Saturday, September 29, 2007

Different But No Difference

Tonight is soccer and rugby galore! There was the New Zealand - Romania match which the All Blacks won! This means they have been unbeaten since Day One of the World Cup. I missed this game though as I was out with a dear brother-in-Christ, a sister-in-Christ and their son to the Singapore Zoo and then dinner.

Next was the Australia - Canada game which the Ozzies won. They are also another team still unbeaten. It is such a waste that the All Blacks and the Ozzies cannot meet in the Finals due to the way the matches have been arranged.

Then came the soccer matches where Liverpool played against Wigan. The Reds were slow in capitalising the game but in the end, they won with only one goal in the second half. It was during this period where I switched between four channels - I was also catching other matches like the West Ham - Arsenal game (the latter won); the Chelsea - Fulham game (ended in a draw); Wales and Fiji rugby game (the latter was winning when I tuned to that channel).

Anyway, this shows what a fanatic I am when it comes to the Rugby World Cup and also the English Premier League. I do not know how to cope with watching the future matches when I start work on Monday.

Today has been a fun day for me as I went to the zoo with my dear siblings-in-Christ! We went to watch all the animal shows available. I had a great time playing with the couple's baby. But I now understand how tiring parents can be just having to deal with a baby. It is only one day for me handling the little one and I am already so exhausted.

I woke up late this morning as I was up watching the England - Tonga rugby game at 2:55am. I was banging for the latter to win but they lost in the end.

Thank God I had sufficient sleep after the match. Just before I left for the zoo, I spent some moment in quiet with God. Throughout that period, I was interceding for unity in the Body of Christ.

I was praying for this area of concern as lately I have seen and heard of brothers and sisters-in-Christ clashing with one another because of diversity of character. Some examples are: a sister-in-Christ always taunting another sister; a brother-in-Christ cannot stand another brother because he talks too much; a sister-in-Christ's bad impression of a brother's ways of doing things; siblings-in-Christ having rifts because one gossips about another and the other got to know about it and is now hurt and bitter.

There are many more incidents but I shall leave it as that. Though I mentioned all these, I have to admit myself that I am also guilty of causing disunity at times when I begin to judge another.

In my prayers, I pleaded with the Lord to open the eyes of every one and to allow us to see that we are actually "killing" one another when we should be standing together as God's family. I learnt this as I was interceding - "Though we are different; there is no difference."

We are all made differently and one's character differs from another. Sometimes there are clashes due to our fallen nature where we begin to judge each other's characters. Some may think that they are better than others. The interesting conclusion is this - though sometimes we judge one another because of the way we behave, we are actually no different from the person whom we judge because like it or not, we are all fallen creatures. If that is the case, who are we to say that the other person is worst than us.

I also prayed that the Lord will remind all Christians of His grace where He did not judge us for having sinned against Him. Instead He dispensed grace by sending His Son not to destroy us but to die for our sins and redeem us from the bondages of sin and death.

If God is showing grace to us, who are we to not do likewise? It is very sad that we see some siblings-in-Christ as our enemies when our very adversary is the devil himself.

Anyway, in order for unity to happen in God's family, it has to start with me. If I am not doing it, I cannot expect others to follow suit. May the Lord help me as I struggle in this practice because I know I will fail at times. The tendency to judge one another is always higher than to accept one another's differences. Well, pressing on is the way to go when it comes to this and only with God in our sight will we minimise clashes between siblings-in-Christ.

I shall sleep now as I have to play the drums tomorrow. I also need to be at the Mission Training session. I was quite discouraged when a sister-in-Christ who signed up for the Vacation-With-A-Purpose trip has decided to give it a miss due to work commitment. No matter what, I still want to trust that God will use the remaining ones to make an impact on the lives of the Khmer people.

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:13-15

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