"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them, which thou hast given me; for they are thine." John 17:9
What struck me about this verse was the amazing realization that Jesus thinks His disciples more important than the world! He prays not for the Israel, or for the rest of the world, but for twelve people whom you could easily call ordinary- fishermen, most of them. On hindsight, as we study His life, we should not be surprised. The Jews at that time were hoping that the Messiah would come in power, and like King David in ages past restore Jerusalem and Israel to their former glory. They were hoping for a leader with worldly power. But the Messiah was born in a manger, raised by a carpenter, and in His ministry associated himself with tax collectors and prostitutes. "for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus' priority was never the world. His work was always with people- people who were judged as the lowest kind by worldly standards.
What does it all mean? Jesus was more concerned with the souls of his followers, than the state of the world. It is hard to believe in this modern age, in a time where capitalism thrives and materialism rules. From young we are taught the importance of "making it out there", securing material possessions for ourselves. The government is always stressing economic growth and that we as Singaporeans must work harder to face the tough times, that our country may continue to prosper. To think that all this is evil is a wrong conception, I believe. Life is much more peaceful and luxurious now than it was many years ago, and it is the peace that we enjoy that allows us to pursue our faith and beliefs so easily. I think we should thank God with all our hearts that we live in Singapore.
Why then the words of Jesus? C.S. Lewis wrote, "it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit." Our souls are eternal. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof" 1 John 2:17. The world is not. With the war and the SARS breakout, people are beginning to believe that the end times are here. I really don't think we can predict when they will come, but I do believe that we are seeing the beginning of the end, the "birth pains" mentioned in Revelation. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars" Matthew 24:6. Sound familiar? Even with Iraq gone, there's still North Korea. There's still Israel and Palestine. Trouble is brewing.
For those who do not believe that the end times are here yet, or are not too concerned, even then, we only live 70+ years on earth. Time flies, it really does. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, because those who know we would know I am a very optimistic and -excited- person. And I think we should be optimistic about life, because God has so much in store. But the reality is that we cannot take anything on this earth with us when we die. However we can be optimistic- and I think optimistic here would be a huge understatement- about eternity. My pastor used to say, eternity is a long long time. Our souls are meant for eternity, and right now, we can already begin living that life of eternity. To live in this world but have that sense of something greater, both here and awaiting us in the not-too-distant future. Long and short, to know God. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth...But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." We can begin catching glimpses in our lives of the joy that is in store for us, the joy of heaven. And I definitely want to share my thoughts about heaven one day. It's so -exciting-!
What struck me about this verse was the amazing realization that Jesus thinks His disciples more important than the world! He prays not for the Israel, or for the rest of the world, but for twelve people whom you could easily call ordinary- fishermen, most of them. On hindsight, as we study His life, we should not be surprised. The Jews at that time were hoping that the Messiah would come in power, and like King David in ages past restore Jerusalem and Israel to their former glory. They were hoping for a leader with worldly power. But the Messiah was born in a manger, raised by a carpenter, and in His ministry associated himself with tax collectors and prostitutes. "for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus' priority was never the world. His work was always with people- people who were judged as the lowest kind by worldly standards.
What does it all mean? Jesus was more concerned with the souls of his followers, than the state of the world. It is hard to believe in this modern age, in a time where capitalism thrives and materialism rules. From young we are taught the importance of "making it out there", securing material possessions for ourselves. The government is always stressing economic growth and that we as Singaporeans must work harder to face the tough times, that our country may continue to prosper. To think that all this is evil is a wrong conception, I believe. Life is much more peaceful and luxurious now than it was many years ago, and it is the peace that we enjoy that allows us to pursue our faith and beliefs so easily. I think we should thank God with all our hearts that we live in Singapore.
Why then the words of Jesus? C.S. Lewis wrote, "it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit." Our souls are eternal. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof" 1 John 2:17. The world is not. With the war and the SARS breakout, people are beginning to believe that the end times are here. I really don't think we can predict when they will come, but I do believe that we are seeing the beginning of the end, the "birth pains" mentioned in Revelation. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars" Matthew 24:6. Sound familiar? Even with Iraq gone, there's still North Korea. There's still Israel and Palestine. Trouble is brewing.
For those who do not believe that the end times are here yet, or are not too concerned, even then, we only live 70+ years on earth. Time flies, it really does. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, because those who know we would know I am a very optimistic and -excited- person. And I think we should be optimistic about life, because God has so much in store. But the reality is that we cannot take anything on this earth with us when we die. However we can be optimistic- and I think optimistic here would be a huge understatement- about eternity. My pastor used to say, eternity is a long long time. Our souls are meant for eternity, and right now, we can already begin living that life of eternity. To live in this world but have that sense of something greater, both here and awaiting us in the not-too-distant future. Long and short, to know God. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth...But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." We can begin catching glimpses in our lives of the joy that is in store for us, the joy of heaven. And I definitely want to share my thoughts about heaven one day. It's so -exciting-!
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