Categories
Spirituality

Of pain and pleasure

Pain and pleasure, both seem to tempt us

distracting us from our true and lasting joys.

Pleasure alone, brought by the senses

cannot make us truly happy.

They accompany us for a while,

but are soon forgotten

and we weep not for loss of their memory.

Pain on the other hand inflicts our soul

and we cry out for justice,

we seek for God’s goodness.

What makes us happy then

if not the passions of our flesh?

It is the thought we render

upon whatever sensations that come our way,

the light by which our souls perceive true beauty,

by which love is revealed unto us,

changing us,

etching eternity unto our hearts.

It is thus that pain and pleasure become meaningful

even to be vehicles of good

It is thus when pain

reminds us

of the frailty of our pleasures

and how we should seek the things

that will truly last.

It is thus when the pleasure

of seeing a beautiful rose

sinks deep into our soul,

for then a rose is no longer just a rose,

but a gift most warmly and generously given,

always to remind us

how sweetly

and how strongly

we have been loved.

Categories
Spirituality

On the Persecution of Christians in China

I’ve heard once more about the on-going persecution of Christians in China.  Hearing the testimony of the victims, how they were subject to the most gruelling conditions in prison, two ideas could easily come into mind of believers.  One, that there is really a God whom these people serve with all their heart and whom they cannot let go even at the cost of their own life.  Two, that God did not help those people escape the most heart wrenching sufferings they went through.  And to this, even believers might ask the question “WHY?”.

I myself have asked many questions:

What if these Christians retract their faith in the midst of their tortures, would God be saddened by such a decision?  Is God not saddened seeing them suffer that way?

On the other hand, why do Christians persist in defending their faith?  Is this some legalistic concept of salvation?  Is this some heroic act of defending an invincible All-Powerful God?

The understanding of such conditions depends on the premise one takes.  If one takes the worldly point of view, one can’t help but think there is really no benefit gained by such Christians from their suffering and that the God they worship is either not really present, or not a loving God at all to be able to allow such inhuman treatment to be inflicted upon the ones He professes to love.

It is only by taking the premise of love that one can have some insight within the hearts of these brave men.   If one sees that these people have really loved God with all their heart, as a lover does, one can understand how they have found in Him something more precious than anything else in their lives.  Losing such a thing is synonymous to losing their lives and living a life apart from Him cannot even be imagined as they have become one with Him, being empty without Him, being lost, being dead.

Now as to the reason why God does not intervene in this matter (apart from spiritual Grace), there are such Laws that even God cannot break and will not break, seeing the better good that will arise out of it all.

It might be beneficial to first review what causes suffering in the world:

  • sickness of imperfect body
  • death of others due to imperfect body
  • pain inflicted by sin of others
  • pain inflicted by sin of self

In other words, suffering is caused by imperfect body and soul, by SIN that brings about death.

Now how to remedy it?

  • Sickness and death eradicated thru resurrection, by way of being born into the new incorruptible body Paul mentioned in the Bible.
  • Emotional pain caused by others relieved thru forgiveness and total surrender to the God.

Now, going back as to why couldn’t God intervene more

  • As to remedying sin, Love cannot be forced
  • As to remedying physical death, it would be a curse to give immortality to those who have not learned of love.

What might happen if He does intervene?

  • God stops us from getting sick
  • God stops us from dying when attacked by others
  • God stops us from sinning
  • God stops others from sinning against us

As a result, the world we know today will no longer be the same kind of world.  Freewill shall no longer be.  God would dictate everything and we succumb to the level of a slave or a robot instead of a lover who can freely respond to His love.

This world is not yet perfect.  This isn’t heaven yet.  Ours is a world of duality, of both light and darkness, of love and hate, of bliss and suffering, and of the many choices in between.   God can surely pull out the weeds, as the Gospel says, but He will not do so for fear of pulling out even the good wheat, of the many good things this world can accomplish for our eternal soul.  In patience then do we wait and in joy do we live for the moment given us here, growing in virtue and in love, shining forth what little light we can give, until the seasons of the earth are over, and the night shall be no more.

Categories
Healing Life Spirituality

What’s difficult in being a genius?

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Very few realize what burdens geniuses carry their whole lives – what of Van gogh, of Edgar Allan Poe, of the mathematician John Nash?

Very few realize how hard it might have been to constantly manage and control that great power that they possess, to undertake it all alone, ostracized by the society that fails to understand them intellectually, and to sympathize with them as normal human beings who also need to be understood and to belong.

 People may not realize the efforts that they made in order to reach out.  On the other hand, people may look at them as snobs who can get by on their own and need not anyone else to fellowship with their whole life.  Others may even envy them and shy away from taking their company for fear that they might lose their self esteem in their presence.

Indeed, the greater the power given, the greater also is the cross and the task of harnessing it to the full.  May God help us all attain our full potentials, and may He help us find good friends who can lend us a warm hand along the way.

Categories
Healing Life Spirituality

IMAGINE

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Imagine a world

where you can’t bring anything

you ever owned

not one valued possession

not a single penny you can toss

Imagine a world

where titles and status mean nothing

where authority belongs not to you

Imagine a world

where no man stands taller than another

and where beauty comes not only from you

Imagine a world where you can’t hide anything

nor busy yourself with things that make you forget

just how empty you are within

how angry

how insecure

or how afraid

Imagine such a world

And then try to  imagine once more

Imagine a world where no one starves

nor longs for shelter

where no one gets sick

and no one ever grows old

Imagine no pain

and no death ever

that would make you weep

a world where you need not

depart from home

from the people you love the most

imagine never having to be alone

Imagine a world

where you are accepted and understood

for who you really are

Imagine you are loved

like you have never been loved before

Imagine such a world

and then open up your eyes

What do you see?

What is it that you truly desire to do?

Categories
Poems

I am a tree

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I am a tree

sprouting forth and reaching out

for the glorious sunny sky

strengthening my stance

drawing forth life

from the warm womb of the ground

bearing forth what fruit

i may offer to all

giving my shade

to those who may want to rest awhile

Not all men may notice me

when they pass by

not all may taste the fruit

that i have whole-heartedly offered

nor avail of the shade

of my embrace

and yet  i stand

and yet i stand

for a tree remains to be a tree

though no one comes to rest in thee

its arms remain wide open

its fruit renewed always in their season

its gaze always before the sky

smiling

knowing

standing firm

where God has appointed thee