Mt 16:13-23
Certain sacrifices are needed for the sake of loving more people and expanding the Kingdom of God. This includes going to places where we do not wish to go to at times. Like Jesus who ‘must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised’, whatever we do or wherever we are called to go, we do it out of our free will. This obedience is not forced but out of Love. Definitely, wherever God brings us to, even to places where we do not want to go, we still have to go to grow to be more mature and stronger in faith, relying on God, instead of on people and things that are familiar to us that it breeds contempt. So, like Jesus, we must learn to let go and let God and go to places where we do not wish to go, learning to rely entirely on God with nothing familiar to hold on to for God to work miracles in our otherwise dull lives in familiarity.
I am often called to move on to other organizations after I had established some foundation within my areas of work. Often, I do not enjoy the fruits of my hardwork and it is always the people who take over my positions who enjoy the fruits. After I have left those places, my ex-colleagues always told me these people who have taken over my positions simply shake legs since I have set up whatever systems or built the foundations needed. I get pissed off at times why this keeps on happening. However, when I manage to quiet down, I realize that though I do not enjoy the fruits of my hardwork, many people will be benefiting from what I have done. It is about looking at the big picture as a whole. Most of the time, I also get to share my faith with Christians and non Christians. Sometimes, Christians who have backslided came to me and told me they had started reading God’s words after we had shared more about God. I even had the chance to share our faith with people from different religious backgrounds and got to know more about others’ faith, thus improving the working relationships at work with different people. Sometimes, nasty bosses tried to make things difficult for me so that I would get into troubles as some of them felt threatened by my potential (which was not necessary since they were much smarter than me) or others were simply out of balance in their lives. Somehow, they would always be surprised how I got around it with my creative ways. I know this is all about God being with and in me with my staff going through the valley of darkness.
No matter where you are, it is always for your own good that God has sent you to places where you do not see familiar faces. It is for you to rely on Him entirely instead of on the people whom you mingle with often. Sometimes, the danger of staying within the comfort zone is when it is time for you to move on or do something that does not agree with the people around you, you may choose to do things that please the people which may not be right with God. Also, sometimes, without knowing, you become possessive of these people, being afraid to lose them at anytime. That is when you have lost sight of God and placed these people above God. So, when God sends you to somewhere where you do not want to go, go out of obedience for the growth of the people you have been staying with beyond healthy level and also for yourself to grow with more people outside your circle. Where there is nothing familiar, you will still feel at ease with strangers as you have to learn to see someone familiar within each stranger; that is Christ who has been with you through the faces of the strangers. Only then, you will learn to accept and expand the Kingdom of God through the development of friendships and relationships with new people. You also grow to be more complete as you open yourself up to accept and make friends with people from all walks of life at all social levels. Each person has got stories to teach you lessons to be wiser in life, thus allowing you to reach out at a deeper level to touch more people deep within in life.
With Love,
Elena
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