Monday the 21 of September, was the day that Taiwan was reminded of a great earthquake that happened on 9-21-1999. This was the second biggest earthquake in Taiwan, killing up to 2,415 people and 11,305 people were injured. This earthquake was at the heart of Taiwan, causing up to 10 billion dollars of damages. Wives becoming widows, sons becoming orphans, and hope being disarrayed by grief.
I think that it might be safe to say that everyone has experienced loss in their life, no matter how big or small it was. We were made to love, to dream, to hope, and to have family that loves us and cares about us. But we find that our family and our dreams slip though our hands as if trying to grasp flowing water. Were we then made to lose the things which we love? Did God create so that He could take away? Is God good, or evil? Is He a giver, or a taker?
Often we focus so much on the negative of this life, that we can only see what we are losing, never what we are getting or never seeing what we have been given. God created us to have eternal life. To live forever with him. To experience life in such away that is unexplainable. But sin came into the world, death greeted mankind with a deadly grasp, and stole the life that we had. No longer to live forever, no longer breathing in the Spirit of God, it was taken away, by sin.
Mankind lost on that dreaded day and we are still suffering from it. Sin did not only effect Mankind, but God; not in a way that made God unholy, but that He could no longer dwell within man because of sin. Also, mankind would not only suffer but God would join in on the suffering. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.
God sent His son to become a man, to die, to experience what we experience. He knows what it’s like to lose a friend, to be betrayed, to be beaten, to be cursed, and rejected by the world. He was a man of Sorrows according to Isaiah 53, and He embraced it, He did not try to run from it.
Often that is the case for us, we try to avoid pain and suffering. We won’t let people into our lives because we know that they can hurt us. So we build up walls of excuses that turn into dungeons, a trap of loneliness we find ourselves in, and believing that if we don’t share our heart we will not get hurt. This may have some truth to it, because you may feel safer by not letting anyone in, but its wrong. Its not living. God made us to have relationships with people and made us to do things, to experience life.
If we realize that we will all suffer in this life, we will all experience loss, then why be surprised when it comes our way? Why try to avoid it? If Jesus said that we will suffer in this life, then it will happen, therefore don’t fear it. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1John 4:18
Perfect love cast out fear and true love learns to die, because, in order to truly live, you must die daily. This is painful; you have to throw yourself out there for others, knowing that they might not care about you at all. Sounds like something Jesus did. He died for the world knowing that many would reject His sacrificial love.
At the beginning of October, I was on my way to go shopping and I made a small mistake that would cost a lot of money and pain. I made a left turn ignoring a blind spot on the road, I did not see a car and was hit on the passenger side. If you have ever been hit by a car, it’s quite exciting, and jarring. It happens so fast that you find yourself siting in the dust wondering what happened. It was my fault, which is annoying. The fun part of the matter is that I wasn’t even driving legally. Although I have an international license, it has to be registered within the first month of living in Taiwan, which I didn’t know. To make a long story not as long, I was driving illegally and the insurance company will not cover the wreck. This puts us in a rough place. Causing us to cover all of the car expenses, which will not be cheap. But through all of this chaos and confusion, God has been so amazing. His hand has been in the mist of the storm and He has shown me that I can’t trust circumstances to make me feel secure. I can’t trust in insurance companies to provide, I must trust Him and Him alone.
Be praying for us my friends, pray that we would only trust in Him, and though He slay me, I will trust Him.
Praise and Glory to our Heavenly Father only who gives us all that we need.
Amen
Perfect love has cast fear out of my heart. Fear of death is not an issue anymore, and even fear for the lost is giving way to motivated hope through prayer and effort through a new desire to share the God that gives us what we need. I read your post with your voice and it was motivating. I hope God blesses you tremendously in the months to follow the accident--to show you who He is.
ReplyDelete