GOD HAS CREATED THESE THREE GLORIOUS FLOWERS TO REMIND US THAT HE ALSO CREATED US OUT OF SHEER LOVE.
It has been my great privilege to share with you three interesting quotations that I have just come across in my scrape-book this morning. Hopefully these quotes will provide you with some insights to improve your wounded life and enhance the inner peace and happiness by crafting a unique meaning for your life. The first wise person to share his insight is Elie Wiesel (writer, philosopher & Nobel Prize Recipient). According to him, “Ultimately, life is a gift and meaning is its reward. So is the art and ability of asking questions. The meaning of life is to be found in the question that becomes encounter. Then every moment becomes a moment of grace.” Life is full of mystery. The important thing is life is to ask the right questions so that you can find the right answers- answers that are significant and can make a positive impact and difference in your short wounded life. If you haven’t started asking the right questions, you better start as soon as possible because life is really short. So short that before you realize it, life seems to be stumbling into its last lap (I am speaking from my own experience with life). Why are you here? Why are you suffering? Why me, Lord? But to get the right answers, you must look at your life with full honesty and no denials. Don’t look at life at you are; look at like as it is. This is the key to find the pearl in the oyster. In times of suffering and adversity, the elixir is hidden in the toxin. Or the Chinese philosophers will tell you, pick yourself up at the place where you fell down.
The second wise person that may awaken your meaning in life is Sue Ellen Radovich with her insight: “If I weren’t here, you wouldn’t have any reason to be here. One human being is pointless without another. We exist for each other. We are interdependent, emotionally and otherwise. God just put us here to take care of each other. That’s how it started; that’s how it’s always been.” Jesus was born into our broken world to give us a new commandment of love- “Love one another as I love you.” If you love Jesus, “Feed my sheep.” (John-21:17). Yes, who are the hungry sheep? Why are the wounded sheep? These are the sinners, the sick, the wounded, the homeless and people who have gone astray etc. This is the real reason of Christmas- Jesus comes to be the Messiah to rescue the sinners and the wounded; he did not come to heal the healthy, or save the saints. If there were no sinners, there would be reason for the coming of the Savior. It is precisely for this reason that Christmas was created by God- to constantly remind us that Jesus needs every one of his disciples to become his channels of peace and his instruments of God’s unconditional love. Yes, God does not need you to dispense your `conditional’ love as defined by your narrow personal agenda. Jesus comes to show you how to break out of your personal flawed boundary of love. Jesus’ gospel of love is really about showing love to the other people; it is not about other people showing love to yourself. Many Christians have assumed wrongly that it is the duty of other people to show them love. NO NO NO! The Good News is about how you can show your love to other people in spite of their wicked ways or their undesirable qualities. And in the process of showing love to others ( the undesirable people), you can sharpen and characterize your life with an edge of unconditional love that is similar to God’s unconditional love. This is the ultimate reality of Jesus’ commandment, “Love one another as I love you; by this will others know that you are my disciples.”
Another wise person, Adolfo Barcella, enhances and enlightens us more on the above concept of unconditional love: “Unrequited love is the meaning of life. We are here to love but not to be loved, to give but not to receive. Our mission in this world is to improve humanity and leave a better history than we found. Only selfless love has such power. Only love without interest or expectation of reward can change human beings.” Great words! Really inspiring words to make a difference in our lives this Christmas. So if you are suffering and stuck in the midst of your adversities, don’t despair because Jesus is suffering with you this Christmas. His spirit is alive and the good Shepherd is waiting for you to call for his help in your hour of need.
Submitted by David YKK
(Please forward this positive message to your suffering friends out there to support them and cheer them up this Christmas.)
