Sunday, July 18, 2010

Do you want to change the world?

I often meet people who say they don't need Jesus. How can that be possible?

Like, don't we all of want to change the world? (like, Obama's mantra during the elections was "change") There is so much darkness and chaos in this world. Like, it is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year. Some say 20% of 20 million of children in India alone are part of the commercial sexual exploitation network. In 2000, nearly 88,000 children in the United States experienced sexual abuse. Intense human oppressions occurring now in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, etc. Then there are happenings like 9/11 terrorism, Nazi oppression, etc. The list of crazy dark things happening in this world goes on and on.. we read it in daily news all the time.

So what is the best way to deal with the darknesses and chaos in the world? Bible points to Jesus as the solution. Jesus said in John 8:12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.". Jesus uses darkness as a metaphor for the sins in this world because sin is in total opposition to God/light (The book of Genesis says that God created light and he separated it from darkness). In a nutshell, as per Bible, Jesus is the best answer to all the chaos and darkness in this world. So, if you want to change this world and get rid of the bad stuff, you need to be that change first (as Gandhi said: "be the change you want to see in this world") by becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. So you do need Jesus (and so does your neighbor)!

References:
- lives of Martin Luther King, Jr; Mother Teresa; etc.
- http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/150148.html

What has been the most peaceful moment of your life?

I met this woman at the UTMB Jail hospital. She is under custody and also suffering from cancer. She is probably in her forties. She said that right then at jail, as she is going through her cancer treatment, she has been most peaceful in her life. She has found her peace in eternal God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

Hmm, so essentially she testified, what King Soloman said in the book of Ecclesiastes that our pursuits in this world is not going to give us everlasting peace/contentment/joy, if they are not centered around God.

It also reminded me of Apostle Paul: "I can rejoice at all times and I can be content in whatsoever state I am in, even when I am in prison" (Philippians 4:4,11). "Christ is everything I need! Christ is my Life!" (Colossians 2:10; 3:3). That is, our joy does not depend on circumstances, but on the eternal God.

This is also what Jesus said, in John 4, about the "living water" He gives: "Whosoever drinketh of this water (i.e., things of the world) shall thirst again.But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.".