The most important thing

The most important thing

This Friday, we were privileged at FGB Chapter Jaya One to have Pastor James Alexander share with us on the topic “Finding your life”.

Many of us all around the world are drifting, wondering, looking to find that anchor in life, what is the most important thing, what truly matters and what can help one find true fulfillment and satisfaction.

There was a president of a successful business. Successful, burly, he thought he had it all in life but as he grew older, he suddenly found himself at death’s door, discouraged and depressed. However, one day, an idea came to him – to read his bible. Having never really read the Word all his life, it was not easy for him, but he grasped one simple understanding from the Words of Jesus – What the Lord did so many hundreds of years ago, he is still able to do today. And so the man prayed to God and simply asked God to heal him. In a short time, his strength returned and from then one, he kept going with God. In particular, he found Luke 17:33 especially meaningful to him. ”Whoever seeks his life will lose it but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” From this verse, the man realized that he was losing his life because he was not giving it away.

For us too, we can only find our life by giving it away. From young, I have always been particularly impressed by missionary stories, their great stories of sacrifice and service to the global community. Through these great tales, I have found a pattern of personal, strength, significance and fulfillment in their lives. In India, Calcutta, there is a building called the “Sisters for Charity”, and it is there that Mother Theresa labored for 16-18 hours a day giving her life away to help the dying. Contrast it to our pampered lives here where we clamor for vacations and personal time from our busy jobs. We are constructed to give, not to take. However, our culture today is all about consummation. Yet does all our getting and self-gratification bring us happiness? God’s preoccupation in a way is not so much to make us happy but to build us up into men and women of faith. Money should never be our goal but our goal should be to walk in faith before God. God can do in one day what we can never do in a lifetime. We learn by teaching, and we grow by helping. Find a need and meet it. Find something outside yourself that is bigger than yourself so that you might forget yourself so that you might give of yourself. All of life’s problems are because we are so concerned about ourselves.

In giving, we are not talking about just tithes, but giving everything that we are. We can indeed make a difference, each one of us. The truth is we were not born for ourselves but to give. Lazarus was 4 days dead in the tomb, and the rotting flesh would have given off a dreadful smell, but Jesus told Martha “I am the resurrection and the life.” When Jesus is there, everything begins, everything comes to life.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-3, is a very interesting passage. It starts “Cast thy bread upon the waters and after many days you will find it again”. The bread in the Old Testament was fundamental to life sustenance and nourishment. Your bread is you, your time, your talent, your money, your warmth. The waters are symbolic of the people. We need to go to the people and give what we have away.  You may think you have nothing of value, but you have a handshake, you can show kindness, you can show warmth. And after many days, it will always come back to you. Such is the law of heaven. If you send out mercy, kindness, goodness, it will come back in due time. If you send out cruelty, selfishness, arrogance, it will also come back in due time.

Verse 2 continues, give a portion to seven and also to eight for you know not what evil shall be upon the earth. Seven is the number of wholeness, of completion. We must not be like the sad man who always had half a mind to do this, and half a mind to do that. We need to be wholehearted in giving. 8 represents new beginnings. When we give in everything we have, we will break out into new beginnings. The boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish gave everything he had to Jesus, and witnessed a great miracle. To live a miraculous life, we must realize that God doesn’t need much, but He needs something. It’s about God’s reputation. In Him we will always be moving forward. Love and serve with all we have and we will never run out as we run into what He has for us.

Verse 3 says If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. There are empty clouds and there are clouds full of rain. If you live a life of giving, clouds of blessing will follow you. The north represents adversity and the south represents prosperity. However, for those in God there is no difference whether in good times or bad times. God is interested in finishing, and he wants us to finish strong.

In Mexico 1968, the main highlight and final event was the Marathon and one of the favorites was the Tanzanian John Stephen Akhwari, the hope of gold for his country. However, as the first runners reached the finish line, there was no sign of Akhwari. More finished, and still no Akhwari. And then suddenly, they saw a lone runner hobbling in from a distance. Injured, bleeding, John Stephen had fallen over the side of a hill but he did not give up, but kept going. Amazed, they asked him “Why did you continue running? Help would have come.” He replied “My country did not send me 7,000 miles to run a race, but to finish a race.” God doesn’t want us just to start but to finish.

God may have put something in our hearts to do for him and we may have come to a point where we are weary and discouraged. Don’t give up, ask God for strength and keep going. Finish it. Our time and God’s time are not always the same. Trust God, in the end all things will work out for those who love Him. At the 2004 Olympics, the announcers remembered Mexico 1968, and they remembered not any of the winners but only John Stephen Akhwari, the man who wouldn’t quit.

If we find ourselves at the edge of a cliff looking down, that is a good place to be for we can depend on nothing else but God. And when God lifts us up, we will suddenly find that we can fly, with wings of eagles. If we find ourselves in a dark tunnel and can’t see any light, do not despair, for we can see God in the dark and God is all we need.

May the Lord enable us to live lives of passion, giving of ourselves freely for His glory according to all He has called us to. May we never give up but keep going and fulfill the destiny He has placed in our heart. In Jesus name, Amen.