I am devoting these next few days as days of reflection. As I have just finished my first semester of grad school and ending a calendar year, I was reminded by my tehteh (older sister), TB, that I should spend some time in journaling and blogging of such thoughts and reflections.
One thing I have learned this year is that we cannot hold the world to the standards that scriptures give.... they do not know it. My friend BB from school and I were talking about this one day after class... in politics and in society, the Christians criticize the world for such things as homosexuality, abortions, drugs... whatever it is and tell them they are being unmoral... what is moral to a generation that has none? What is sacred to a generation that has traded natural for the unnatural? How can we expect those who do not know truth to live by the truth? This is exactly why we are to be the salt and light of the world. This is exactly why we are to be an image of Christ. Today I read Acts 4 : 29-31...
"And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grand to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."
Pastor RB, tonight mentioned how the Christians are so worried that the world has "hijacked" the meaning of Christmas that the pulpit is used to talk about the "hijacking", which makes us "hijack" our own meaning of Christmas... looking outward to how others aren't doing it right. The thought that came to mind as I listened to RB tonight was again the fact that those out there don't know what the true meaning of Christmas. Yes they may watch Charlie Brown's Christmas on TV and get the Luke 2 message, but that really doesn't mean anything... because we, ourselves, are sold by the commercialism of this whole thing.
I say what I am about to say to myself and not just to others... If we look at the above verses, the prayer is lifted up because there are threats. These apostles have just been released after having been questioned and the high people have just told them that if they share about this Jesus again, there will be some serious punishments. How many of us find ourselves even needing prayer like this? I mean seriously how many of us have shared and are getting threats like that... none... but the fact of the matter is we aren't sharing because there are those unspoken threats... if we are religious and come across as Jesus freaks... people at work aren't going to hang out with us, we'll lose friends, we'll be named the Jesus freak, people may walk the other way when they see you coming toward them... I mean those are threats and some serious ones. Who wants to be the reject in the office and the one without friends?? No one... So we keep our mouths shut.
The apostles in these verses are praying for boldness. Something I lack to pray for. I think of the times I prayed for boldness and it has shaken my world.... just as the apostles felt after their prayer... Things happen when we pray. And I just think as I reflect on this year... I cannot continue to judge those of the world with standards of God... they don't know it. My job is to tell them, I mean that's why this season is here right?
Tonight on the way home from church I thought of how this time last year, I was making plans to come to the states for grad school. I was talking to my friend, the real estate agent, at housing options and going on TIU's campus trip... On the way to Indonesia, we visited some friends in Amsterdam and made some really good memories. Our final months in Indonesia went by as it filled with anticipation and pain. We moved here in April... So much has happened since then, but that will be for tomorrow's reflections.
