A New Way of Looking at Life.

I just want to share the beauty of what God can do when we think He's seated so silently in heaven. I was reading my pastor's stuff yesterday (I always wonder what he is thinking of when he's at the pulpit). The irony is that most times, he speaks directly about me. The times when he's talked about giving, the heart's own wrongs and the need for evangelism have been the most hard preaching I have heard most of my salvation life. It is not that it is hard being a Christian, being one who is straightened is even worse. You just have to move by what God is saying or else stop lying to yourself and start living a life you think you can have.

I always think of the hard times I have gone though. There have been times when so much has been lost and little seems to easily be gained, not even in the nearest future. We think we have gone through life's troubles alone and sit thinking God silently enjoys our sorrow. We always forget that He let His Son go through the same trouble for us so that humanity could get a meaning to life. I have been to that class when all things just will not get into my brain and I have sat thinking to myself How the hell did I get here? But life has greater things to offer us. Once God pushes us into the furnace, He wants us to get out purified. I have always been touched by the hard times I have ably gone through knowing that God will come through with me.

When we continuously think He's far, we let ourselves off His hook. We open the way for the devil to do his job and become people that will not at any one point heed His silent voice. God let Job say whatever he said because He trusted that he wouldn't say anything false about Him. When he was about to, He put a stop to his ranting. Strangely, He did not move to the same action with his friends. Is God double sided? No, He is not. He wants us to do the things we want to do and decide to do. It is no use pushing us beyond the signs when He knows we shall fall overboard. God also deals with each one of us differently. For me, that is the most fundamental thing. In all, He deals with us in the way that fits Him best.

Think about Abraham. He yearned for a child for so long. When he was promised this child, he held on till God brought His promise to pass. Sarah on the other hand was so impatient and moved for a child not belonging to the promise. Think also of Zechariah. He's doing God's work in the temple and God tells him he'll have a child. What does he do? He merely rejects the message of God. God then decides to shut him up. The same God that hates prostitution tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. What kind of God is this then? He's the same loving God we've always known. I always believe His failure to be understood makes Him God for then he stays beyond our limits.
Getting to our lowest times can be terribly disturbing. It's one of those points when we think all has been lost. God in His love is still crying out to us to hold on till the battle is done. He's willing to carry us as babies for as long as we are children. However, do not expect Him to carry us when He feels time is up for us to grow. We should look at all the challenges we experience as a means of getting closer in our relationship with God. We should get a better understanding of the God we follow. We should let Him do His work the way He fits it to be. We should be patient with Him and let Him have a complete working in our lives.

The next time trouble hits, think about the God that loves you. Do not despair just because He's far away. Maybe, you (or even I) have moved. It can't be God moving. Up in heaven, He does not enjoy seeing us suffer but if it is the only way He'll see our reaction to the furnace, He's willing to go every step of the way. We should start seeing challenges as opportunities not as threats that tear us from God. He's watching and saying "Yes son, I can see you there and I know you are trying. Do better and hold on for I am holding you and onto you every step of the way." That shall give you a new dimension and a new life to live by. Hope it blessed you. God richly bless you.

A Newer World of Literature

Literature for me has been not only for enjoyment but it is the livelihood I have to depend on. Once we start seeing this anew, we realise that studying it is not just something to tax the brain, it is something to give us a new feeling of exaltation of the self. Longinus, the great Literary critic makes us aware of the reason for Literature's being: to bring us to the very mind of God. Through writing, I have become aware of the feelings I can sometimes have and the weaknesses that are available for me as a person.

This to me is the world that Literature puts me in. When Plato said all Literature scholars should be removed form the republic, he saw the subversive nature of all Literature that he as a human being could at not time stand. Maybe, he envisaged a world where people would be so much engrossed with reading that they would forget their very own existance. This has been the most trying time. I have to teach something and I have to think about its impact on those that I teach. Teaching literature is a world that sometimes I get scared of getting into because I know it will not be easy when it comes to political books. But there is a syllabus to follow and a teacher supposed to teach according to it.

What am I saying here? When we read, we are given a new world of experience. When I teach, I get a better perception of what I am daling with. It has never been easy for me to understand what all I deal with means. However, I understand that I create a new world for the young ones I teach. In so doing, I become a teller not of tales but of a new world to expect. This is the strongest attribute of any literary text for me. I love it because it builds a world that I can always look forward to. I share my own experiences with my students and let them tell me what they think. I tell them about the beauty and ugliness of life. I build for them a world of possibilities and tell them to decide a deatiny that fits tham. In all I reate a world of possibilities from which they can choose and be willing to make the most of their lives. That to me is the new world of Literature. I do not know about you, but for me, it is a better world, espcially when the news only brings terrible stories.

So go ahead. Read a text that will bring life to you. Give your life a new meaning. And most of all, live and brathe the literary heritage of your people. It made sense to me. I hope it does for you too.