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life lessons learnt from a game of musical chairs.
There’s nothing more rewarding than to see people know Christ. Since I’ve entered full-time ministry, my opportunities to interact with non-Christians have been greatly diminished. I’ve always seen myself as an evangelist because of how I came to know Christ and what He has done in my life, so I am thankful for the opportunities presented to me in iJourney – where I’m able to get to know youths who do not yet know Him, and therein lies the challenge to introduce Him to them.
KK conducted an activity for the students in today’s session and he asked if I had wanted to share anything at the end of his debrief. I declined initially, but when the Holy Spirit started to deposit lessons into my heart, I took it up; I’m always quite impressed by how quick the Spirit can impress lessons into me.
These are my observations from a modified version of musical chairs, where the participants’ difficulty of movement was introduced by tying a person’s arm to his or her leg with a short string to simulate aging:
In life, there are three facts; we will all:
- Get old – the most certain thing about life is death.
- Face new challenges – for that comes with age and changing environments.
- Experience suffering – in various intensities and variety.
And so there are three things we can do:
- Do not complain – for it doesn’t change our situation, solve our problem or make us feel any better about what we are going through.
- Help one another – assistance is always appreciated and it increases efficiency and reduces frustration. A word of encouragement goes a long way, even if it’s just a word. Learn to look out for each other.
- Walk together – competition is good, but it could be venomous. Everyone gets there safely when we walk at an agreed pace, without anyone lagging behind, speeding up or overtaking; don’t leave anyone behind.
I think that when students eventually leave the world of academia and enter what’s commonly known as the “real” world (as if life as students is an illusion) they will be thrown challenges from all directions simply because of how unnecessarily cruel meeting the world’s expectations can get. So instead of fight each other, why don’t we get on the same side, join hands and do battle together? I’m idealistic, but I’m not wrong.
i love you, i do.
After this June, I’d be one of the last amongst my peers to get married; I can’t rush it of course, since HY is not at the right stage of her life to get married yet – I was already aware of and prepared for this situation when I decided to court her years ago. Although I’m not the one tying the knot, I’m surrounded by people who are and I’ve been involved in enough weddings to understand every nook and cranny of an event like that.
One of the most important and significant thing that couples do on their wedding day is to exchange vows; it is, after all, the penultimate item of the entire day’s event and the climax of the years of courtship. Therefore I think there’re very good reasons for them to say “I do”, instead just “I love you”. We should be aware by now that love is a verb and not an emotion, and so I think by saying “I do”, you perpetuate the action of love. When we truly understand what love is, we’ll realise that “I do” is a vow of commitment not sentiment.
This got me thinking about our relationship with Jesus. We say and sing “I love You” but are we able to say “I do” to Him? Do we dare to do what our words demand? Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments” – that’s a very high calling that not many can fulfill!
The question then, isn’t whether you love Jesus or not – I believe most of you who read my blog do. Instead, the question is, “If Jesus is truly of the utmost importance in our lives, then why aren’t we doing all that is required to please Him?” Often we shortchange our love for Jesus simply by settling for whatever’s more convenient to accomplish. I don’t know about you, but I wished I could love Jesus a little more each day and that I can say “I do” want to partake in the suffering that comes with following Him.
May I learn to deny myself more each day and to acknowledge His presence and power in my existence. I desire to prove my love to Jesus by my actions!
joey asher | misunderstoodsunshinekid 