The question from the previous post might have tread the toes of some christian, provoked their faith and if that is so, I should think that is a good thing. I believe for many christians the question might have - I hope it has- instigated them to rethink the very basis of their faith, why they came to accept Jesus Christ as their lord god saviour.

As I gave the question some thought, it has allowed me to remember my faith struggle and journey to accepting Jesus Christ as my lord god saviour. Born into a christian family, I was never deprive of any gospel teachings from young, but accepting god was another issue. The teachings were interesting and made perfect sense to me, however I could never really come to comprehend how god existed in my life. Being young, innocent and accepting of everything thrown in your direction, I never really bothered to question my faith. However, the struggles for my purpose of being a christian, coming to church services etc became more imminent in my teenage years.

As the struggles grew, my relationship with god was rather erratic. But thankfully, over the years, with the care of the church and much reflection, god steadied my silent internal faith struggle. I will not elaborate my life story here, but what I come to observe it that many things in my life I realise just isn't a matter of coincidence. It is not a matter of chance that he has moulded and continuing to do so to make me what I am today.

Faith is a wonderful thing, it's believing something you cannot see it, touch it or you know anything tangible. Through my life experience, although they may not be of anything spectacular, the blessing and struggles have reaffirmed my faith. It is an experience over a period of time, hence, it's not surprising that often people do not accept christ on the spot during street evangelism but I hope they do not come to reject christ.

I suppose when many people first come to know god, it is some what like a barter trade, if god can give me this, this and that then I will believe him. I must say maybe it is indeed somewhat like a barter trade. When i accepted God, as shared in my reflection, God has acted as a guide in my life, bringing me tremendous blessing in times of happiness and in times of struggles.

Despite all these blessing, should our faith be build upon such a "barter trade"? Perhaps we can achieve just as much or even much more without god in our life, but on what basis do you use to measure your achievements or success? Maybe we can have a happy fulfilled life as many non-christians already have but is believing in christ all about hoping to get something in return? God will bless us in his own way and own time for sure. However what I have come to conclude is that when I realise that there is indeed god in my life, we should ignore whatever is in this initial barter trade deal because there is no reason for me reject him for he is god. Simply God.

多多望天罢。。。

Hey glowers, you know I am sure many of us have our faith struggles...deep down in there I guess we all have some question about our faith that we sometimes end up brushing them aside after we comfortably being Christians...I suppose sometimes these questions that we find hard to answer and struggle with are often posed in a frank and honest manner by non-Christians...I think this serve as a good self-reflection, challenge and affirmation of our faith if we are able to step up to their questions...

So you know while in a conversation with non-Christians friends about Christ they said stuff like..."No offence but why do I need god in my life?...I have got good morals, good decent life, nice family and a sense of direction...I do not need god to succeed isn't it"

I thought this was a pretty good question..so just wondering, how will you all respond to a question like this?

Few weeks ago, near my work place, i noticed this ad displayed on the Great Eastern building. It posed a catchy phrase "life is great!" and so the ad goes on to say that with financial security, good health and meaning relationships, life indeed is great. In an instant, my mind immediately agreed with the tagline that life definitely will be great if I had money, health and great relationships, isn’t that true?

Perhaps for anyone, money, health and relationships are holds a high priority in their life. It give him a purpose in life and the very thing one pursues. In my opinion, it is only human to have such earthly pursuits. It is normal and perfectly fine. One needs to fulfill at least a basic standard of living and satisfy their physical needs.

This intriguing tagline "life is great" nicely sums up our earthly pursuits we have today. Considering today's materialistic culture and meritocratic society, both only serve to intensify these desires. (I won't deny that the media has marketed these desires and concept of life very well as well, the ad I mention is a good example.) It has carried such desires beyond a level of contentment, meaning we often caught up in an endless pursuit for money, power, status etc. I suppose many of us are trap in such mindless pursuits, I am no exception.

Such disturbing thoughts beckon me to reconsider the tagline and be slow to agreeing to the message being marketed. Is there anything beyond "money + health + relationship = life is great"? If one day money health and relationships were to all disappear, is there any other purpose in our life? No doubt, fulfiling our physcial and emotional needs are important, but often we may have easily carried these needs too far such that it translates into a senseless desire that could have cloud our perspective in life.

Perhaps what is really lacking is the spiritual aspect in this "life is great" formula. In the recent trip to Northern Thailand, Ps Zhili delivered his sermon, preaching that the very purpose of our life is about living for others and living for god. Through god, we can make a positive difference in others. Indeed, it has been very enlightening and I can't agree any less. It is what we have been ordered to do and our very purpose in life.

I reflected on my life and the lives of many others today. We studied hard, worked hard, earn our keep, splurged on our materialistic desires etc. Nothing is wrong at all, it's our duty to work hard and we deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labour. However, what we may have overlooked is the purpose driving our labour. In retrospect, I used to study hard cause it is my duty and with the desire that in the near future I can achieve a comfortable standard of living. Perhaps all these should change, my focus must change. It is my responsibility to do my utmost in my studies, work etc. and it is also a duty to become a blessing to others because of my actions and my faith. Living the gospel in a manner pleasing to god, bearing great testimony of your faith and a blessing to others takes a higher order than the pursuit of wealth, power, status etc.

We have heard countless time on this big talk about the living the gospel. It is always easier said than done. Perhaps then we should bear in mind that the fruits of our spiritual life is always something worth desiring. If we were to refine the "life is great" formula, perhaps it should then be "living for god + living for others = life is great". The focus has changed. Money, relationships etc. can take the back seat since the fruits of living for god and others are the blessings of the lord. He will give us what is good in his time and in his way. The talk is still big and the struggles are real but let’s all strive together.

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