The More Things Change, the More We Realise God Doesn't (Part 2 of 2)

The More Things Change, the More We Realise God Doesn’t (Part 2 of 2)

The Christian strategy against liberalism, political correctness and every change that is destroying the world

Khen Lim

Image source: IFL Science

No bright horizons

The world isn’t just an unhappy place but it is also doomed for destruction. Unless something miraculous happens that would turn it around, we have no way out. And even as we lay the blame squarely at the feet of liberals and corrupt politicians, perhaps we may be partly held accountable too because all these decades, many of us had placed so much importance on prosperity and growth that we ourselves ignored the changes that have shifted our social and cultural perceptions. Some of us might have thought they were harmless. Some might have even believed that these changes would never last.

Drugs. Prostitution. Abortion. Racism. Homosexuality. Crime. Violence. Adultery. Sexism. And then political correctness, entitlement, terrorism and Islamisation. All of these have produced a convoluted mess that today define modern society at large. We knew it and yet we failed to react proportionately. Instead, we were too interested in ourselves. 

The changes that have been coming hard and fast in the past decade owe their roots to the days when our previous generations did not do anything. They turned their backs to them and called them ‘free expression.’ They said the ‘free world’ owes it to the people to be able to do anything they like. In other words, it was unpopular to challenge such changes because people often viewed them as part of a modernised life.

Today, these changes stare at us. The people who have been forcing these unto us know they’re going to be too difficult to overturn. And since no one wants to be seen to renege, everything becomes the status quo. In any industry that has become so liberalised, very few would rear his head and say no because if they did, they would simply become unemployable. Their reputation would be smeared. Lies would be told of them. They would be labelled in the most denigrating manner. Word would be out not to touch them. All of these are aimed to destroy the person’s credibility and to send him packing. No liberals are ever tolerant of anyone unravelling their changes.

To reverse these changes, hundreds of millions of ordinary people everywhere must sit up and forcefully push back but that alone won’t be enough. Governments must then wake up when they sense the displeasure of their populace and act to reverse the trends. This must then spur a new wave of political leaders to bravely lead the people to thwart the liberal advances and topple the status quo. New legislations must then be in place to prevent the return of these toxic policies.

All that sounds as promising as it is unrealistic. For most level-minded people, none of these are deliverable. To get so many people to rally their governments into submission is a tall order. And then for governments to act isn’t just a pipe dream but inter-governmental relationships are built not on ethics but on trade balances. And then for politicians to do what people hope they would is a lofty expectation. Honesty and politics aren’t great bedpartners as most will agree and even if there is one, he’d probably be assassinated before he could do anything substantial.

The unchanging hope

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It’s easy to overlook the fact that change is a constant in society, the same as many of us are reluctant to concede the revelation that change can be very negative and destructive as it’s proven in the past few decades. Over the past many centuries, changes wrought the demise of the old, largely bringing improvements to lives in general. The old and antiquated made way for the new and in some cases, deadly diseases and illnesses are resolved by drugs that finally worked. 

These promised better things and were beneficial but history also reveals that this was not always the case. The price of technology is a double-edged knife because often, as they bring benefits to people, there are also serious issues to contend with. The price to pay in light of so-called ‘new luxuries’ is costly in so many ways.

Businesses paid with their lives when new technology comes and interrupts. Cases in point are WordPerfect and Lotus as well as Nokia, just to name a few. But in some other cases, it has been worse. When innovations such as smartphones, Internet and social media networking combine, the results, as we know, are lethal for so many. 

Other than terrorists and criminals using it to our disadvantage, addiction by individuals, groups and families mean a steep decline in sociability, communicability and relationship quality. People don’t bother to talk when they can simply disappear into their smartphone lives.

Often people also ask what gain there is if it is without pain? They say no gain, no growth. Without growth, development stops. When development stops, there are no improvements, which in turn spells hopelessness. Stunted with nowhere to go, we face decay. However, the reason we feel the pain is because the rewards of change are only for those who are able to see the bigger picture of the long term. 

In other words, it’s the future in which today’s changes will best be felt. When impatient people demand instant gratification, they will fail to reap the benefits of change. Unless they possess the faith to hold on to the vision and see it through, anything beyond the horizon will be unattainable no matter the promises.

Yet even as change brings about certain uncertainties, some things actually don’t change because there are integral to life and therefore, remain the same. Life still goes on. Things still happen. And God is still there. Our faith in His eternity does not get affected because He does not change. 

Everything about Him is the same at the beginning as it is today and in the future. He offers a guarantee that nothing else can and that is, His immutability. Our faith in God grounds us into a different sense of reality that is immune to whatever changes that may or may not be desirable, that occur in our lives. Even as everything around us become noisier and more calamitous, what God promises us since the beginning of time will not change.

These promises are varied though. Some are inspiring, lifting us up as we look forward to what are in store that God has for us. Some others, on the other hand, are hard truths that are difficult to swallow but they will come and we will face them. But He also promised us that even when the rough ride comes, He will be there for those of us who believe in Him. He will draw us towards His holiness provided we are properly ready. His holiness is not just unchanging but it is our only insurance in life that we can count on all the time.

God’s unchanging promises can be many when you comb through the Bible very closely but here is a selection of eight that will help us in our struggle to deal with the deadly changes that we are experiencing today:

1. God is always in control

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It can be so soul-destroying when we see nothing but problems and trouble wherever we look regardless of the countries we refer to. That creepy sense of despair is hard to avoid. And it’s not going to get better. In fact it will get far worse before it has any chance of getting better. In the meantime, many of us have become disillusioned by the machinations of their elected governments. Instead of trusting them, many agree that prospects are worsening by the day and the impression of a world being torn apart is unavoidable.

While we fret and moan – some might feel like giving up – God knows precisely what is happening. Nobody else is but God is in control. There is nothing He doesn’t know about every single country and the travails that all of us are experiencing. He is the ultimate sovereign power. He is Lord of all over every one and that means not just Christians and Judaists but also all the unbelievers, liberals, socialists, atheists, Satanists and despotic corrupt leaders in the world. 

If any of them believe that they can get away with their destructive war-mongering plans, they’re in for a surprise. God not only is aware – but His patience is growing thin – but His plans and purposes will proceed unhindered. Nothing will come in His way:

“You can make many plans but the Lord’s purposes will prevail.” (Prov 19:21, NLT)

We may not live in the middle of Somalia or Sudan and so we think we’re buffeted from the worst cases of violence and terrorism but we may go through hardships in other forms. Economic downturns. Unemployment. Spiralling stock markets. Inflation. Or recession. Prices going up but wages don’t. Bankruptcies. In all of these, families suffer through it. Some make it but some don’t. The pressure to survive can be horrendous.

But through all this, God tells us neither to fear nor be anxious because He’s right there behind us and by our side and in front of us. He’s there to hold us up. He’s there to pick us when we fall. He’s there to lift us also. His presence reminds us that we actually have the privilege of drawing on His strength and wisdom. Through our faith as well, God has not changed His promise to uphold us:

“Don’t be afraid for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isa 41:10, NLT)

2. Real sense of purpose

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If you’ve just been through a close call in your life, you might wonder why God kept you alive. For those of us who have experienced near-death situations in any form, either that question would be on our minds or we might reflect on what possibilities there are in God’s plans for each of us. Unlike godless people who convince themselves that everything is over once they die for there is nothing beyond death, as God’s children, He has instilled upon us not just a sense but real tangible purpose.

While that purpose is likely different among us, the Holy Spirit has the clarity of knowing how we are to be useful to Him. With such purpose comes a calling for us to fulfil, a challenge that underscores God’s true purpose that he has invested in our lives. 

But it doesn’t have to be difficult to know. In simple terms, He wishes for us to love Him with everything we’ve got (Lk 10:27, NLT). He does not want to force it upon us – after all, He has given us the free will to choose – but it is within our hearts that He cherishes our willingness to love Him:

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Mt 22:37-39, NLT)

It would’ve been fine if it were just ‘neighbours’ we are called to love. Yet the challenge the Jesus has given us is to go love our enemies as well.

“‘You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.” (Mt 5:43-47, NLT)

Let’s not kid ourselves. Most of us don’t relish the idea of loving our enemies. If we’re truthful with ourselves, we want to have the least to do with those who hurt and harm us. But in that verse, Jesus hit the nail right where it hurts most – our pride and ego sometimes need to be dented for us to do the impossible. Yet how do we go about loving those who hurt and harm us? With what remarkable talent or skill do we deploy to love and pray for those whom we deeply dislike? 

Consider that these people may not necessarily have brought us personal harm but they can also be those whom we resent because they’re bent on destroying the country we love. They may be those whom we are aware can look us in the eye and still lie to the people and expect to get away with it. It is hard enough to forgive and yet Jesus commands us to love and pray for them. That is tough. But not undoable.

In the last two verses, Jesus says, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is thee for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.” In other words, loving those who love you is hardly a challenge since everyone does it effortlessly. 

Instead He challenges us to do something that is “different from anyone else” but different in a very powerful way, in the sense that most people find it unthinkable to do. Jesus is asking us to pull out every trick in our book to love our enemies. He’s inviting us to be unique by attempting something most people aren’t interested in achieving. 

And the way to do this is to seek inspiration from God. From Him, we can find the strength and reason to overcome our own prejudices. From Him, we learn the most powerful lesson in love:

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” (1 Jn 4:7, NLT)

In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul has something similar to say as well:

“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honourable.

“Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord. Instead, ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’ Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good.” (Rom 12:14-21, NLT)

There’s no doubt that the when someone hurts us, the temptation to hit back is strong. Although we’re the ones who are derogatorily labelled – haters, bigots, sexists, racists, you name it – it is the liberal labellers who put out so much hate to challenge us. They spew enough hatred to make us forget our decency. They breathe down our necks and profane enough to provoke us to fight. They are so bent on baiting us to take a swing at them that it is hard not to but of course if or when we do, they’d have it recorded and then use it against us. The ways of evil are aplenty and liberal baiters know exactly our weak spot and they are intent on exploiting it for all its worth.

But it is under such duress that God expects us to rise above and set a powerful example for others to witness so that when they see our behaviour, they “will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” When we set such examples in life, we get the chance to spread God’s glory and talk about the Gospel. That glory will then spread as far and wide as the Lord would want to:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always even to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20, NLT)

But if we take the bait and relent to counter-violence, how are we then to respond to God’s calling to love everyone? If, like the liberals, we have malice and darkness in our hearts, how can we lead people to Christ? If Christ’s command is beyond what we’re willing to do, what hope is there that we can rise above the occasion? When all ordinary folks see is more of ‘the same old,’ what is there for them to learn about Christ from us? Where is that special out-of-the-ordinary Christ-inspired quality that we need people to see in us if we stoop to the low standards that the liberals continue to exhibit?

To make fishers of men (Mt 4:19), we must be humble enough to know and fulfil God’s purpose in all of us.

3. Divine provision

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At the beginning along the perilous road towards the End Times, there are uncertainties. As we now know, along the way, we will witness horrible things as the world unravels, spinning out of control. Wherever we look, there is hopelessness. For many of us, we just don’t know what to do anymore. Those without jobs for so long are now racing against time before their savings run dry. 

In the meantime, they’re struggling to put food on the table, get their children clothed, pay the mortgage and insurance and make sure there’s enough gas in the tank. Others who have fallen into the liberal trap are increasingly demanding more as that growing sense of entitlement worsens. And all of this continues to stretch the national economy beyond what it can handle.

It is often in times like this that nothing but despair fills out our hearts. Nothing appears to work anymore and we’re no longer sure where the next dollar is going to come from. When the man in the family discovers that the factory will be shuttering thousands of jobs, he’s left thinking if he’d be among them. That feeling of being part of a cruel cull is like having your head on the chopping board, staring into the basket below and waiting for the drop.

In dire moments like this, God provides when we have no more viable avenues. God’s faithfulness towards us is an iron-clad guarantee that whatever He promises, He delivers. All we need to do is to stand in the gap and hang on to the coattails of our faith with our dear lives:

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and He will give you everything you need.” (Mt 6:25-33, NLT)

Knowing that the wrong needs to be righted is one thing; feeling helpless because we cannot do a thing about it is quite another. Maybe you find yourself at a university where your lecturer is not only a staunch liberal but a fierce atheist whose hatred for God threatens your academic grades unless you renounce your faith. Knowing that he could fail you otherwise makes things extraordinarily hard for you to handle. Jesus says it as much:

“And all nations will hate you because you are My followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mt 10:22, NLT)

Paul in his letter to Timothy concurs:

“Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim 3:12, NLT)

Or you may work at a hospital where you can’t be seen wearing a cross around your neck but it gets worse – the management warns you not to pray for anyone including the patients, not even those with terminal illness. Gone are the days where there is tolerance for those who may work on Sundays but get leave to attend church services. 

Today, you can face the axe if you decide to act on your faith. Despite the presence of law to guarantee religious rights, new churches these days are facing problems even putting up crosses outside their buildings. Worse, it’s a serious uphill problem building a church on a piece of privately-owned land.

Whatever the problem is, solace and tranquillity are scarce resources among our fellow man. After all, almost every one of us have our own problems to deal with. No problem is bigger than the other. If you think yours is huge, someone next to you will tell you his is worse. Then the person at the far end of the hall might just butt in and say his is the worst of the lot. And so it goes. 

That is why seeking the Lord is the only avenue that works. What we can do is find a quiet corner somewhere where we can be still and on our own. We can close our eyes and reach out to Him from within our hearts. Stay still enough and we can sense that He is listening to us. That is when He will hold our hand and give us the reassurance that He understands our plight. In turn, He will make us feel better. All because we seek Him:

“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.” (Dt 7:9, NLT)

4. Undying faith pays dividends

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In the Lord’s kingdom, He has prepared a place ready for each of us. He promises us an afterlife filled with eternal joy and happiness but He also reminds us that only those with undying faith in Him are rewarded. That is why regardless of how great the pressure is, it is our faith that we must cling on to. We can give up everything else in our lives but our faith must be intact. We can surrender even our lives but in our faith, we know it will pay dividends to hang on to it.

In the recent movie entitled ‘Silence,’ two Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century travelled to medieval Japan to locate their missing mentor who they were told had renounced his faith in Christ after being tortured. 

Following a series of precarious searches in a country known for its hostility towards Christianity, the two missionaries finally met up with him who had since adopted Buddhism, wedded a woman offered by Japanese authorities and then changed his name as well.

They also discovered that he was also in the throes of writing a book denying Christ, which is a serious affront to the Lord (Mt 10:33). He told them that he had committed apostasy during his torture but then fifteen years living in Japan had actually convinced him that Christianity was a lost cause. Instead he was now certain that in Japan, ultimately finding God was akin to people discovering their original nature in life.

That doesn’t sound like faith but plain hogwash. In fact, there are so many disturbing parts to the movie that it is hard to understand what Christians gain as far as nett worth is concerned. Julie Roys’ review of the movie here is worthwhile reading before you plunge headlong to watching it without caution. 

It is probably useful to consider that this movie is from the director who offered us the notoriously controversial ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ and so parts of the dialogue will be impossible for us to accept but all the same, liberals will have no problem embracing them.

My retired pastor used to reinforce upon his congregation that faith is belief and unbelief but acting on the belief. In other words, while our faith is not flawless and therefore can swing from one end to the other, it best underpins our trust in God. Though our nature is compromised by sin, our faith remains but even so, it can be occasionally suspect. When we succumb to worries and negativity, our faith fails us. We plunge into darkness simply because we cannot let go of our anxiousness. 

Time and again, when we find ourselves face buried in our hands, crouched in defeatism, our faith deserts us or more likely, we desert our faith. God seems far away because we distance ourselves from Him. We shield ourselves from the Lord out of embarrassment and humiliation but it can also be because we don’t see far or deep enough with our faith.

On the other hand, when we remain strong and unfettered, it shines God’s glory. Along the way, we may suffer cuts and bruises but they merely tell a story of how we fought a good fight with our faith intact. We may lose the battle but we win the war outright because when we use our faith as a shield, we gain God’s favour and pleasure. We win the keys to the door of the eternal kingdom, knowing that indeed, there is a place He has reserved for us.

With our problems at hand, Jesus tells us to lay them at His feet. He reassures us that He will overcome our problems for us if only we fully trust Him to do so. Half the key to resolving our problems lie in having the belief that He will take care of them for us. Therefore, all we ever need to do is to believe. And when we do, we can then walk upright, filled with the inner peace and joy, calm in the assurance that only Jesus can give us:

“‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.” (Mt 11:28-30, NLT)

The reluctance to surrender our hold on our problems is a real one even for Christians. It seems that we may all believe in what the Bible says but it’s a different matter, trying to give up our problems completely to God. We say we do but in our closeted reality, we rarely do. Our trust in Him, when tested, could occasionally crack. 

But when we do find the inner strength to truly give Him our undivided faith, the rewards are out of this world because there are no precedence to them. You can’t find the same rewards anywhere else. You cannot earn them and neither can you buy them. The feeling you get as an outcome of our trust in Him is phenomenal and often indescribable because it dwells within like a surreal calmness and resilience.

This very same feeling is also available when God rewards us for the work we do in the Name of His Son, Christ Jesus. That work can of course be in varied forms. We can be sharing the Gospel with unbelievers and we can be doing this under hostile or unfriendly conditions. We can be helping others in dire straits and then giving the glory to Him. We can be sharing our love and praying for others all in the Name of Jesus. Or we can be persecuted or publicly humiliated simply for being doers and followers of Christ. 

Whatever form it takes, when we make way for the light of God to shine through our grace, words and actions, the rewards are truly heavenly:

“Store your treasures in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy and thieves do not break in and steal.” (Mt 6:20, NLT)

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously and He will give you everything you need.” (Mt 6:33, NLT)

In James 1:12 (NLT), the brother of Jesus writes in his letter to the Jewish Christians, affirming the same thing:

“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

When God rewards us for our faith and righteousness, no one can either match it or take it away from us. His rewards to us are irremovable, incomparable and unprecedented. These rewards have our names etched into them. They are individually customised and they come personally from the hands of God. He delivers it to whose among us whose righteousness helps earn it. That ‘crown of life’ is eternal, permanent and imperishable and it is His promise of the ages to all of us who believe in His Son.

They also happen to be, as Jesus puts it, unchanging:

“I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, for My Father has given them to Me and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are One.” (Jn 10:28-30, NLT)

5. God’s righteousness

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God’s purity lies in His righteousness. It is unique because no one else, dead or alive, ever is. God’s righteousness shines so brightly that it is blinding for all sinners. To put that in another way, He cannot be unrighteous. It is not in His nature to be anything but righteous because for Him to forsake Himself is impossible to do. He simply cannot do that. In explaining righteousness to His disciples, Jesus says this:

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you.

“They will do all this to you because of Me, for they have rejected the One who sent Me. They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Anyone who hates Me also hates My Father. If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate Me and My Father. This fulfils what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’

“But I will send you the Advocate – the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about Me.” (Jn 15:18-26, NLT)

Just as Jesus goes to prepare a place for us, He has given us ‘the Advocate’ – the Holy Spirit – to be our life guide, to be the beacon that will lead us into the righteousness of God. Furthermore, He has given unto us His incontrovertible and unchanging truth of Scripture by which His Spirit speaks:

“For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Heb 4:12, NLT)

6. Some things will never change

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From the beginning of the first generation till today, there are many things in life that are constants. Constants mean there are certain things that do not change no matter the age, the time, the event or the circumstances. These constants will have sufficient effect to shape life as we know it. Some do believe that on Earth, there are as many as a hundred plus constants that individually or together, contribute to the sustenance of life.

Modern science refers to life on Earth as being ‘carbon based.’ When scientists say that, they mean that the non-metal chemical element is a necessary component for life to exist, which indicates that all terrestrial living organisms possess a structure and system that is based on complex molecules that surround carbon atoms. 

Secondly, for human life to survive and for the surroundings to be inhabitable, water is fundamental without which, there is no adequate medium to transfer substances from the cell to the cell’s environment. In fact, science reveals that as much as 50 to 65 percent of an adult human body is made up of water. At 75 to 78 percent, water content is even higher in an infant. It is for this reason that space explorations to other planets within the Universe look basically for water as elemental proof of life.

Besides water, the presence of the Sun is material to everything that lives, grows and thrives. Without the Sun – as it is with water – life cannot exist. For every living thing, from humans to animals to fishes in the oceans and the birds in the skies, the Sun offers the principle of life itself – energy. Without it, the Earth would simply be too cold and lifeless. From the Sun, we get not just heat but light. 

Light enables photosynthesis to occur and without it, darkness will destroy life’s potential to develop. We also get that all-important gravitational pull that helps to keep us literally grounded. Given that the Earth is round (no flat-Earth controversies, please), a lack of gravity would have been seriously problematic for all life and not just humans.

All of this function like clockwork, never missing a beat, always on time every time regardless. Together, they operate synchronously day in and out. They take no holidays and they work around the clock, so to speak. They are non-discriminatory and they demand no human favours for they manage themselves without our help. They are, therefore, constants that give us every reason to be able to rely on. 

This reliance directs us all the way back to the sole source behind their design, architecture and engineering. They offer us a picture of the One who has to be so meticulous, precise, ingenious and powerful in that His life’s forces pervade over all Creation. That source is none other than God.

Under the divine master Creator’s control, no man can wrestle it from. These constants prove that a living God is so predominant over life that no government, corrupt or otherwise, can defy. They may lie about it. They may fake science and call it Climate Change. They may believe that they hold all the answers to science. 

Whatever else they think they can reinvent in life, it is only God whose deft hands at machinating perfection in rhyme and reason, create the most flawless rhythm and timing in all of life every day since the beginning of time. Till today, nothing has missed a beat because of these constants. And every day, we can still wake up to the call of morning and depend on them to keep us alive:

“As long as the Earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” (Gen 8:22, NLT)

In contrast to the clockwork nature of these constants, our cosmeticised lives in this world are unpredictable. We may have jobs today but we may lose them at any time with neither warning nor planning. When they come, the changes can be swift and harsh. Our cars may take us from one point to another but one day, they might not get us to work. They may break down along the highway. Similarly trains may get delayed for whatever technical reasons. Flights might be postponed or cancelled for a host of reasons from inclement weather to rowdy passengers or threats of terrorism.

On a more political tone, governments can change, bringing vast changes in policies that could alter our lives for the worst forever and in doing so, endorse agencies and bodies that ostracise us for our conservative beliefs and Christian faith. Suddenly we find things have changed so dramatically that the entire landscape has been forever transformed. We cannot pray in schools nor can we recite any passage from the Bible. Teachers are not allowed to talk about Jesus (but they can about Islam). 

All forms of the Christian cross are banned from public visibility and if a school emblem displays one, it must be removed. Even Muslims attending a Christian university can now demand that the cross affixed to the classroom wall must be obliterated. In the hands of God-hating bullies, our lives have been turned upside down.

Nothing of this sort stays the same. Changes disturb our rhythm of life. They upset the apple cart in the worst possible way. We can be happy one day but devastated another. Against this background of uncertainties, we have a reliable Father in heaven who unfailingly delivers His promise for He neither defaults nor know how to. And furthermore, He will be fair as well:

“…you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Mt 5:45, NLT)

7. The power of the meek

Image source: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Contrary to what many have mistaken it to mean, the word ‘meek’ does not actually imply any sense of physical, mental or emotional weakness. Instead, it refers to quietness of a gentle nature. When applied to a person, we mistake it as an unwillingness to fight or argue with others. Instead, meekness reflects more of an inclination towards a long-suffering life, patience in waiting without the need to be aggressive. 

Without proper understanding, it is unsurprising that modern society shows no tolerance or respect towards a meek person. Interesting enough, the ancient Near East including the Greco-Roman civilisation placed an unquestionably high premium on such people. Obviously people of the ancient world appear better educated than many of us.

Armed with a better understanding, meekness does not suggest feebleness but rather offers an impression of incredible strength in a person who is now in a compromising position of weakness where even though they face great tests of perseverance, they often resist surrendering. 

As in how the original Koine Greek word is applied to beasts – as in ‘taming’ of wild animals – the word ‘meek’ implies not only no loss of strength but that self-control is learned so that they may cohabit in harmony with others.

In Biblical terms, therefore, the meek are people who submit to God. In particular, Moses offers just such an example and we find it best exemplified in the King James Version (KJV):

“Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the Earth.” (Num 12:3, KJV)

In more modern translations, translators replaced the word ‘meek’ with ‘humble’ probably to provide a less controversial and easily-misunderstood meaning and in that setting, such a person comes across as unassuming and modest to a fault. In the Bible, we see someone like Moses exemplifying this character well. 

In the same way, Jesus Himself can be considered to fit the meek description with His submissiveness and willingness to suffer and in the humble manner in which He subjected Himself obediently to the will of the Father (Mt 11:29, 21:5, 2 Cor 10:1). It is, however, in the outcome that we experience the full-blown effect of being meek. 

Like all martyrs for Christ who give their lives in glory to God, the most compelling picture of meekness is in the vindication and the reward that the Lord bestows for their powerful faith, patience, perseverance and tolerance.

Again using the KJV translation, the Book of Psalms offer a choice selection of examples:

“The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek Him: Your heart shall live for ever.” (Ps 22:26)

“But the meek shall inherit the Earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Ps 37:11)

“The Lord lifteth up the meek: He casteth the wicked down to the ground.” (Ps 147:6)

“For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.” (Ps 149:4)

In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet also has this to say about meekness:

“But with righteousness shall He judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the Earth: and He shall smite the Earth: with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.” (Isa 11:4, KJV)

Similarly in the Book of Zephaniah, the minor prophet echoed meekness this way:

“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the Earth, which have wrought His judgement; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zeph 2:3, KJV)

Zephaniah asked God’s people – the meek – to seek and obey His commands, to be righteous in His eyes and to live in humility because when the day of destruction is at hand, it may come to pass that the Lord will protect them from His wrath.

Jesus naturally has a lot to say about meekness. Apart from being the perfect example Himself, He used the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) to add a fitting description:

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.” (Mt 5:5, NIV)

Further down in verse 10, He then talks about the ultimate reward for meekness:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:10, NIV)

In other words, the most powerful definition of the meek that most people today fail to understand is in the reward God provides. Again in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:11-12, NIV)

For those of us who live to centre our lives on Christ, we must remember to be counted among the poor and the persecuted. In other words, it is in our vested interest that we seek to be meek. We are, in fact, the meek. Being a Christian means we expect persecutions to come our way and if they haven’t, they aren’t too far away now. Being a Christian carries a stigma in a society that is gaining a hatred for God. Insults will be hurled into our faces. We will suffer all forms of indignity. We will be ostracised. We will be excluded or even marked out. We will be publicly laughed at.

One day, we will lose our material wealth as our enemies finally gain on us. They will strip us of our pride and honour. They will force us to renounce Christ and even trample on the cross. They will do ugly, horrific and inhuman things to us. We should know all this because it has already begun. Our Christian brothers and sisters have been suffering this fate at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) for the past few years. We read not just of their plight but also desperate pleas to help them that fell on deaf ears throughout the world. The Obama government including the United Nations and much of the western world ignored these cries. In Asia, we just went about our business at the convenience of overlooking news that ‘do not concern us.’

But the day will come when people of the world will know what meek means. They will stand there, rooted and stunned that God will rebuke all of them while we ascend to His kingdom to realise the joy and gladness that He has promised us. While they’re still figuring how they could have gotten things so wrong about God, we, the persecuted and condemned, are affirmed by Christ who delivers His unchanging promise to us:

“Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” (Mt 5:12, NLT)

So the next time, anyone mocks and laughs at you because of your faith in Christ, remind yourself of this reward. Tell yourself it’s okay because, ‘I’m not into instant gratification’ but instead, ‘I know the big picture and the big picture is worth living for.’ The day shall come when we count among those who will be rewarded. That day is nigh and until then, we don’t have to say much to justify our meekness (unless they honestly want to know).

8. Pressing work remains

Image source: Pinterest

There is a photo floating on the Internet of a library in London that had just been bombed by the Germans during the Second World War. The roof was gone but the two walls of bookshelves stuffed with books still stood. But the remarkable part of the photo was that people dressed smartly with their hats on were there, browsing through the shelves, looking for books to borrow. One of them in the background was actually standing there reading! 

It’s an amazing photo but the message was clear – even as the world may be at war, some things in life just keeps on going. Other than people borrowing books – hardly frequent these days now that we have the Internet – our lives require us not to forget to do the laundry or vacuum the carpet. When we need to see a dentist, we see the dentist. When the car needs fixing, that’s got to be done. And, oh, don’t forget, if you have a job to go to, you go. C’est la vie (tr. such is life), as they say.

Wherever we look and despite all the doom and gloom, work is cut out for us to do and complete. There are bills to pay that won’t wait for too long. There are hunger pangs in the family to fill. There’s food that needs to be prepared. There are things in and around the home that needs taking care of. Furthermore, there are relationships among family members that require maintaining since they don’t grow on their own. For those who are married and have children, you’d know what this is about.

No doubt, these are also constants but these ones, we can happily do without! Yet this is work that Jesus has exhorted us to uphold and enjoy the ‘toil.’ Remember that together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus took immense pleasure through the days of Creation (Gen 1:26), delighting in the day-by-day formation of the world and how it began to teem with life. Everything He did was a joy to be had. If this is toil, let’s have more of it!

God has laid down the gauntlet. He took great satisfaction in creating life. He formed the Earth. He established life on it. He took painstaking care in readying it for cultivation and subduing. He engineered the human form, giving it anatomy, musculature, locomotion capabilities and intelligence so that we could actually do meaningful work, physically or mentally. 

He gave us the means to feel and express by adding the emotional faculties. All of this so that He finds joy and contentment in what we do with our hands and feet and with our minds. Just as our Father creates, He has given us the means to create, which is work in all its guises.

Rather than moan and groan about our chores, let us take a step back and be grateful that we still have a life to do them. While that being the case, we might as well enjoy it while we can:

“…there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labour, for these are gifts from God.” (Ecc 3:12-13, NLT)

Let us be grateful

Image source: crosswalk.com

As the world changes beyond recognition before our very own eyes, we must know that each day is now more precious than gold. What we do and don’t do with it is irreversible and before we know it, these changes may not give us the chance anymore if we failed to.

Nothing has been the same anymore. A little more twenty years ago, life was simpler. People were easier to deal with. There was tolerance and nobody knew what the term ‘hate speech’ meant. Everyone went about their lives in ways they knew how to. But beneath all this laid the undercurrent of political manipulations that gradually destroyed what we had, leaving us to face the truths today. 

Today, world politics can only give us one guarantee and that is, things will get a whole lot worse. Technology also has another guarantee and that is when everything looks good, it will be thrice as bad for us because there are those out there who will abuse it by using it to destroy everyone else.

God, on the other hand, has a plan. And in that plan in His innate guarantee but unlike those offered by man, His is unchanging and it carries a payload that promises deliverance for those who believe Him. In the end, of course, there will be that great divide where on one side are those who hate Him, who do not believe He exists and who contrive to distort His Word for their own gains. 

To them, the judgement will be regrettable. On the other side of the divide are those who love Him, who stake their entire life believing Him by exercising their faith even under the duress of persecution, who treasure His Word and share it with as many people as possible. For them is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven:

“… I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (Mt 16:19, NLT)

Jesus was talking to His disciples to which, in the above, He addressed Peter to be the rock* upon which He would build His church. As Revelation 3:7 reveals, only Jesus has the authority of the key (the verse refers to it as ‘the key of David’). 

Only through Him can we gain entrance into the Kingdom for no one else has been given such authority by the Father. Through Jesus, “What He opens, no one can close; and what He closes, no one can open” (Rev 3:7, NLT). Further down, He again reaffirms the reward:

“Because you have obeyed My command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.” (Rev 3:10, NLT)

Take note that even as Jesus addresses Peter, the ‘rock’ He mentions is Himself and not his disciple whose name in Greek (Πετρος) means ‘stone,’ a translation itself of the name ‘Cephas’ meaning ‘stone’ in Aramaic. This was the name Jesus gave to Peter. Although Peter was the Lord’s leading apostle of the New Testament Church for many years, the true cornerstone remains Jesus Himself:

“Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself.” (Eph 2:20, NLT, my emphasis)

The use of the word ‘cornerstone’ (Gk. Άκρογωνιεîς) can often be referred to as ‘foundation stone.’ A cornerstone is a reference to the first stone set in the building of a masonry foundation. This particular stone is especially vital because it becomes the benchmark for all other stones to be set in the determination of the position for the entire building structure. Get this wrong and the whole building becomes rubble.

In the Bible, the word ‘cornerstone’ is commonly used as a symbolism for Christ but it is more of Paul who uses it to allude to the ‘head of the corner’ or as above, Christ is seen as the ‘chief cornerstone of the Church.’ We can also see in his letter to the church in Corinth how he calls Jesus ‘that Rock’:

“…and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that travelled with them and that rock was Christ.” (1 Cor 10:4, NLT, my emphasis)

It is this rock – Jesus – that the church is built on and that our faith stands firmly on:

“Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rain and flood come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Mt 7:24-27, NLT, my emphasis)

That rock is the unchanging nature. Its promises have been the same since the beginning of time. Unlike the world that is falling apart, they are what we can rely on. They are God’s deliverables meant for us, men of faith. And for all of this, we are eternally grateful that there is still much for us to live for.