in Christ, I will also learn to depend on the Lord, and just like verse 20 says (seldom reflect on the days of our life, as God keeps our hearts occupied with gladness in our hearts).

There has only been this One God, One Jesus, One Spirit who has stood the passing of time, for He is not confined by time as He made time to pass. Even though many faith giants in the bible lived only for a while, like a sparkle fading away, they did shine brightly for they knew God, where only the finite meets the infinite, the temporal meets the eternal, the previously wanderous aimless life filled with His purpose: to enjoy the gifts in our life and to enjoy getting to know Him.

I pray that you too finds assurance, rest, peace and joy in Him. =) God Bless You!