Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the end

No.69 and i had the grace and priviledge to be at a Rick Warren's dinner cum talk last week. It was organised by Campus Crusade / River Life Church.

I had been invited by one of the bosses at my workplace, a Christian, who bought 2 tables (10-cse dinner!) and invited the staff to the dinner! fantastic evangelism done i would say. Whether or not the people went for the event cos of the dinner or to accompany a friend or to listen to the author of the 3 years running best-seller - Purpose Driven Life: Rick Warren, i'm sure all there were blessed, by the sumptuous meal as well as the sharing by Rick. Talk abt making religion real and relevant to the times!

Just to share a few insights from him:

1. Rick's wife was down wife cancer some years back. He felt that he could financially support a helper to come down once a week to clean the house, so that his wife could rest and recover, and not worry bout the household chores. To his shock and horror, on wed, the day the cleaners were supposed to arrive, he saw his ill wife, getting up in the morning and starting to clean the place.

Rick: "Dear? you should be resting! the cleaners are coming in the noon, they'll take care of that."

Rick's wife: "Oh, i know that honey, i'm just cleaning up before they come. The place is in a mess."

Rick: "Erm, but that's the point, we're hiring them to clean so that you can rest?"

Rick's wife: "Oh, yes dear. but i have to clean and tidy up the place before i can let the cleaners in. "

How cute isn't it? Often, that's the way it is with God and us too.. God wants to come into our lives, to 'set the prisoners free'(we imprison ourselves with expectations, hurts, bondages, unforgiveness,etc). Yet, i've heard many a person say "Yes, i know Jesus loves me, i want Him in my life, but i'm not ready. I need to sort out some areas in my life first. I still have some sinful habits, some areas of my life i want to change first before i'll totally surrender to Him"

Isn't it uncanny how we're like that sick(spritually) person and try to do our little 'clean-ups' in our lives before allowing Jesus to clean up our lives? The only difference is that Jesus has paid the price for us! We are saved! Jesus loves us the same: before we sin, when we are sinning, when we have confessed our sin, when we're living in communion with Him, the same! It is a fallacy to try to clean up our lives/habits, cos Jesus has already redeemed us, when He died on the cross 2000 yrs ago. Fact! Christians always like to quote John 3:16, but increasingly i feel that our finite minds can never comprehend the full meaning and depth of what God the Father sending His son to earth really means and how it impacts our lives.

Had a lovely sharing tonight with a dear friend in our community. Was very tired from work and from nursing a throat infection, but following on from my previous post, my community is a non-negotiable! In the end, i am so blessed and ministered to just by listening to her sharings and testimonies and both of us sharing our lives and experiences and God revealing to us how He was always there, protecting us, all the way. Praise you Lord! (Thank you my dear fren, for being such a blessing =p)

The title of this post is, God, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End, for truly, He is the only one who is always faithful, there with us, when we were in our mother's womb in the beginning, here with us now(Immanuel), and definitely for eternity. And His love for us is the same, throughout the ages, from the beginning to the end.

Just to quote from Fr Franz @ YES '06 "If only we know truly, who we really are, our true identity in Christ, as His beloved sons and daughters, we would not sin again."

Rhino No. 7