etc. Archive

Life Pursuits 3 – Life Interrupted
September 25, 2010
Greenhills Christian Fellowship, Ortigas Center, Pasig
Speaker: Mr. BJ Sebastian

God in so many instances interrupts the lives of those whom he loves so that they would pursue his will and purposes. Moses had a noble plan to deliver his people from tyranny in Egypt. It failed. It was then when God interrupted his life, sent him to Median to become an expert in the wilderness before sending him back to Egypt and realize the deliverance he had dreamed for his people. This time, however, deliverance happened God’s way. Jacob’s pursuit was to get the blessing, which he did not realize God had already given to him even before he was born. God interrupted his life as he was running away from Laban in a wrestling encounter with a spiritual being. That became the pivotal point of his life. Joseph’s sheltered life was interrupted by a succession of tragic events which later molded and prepared him to be a world leader. Joseph and Mary were dreaming of building a family together, but their lives were interrupted by God when his messenger told them to change their course and be the foster parents of the Messiah. Paul was on the road to Damascus breathing death threats to all Christians. But Jesus interrupted his journey and changed his life to conform to his will. And the list goes on…

How does God interrupt our lives so that he can redirect us from our vain pursuits to his perfect will?

Philippians 2:1-11

“It’s the survival of the fittest!” This is the prevailing credo amongst the majority of the world, a world dominated by the “I, me, and myself”; where people push their way around to fulfil their egotistic longings and aspirations. A world made up of individuals that give little or no thought to others, unless it would be of benefit to oneself. All this stands in stark contrast to the call of Christ for His body, His people called the church- a people called to show forth the cross, transformed by it, shaped by it, pointing to it. A community characterized by love and humility; a love and humility that grows as it, as one, fixes its eyes on the enthralling loveliness of Christ.
But, unfortunately, often times, this is not the case. On the macro level, some churches don’t look any different from the world. The “survival of the fittest” has become a way of life and thinking even among the community of believers, thus making it look so much more like an arena rather than a place of warmth, welcome, and love. It’s a very heart breaking picture; and it’s so easy to get caught up in the general landscape, forgetting that before one can move on to the macro level, there is the micro level composed of different and distinct individuals: and this is where I choose to begin. (It sounds so cliché already, yet how many individuals take it seriously and really act on it?) I can’t expect the community to live out the cross if I myself don’t seek to live it out and allow it to be the standard in all that I do. And thus, in this, I need to ask myself, do I, in all things, act and think in humility, seeking to point to the beauty and sufficiency of Jesus Christ? Are my thoughts so dominated by Christ that all I seek is His renown and to hear His praise on the lips of those He allows to come my way? Do I seek the joy of others, knowing that true and lasting joy comes only from and in Jesus Christ? Is He the focus of all my interactions and intentions? Does my stance in life show forth His humility and love, does it show forth the cross? As my life shows forth the glory of the cross of Christ, I hope that it would be an invitation and an encouragement to do the same, not in any endeavour to be made much of, but in an endeavour to make much of Jesus Christ.
Communities that show forth the glory of the cross begin with the individuals that comprise it. As each member of the community seeks to live out the cross, there is a beautiful and different kind of joy, unity, oneness, and togetherness that takes place; and it is in such communities that individuals truly walk hand in hand in humility and love. And it is a beautiful, breath- taking scene that brings me back once again to the cross of Christ, the instrument by which this transformation was made possible.