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The
highest courage is to dare to be yourself in the face of adversity,
choosing right over wrong, ethics over convenience, and truth over
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Travel the path of integrity without looking back, for THERE IS
NEVER A WRONG TIME TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
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Bishop Soc Villegas
25 July 2007
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THE WAY FORWARD IN CHRIST
(Part 28)
FROM TRUST TO AWE
January 13, 2010
A verse in the psalm reading for today says, “Many shall look on in
awe and they shall trust in the Lord.” (Ps 40:4b). This signals the
transition of our theme for last year 2009 to our theme this year 2010.
From “Trust in Jesus” to “The Almighty! Just and Righteous is
He.”
But first, let me say that our themes for the year point us to a
particular emphasis or virtue that the Lord wants us to grow in for that
year. After that year, the virtue should have become a part of us, and
is to be lived out every year thereafter.
After the first 25 years and entering into the period of crisis where
CFC-FFL would emerge, we have looked at various virtues -- hope for
2007, joy for 2008, and trust for 2009. These virtues were important not
only to see us through the crisis but also to prepare us for the
continuing transformation that God is accomplishing in our lives.
We needed hope because of the intense crisis and split that happened in
2007, where we experienced the lamentations of Israel, almost
practically losing everything, but looked to hope in the God of our
covenant. Indeed, with the split, the seeds of restoration were already
planted. With the authentic CFC restored in the remnant that was
CFC-FFL, our hearts were filled with joy in 2008. Or should I say, God
rejoiced in us, since His people and His work would once again be in
accordance with His eternal plan for CFC. Then, with continuing attacks
against us and our work, God impressed upon us the importance of trust
in Him, that He had a wonderful plan for us and would see His work to
completion. We continued to look to the divine mercy of Jesus, for
ourselves as well as for the whole world.
Now, in 2010, we look to the awesome majesty of God, and our proper
posture of awe and humility. God will bring us deeper into a
relationship with Him, and in this process we look to redemptive
suffering. Job and Jesus show us the way. As God continues to purify us,
oftentimes through affliction, we simply look to the reality that He is
just and righteous. And of course, the hope, joy and trust that He has
already implanted in our hearts would be crucial for us to endure and
persevere.
We trust in Jesus as we are in awe of God. This addresses two opposing
postures that Christians find themselves in at times.
On the one hand, the Creator-God is awesome and majestic and we are mere
humans with our weak flesh. He is all powerful and apart from Him we are
nothing. So we just look to God as someone to be feared, and our
obedience becomes legalistic. On the other hand, we look to Jesus who
became one like us (except in sin) and who accepts us as his friends. He
is our brother who will do anything for us. We just need to ask the
Father in his name and our prayer will be granted. And so we look to God
as that nice loving person who always accepts us and who would never
condemn anyone to eternal fire.
You can see that there is a lot of truth to both postures above, but
each posture brings its own dangers. We can end up cringing in fear of
this awesome God, or we can be so casual and familiar in our
relationship with Him that we oftentimes will take Him for granted, to
be called on only in times of trouble. On the one hand God is so far
away and seemingly inaccessible, while on the other hand He is so near
and so accessible that we are no longer in awe of Him.
\COGECO%20Security%20Services\NRS\iescript\resonly.dll/PNG/#104) Such
is the mystery of God. So far[1] and yet so near. To be
feared as an awesome God yet to be loved and drawn near to as a loving
brother. To be obeyed but with a yoke that is easy and light. The One
who is the eternal unseen but who was seen walking the earth among men.
Jesus himself is King and Lord of all, but came not to be served but to
serve. He is Master but a suffering servant. We owe him our very lives,
but it was he who offered his life for our sakes.
And so we trust in Jesus, even as we are in awe of the Almighty.
The story of Job presents us with many questions and challenges. Why is
there suffering in the world if God is loving and in control? Why are
the good afflicted while the bad thrive? How does the justice and
righteousness of God align with the great injustice and unrighteousness
in the world? Why does God allow Satan to afflict His faithful people?
Our theme for this year coming from the book of Job is very challenging
but at the same time exciting. Our reflections should yield a greater
understanding of the mystery that is God. Our relationship with God
should deepen, where we, like Job, can really begin to “see” God.
The transformation of God’s remnant continues. God desires to bring us
to greater holiness and greater work for His kingdom. In this, God
challenges us to understand the purpose of affliction and suffering in
the world. After all, this is the way of the cross and the only way of
discipleship.
How awesome is God! How awesome is His great love for us! How awesome is
the privilege He affords us in His work of salvation in the world.
We rejoice in hope, as we continue to fully trust in Him.
[1]
See Isaiah 55:8-9.
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