Perspective

Call it whatever you want, but it simply comes down to perspective.

What the religious call faith, what the motivational speaker call positive thinking and what an awful lot call fate, are all merely different perspectives.

The end of the world for an ant colony who minds their own business in an anthill could simply mean a construction project where mounds were needed to be levelled off. Meanwhile, the project could very well be just one small part of the whole development plan the government has for a city, but to someone in a plane watching from above, well, it's just progress.

Most of the time, I'm being an ant. When my initial EKG results came in and according to our company physician - it showed an MI, I thought that was it for me. Doubts poisoned my mind and fear slowly kicked in. Before I knew it, I was experiencing chest pains I didn't even have before.

But my Bible says, "by His wounds, I am healed."

That He received curse upon curse so that I can have blessing upon blessing. That He received my worst, so that I can have His best. That as He is, so am I in this world.

It's not that my perceived reality is a hoax, it's just that from my perspective, I am not seeing the whole picture. So technically, I have a choice: Do I stick to my own, or adopt Someone else's?

I made a choice. I chose to live in the reality of the One who sees my past, present and future all at once. I chose his perspective of things not because mine was incorrect but was downright incomplete.

So when the final results of tests from a real cardio came in saying that everything is within normal range, I wasn't surprised.

It just made me wonder why doctors call what they do a practice.

Two Trees

I know, I know. I'm a hypochondriac.

Reading books on diseases had been my favorite past time as a kid that I have nightmares in my sleep of dying from plagues I've read when awake. I used to resolve not to read any of those kind of books anymore, but at the advent of the Internet, I find it hard to resist the temptation to read, and read even more.

Meanwhile, at the slightest pain here, a rash there and a fever, my mind would wander. Though what I'm feeling is far from serious, I'd most likely fulfill my own prophecies of doom by succeeding at one thing - scaring myself to death.

Since I can't stop the urge to keep myself informed, I resolved to focus more on prevention rather than on the ugly part. So, I would inundate myself with health tips and find myself desperately trying to follow every single one of them.

Problem is, I can only follow up to a point. And if ever I could obey everything, most likely, I still won't get the results I really wanted. Hence, the frustration.

Thousands of years have come and gone when the first humans have eaten of the fruit from the forbidden tree, and today, I still find myself doing exactly just the same thing- taking a heavy dose of the pills of knowledge thinking that it would somehow lead me to one thing I so earnestly seek -life.

In this age of information, may we all realize that knowledge of even the good is not enough to give us the lives we so desperately seek. Those 5-step-plan-to-a-better-ma

rriage, or that 3-easy-tips-to-a-younger-you or this book on achieving success or that article on ending an affair won't cut it through when one is face to face with real adversity.

So I say enough eating from that tree. Both it's good and bad fruits all lead to one thing anyways - death.

Now, what about that Other Tree?

Numbers

I went home today pretty happy that the results of my Annual Physical Exam are normal.

BUN, Creatinine, Total Cholesterol, Uric Acid, Hemoglobin, Hemoticrit and WBC Count all within the normal ranges. My HDL is high and my LDL is low which, by the way, I was told was a good thing.

While I was looking at the pieces of paper handed to me containing the results, I can't help but wonder, "So, is this all there is?"

"I mean, is life simply about striking a balance between all these numbers? That's it?"

Oftentimes, Christians do the same thing - keep numbers. From the seemingly trivial - number of verses memorized or chapters read every night to the big ones like percentage given as tithes or hours spent in prayer, or number of converts in a religious meeting.

It's funny but really, we have got to stop and ask ourselves the question. And hopefully realize together, that life is not merely about counting as much as living.

Jim Elliot had it nailed when he - in one of his journals in college - asked God not for a LONG life, but a FULL one. I believe we should ask just the same. =)

Middleman

Have you ever had someone ask you to pray on their behalf? Well, I do get them a lot.

Growing up, people always think I have this special open communication line to the powers that be. But it was just recently when a friend asked me to pitch in a few good words for her, that I became aware of this fact.

Why do people do this? It's simply because we are obssessed with mediators.

I wonder why we can't simply take Christ at His word when He said, "it is finished"?

Is it because it's too hard to believe that we've been forgiven not because of what we did or are still capable of doing but inspite of us?

While all that needs to be done for the Father to be pleased with us is simply believe in the accomplished work of the Son, we think we can pitch in a few cute acts and catch His attention.

It sure is absurd. Looking back, I scratch my head to how preposterous my filthy briberies look in contrast to the full ransom Christ paid up there on the Cross.

We have got to learn that the veil was torn for a reason.

We all have direct access to the throne of grace. No further mediation needed.

Heaven and Hell

Recently, I found myself passionately speak against how most well-meaning Christians treat Christianity like a transaction. You know, all those talk about "accept-the-Lord-Jesus-and

-you-will-go-to-heaven-when-you-die" kind of stuff.

Eternity is not something that kicks in after we die. The word "eternal" in eternal life means unending, not later. It's something we could enjoy and bask into here, now, in this terrestial ball called earth.

The goal with Christianity is not to make this single prayer and wait for heaven. It is so much more. It is about life abounding in love, joy, peace and meaning and significance and purpose. It is about living a life that is bigger than ourselves and even our own understanding of ourselves.

It isn't about waiting to get to heaven. It is getting heaven here.

On the other hand, most people would shrug off the existence of a place of torment after we die. I believe hell exists. But I believe one more thing as well: that while a place of darkness, of weeping, of gnashing of teeth is reserved after death for those who made a decision that God has no place in their lives, for most people, they don't really have to die just to get there.

With these in mind, it makes a whole lot of new meaning when we remember Jesus' words that the gates of hell would not prevail against a people who is commited to bring heaven on an earth invaded with so much pain, disease, poverty and death.

I guess we have plenty of things to do here, than idly sit on the pew and "wait."