The Sword with No Blade

There once was a swordsman who became famous all throughout the land for his skill with the blade.

He received many challenges from other swordsmen, and he won them all. His opponents, skilled though they were, were no match for the speed, power and accuracy of his blade. Some of his challengers were maimed or seriously injured after dueling with him. Many were killed outright.

The more duels the swordsman fought, the stronger he became. His strokes with the sword became lesser and fewer, until his skill was such that his every strike became a killing blow. Many of his opponents died from a single sweep of his sword. He became known far and wide as the ‘unbeatable swordsman’.

The unbeatable swordsman became proud of his skill. And when the other swordsmen stopped challenging him, he began challenging others himself.

Fear swept across all the land, for the unbeatable swordsman challenged anyone he saw to a duel.

The swordsman relished the power accorded to him by his skill with the blade. He began to bully the people who refused to fight him, calling them cowards. He concluded that cowards served no better purpose than to serve the strong. And since none could match him with the blade, he expected everyone to serve him. And so he made the people do his bidding everywhere he went.

Not long after however, word began to spread that another swordsman had wandered into the land. Like the unbeatable swordsman, this swordsman too won all his fights. Unlike the unbeatable swordsman however, people were talking about this swordsman not with fear, but with awe and reverence. And the strangest thing was, none of his opponents died from dueling with him.

All who knew and heard about this swordsman said one thing in common:

“He carries a sword with no blade.”

When news of this reached the unbeatable swordsman, he laughed condescendingly at the people.

“You are being foolish! You are making this story up just to scare me! How can a swordsman win his fights with a sword with no blade?”

But news and rumors about the other swordsman persisted. Soon, not a single inhabitant of the land has not heard about the swordsman with the sword with no blade.

The unbeatable swordsman became irritated and jealous at all the attention the other swordsman was getting. He began challenging more and more people to a duel, hoping that the people will spread his stories and talk about him more. And though news of his bullying did indeed spread, the people never stopped talking about the swordsman with the sword with no blade.

Finally, the unbeatable swordsman decided he had heard enough. He would look for this swordsman with the bladeless sword and challenge him himself.

“I will defeat this swordsman, and then the people shall revere and fear me once more.” He concluded.

And so the unbeatable swordsman wandered all throughout the land searching for the swordsman with the sword with no blade.

His searched for days. He searched for months. He searched for years. And though he heard the same stories everywhere he went, he could not find the swordsman with the bladeless sword.

The longer he searched, the angrier and more obsessed the unbeatable swordsman became. Finally, he exclaimed to all whom he met:

“I shall never again draw my sword unless it is to defeat the man who carries around the sword with no blade!”

Because the unbeatable swordsman stopped challenging people to duels, the inhabitants of the land became less and less afraid. They no longer hid for fear of being challenged by him. Farmers began tilling the land, and the shopkeepers began to sell their wares. Soon the land became peaceful and prosperous once more.

The unbeatable swordsman however, did not relent in his search. Everywhere he went, he was greeted by the people:

“Have you found what you were looking for?”

At first he answered them with a haughty “that’s none of your business!”

But the unbeatable swordsman became quiet the longer his search continued, and he later began answering the people’s questions with just a silent shaking of his head.

He also became gaunt and thin from all his searching, that when the inhabitants of the land saw him, they began to take pity upon him.

In each town that he went, the children would run up to him and greet him, then shout to the rest of the town:

“The unbeatable swordsman is here!”

The whole town would come out and give him food and drink and share stories with him. When they asked about his search, the unbeatable swordsman’s reply was always the same: he bowed silently and shook his head.

After decades of searching, the unbeatable swordsman began to lose hope that he would ever find the swordsman with the bladeless sword. He grew more somber and forlorn the more his hope faded, and soon ceased to speak at all unless it was to ask:

“Have you seen the swordsman with the sword with no blade?”

Then one day, the unbeatable swordsman came upon a very poor town. Unlike the other towns, no children ran up to greet him. The inhabitants of the town seemed downcast, their women quietly sobbing and moaning in despair. Even the animals and the trees of the town looked to be in mourning.

For the first time since his search, the unbeatable swordsman asked a different question of the people:

“What has happened here?”

“The land is under a curse!” the people wailed. “Our wells have dried up, and now there is no water. We cannot till the land to grow the things we need to live. Our children have all died from hunger and thirst.”

“Have you tried digging deeper into the ground for water?” the unbeatable swordsman asked.

“None of us are strong enough,” the people replied. “Our men have all grown weak from lack of food and water.”

“But that’s no excuse!” the unbeatable swordsman replied angrily. “If you don’t dig for water, you will all die! Why don’t you all work together to dig a deeper well?”

 “We are afraid that we will lose what little we have in the effort to dig the well,” the people answered forlornly. “We cannot afford to share what little strength we have for others because we need it to first help ourselves. Besides, we are afraid that once the well has been dug, the people will start killing each other to be the first to draw water from it.”

The unbeatable swordsman was exasperated. “You selfish people! Because of your selfishness, you will all die a slow and terrible death from hunger and weakness!”

And the people bowed down their heads in shame.

But then they asked: “Maybe you could help us? You look strong and skilled with the blade. You could help us dig the well and then keep the order with your sword after the well has been dug.”

The unbeatable swordsman thought long and hard about it. Then he answered them in angry resignation:

“Okay, I will help you.”

So the unbeatable swordsman helped the people dig a new well. They spent weeks digging deep into the ground for water, for the land had become hard and unyielding.

When they finally reached water, the people immediately were thrown into chaos. Everyone wanted to be the first to draw water from the well.

But as he promised, the unbeatable swordsman kept all the people at bay with his sword.

“Stop! Stand Back! We will do this in an orderly manner! The elderly shall go first, followed by the women! The strongest among you will draw the water from the well for them and help bring the water back to their houses!”

After everyone had drawn water from the well, the unbeatable swordsman then supervised the men to dig irrigation trenches so that the water could seep into the fields. Anytime that a man refused to work, the unbeatable swordsman would scold and threaten him, saying:

“If you don’t work like everyone else, you will not share in the harvest afterwards!”

And so the unbeatable swordsman kept the order and made all the people help each other.

After months of hard work, all the fields of the town became irrigated and were soon able to grow food. The first harvest was so bountiful, that not only was the whole town fed, they had enough surplus to share and trade with the other neighboring towns as well.

As for the unbeatable swordsman, he stayed in the town to keep the peace and order. He kept the town safe from bandits and robbers, and he settled disputes among the town’s inhabitants. The people all came to him for protection and advice whenever they faced any problems. Even the leaders of the neighboring towns came to him to seek his counsel.

News of the unbeatable swordsman’s deeds spread and he became famous for his leadership.

As the town prospered and grew, the unbeatable swordsman grew older and wiser. He continued to govern the town well although he remained harsh and strict in his leadership.

Then one day, as the unbeatable swordsman was walking along the edge of the town after inspecting the fields for the next harvest, he came across a young man.

The unbeatable swordsman peered at the young man through his old eyes, and recognized in the way that the young man stood that he was a skilled swordsman. The unbeatable swordsman’s old muscles tensed and his knotted fingers grasped the hilt of his sword.

“Who are you? What do you want?” he asked of the young man standing in front of him.

“Are you the one looking for the swordsman with the sword with no blade?” the young man replied.

The unbeatable swordsman’s heart leapt. He had almost completely forgotten about his search.

“Yes, I am. Though I have not searched for him for many years.” he answered back.

“I am he,” the young man spoke. “And I challenge you to a duel.”

The unbeatable swordsman’s heart almost stopped at the young man’s words. But he soon regained his composure and laughed at the young man.

“I have searched for the swordsman with the sword with no blade for many decades before coming to this town. Surely he must be as old as I am now. Therefore you cannot be that man.”

In response, the young man drew out his sword. And lo! No blade protruded from the sword’s hilt!

The unbeatable swordsman was taken aback at the sight.

“Where did you get that?” he asked quietly.

“Accept my challenge, and you shall find out,” the young man replied.

 The unbeatable swordsman’s old pride re-awakened inside of him, and he angrily drew out his own sword. Memories of his long and vain search haunted him, and he clutched the hilt of his sword with renewed strength.

“I don’t know who you are or what you hope to accomplish. But you are foolish to fight me with a sword with no blade.” the unbeatable swordsman hissed with the same quiet menace in which he used to issue challenges before.

But the young man holding the sword with no blade was unfazed.

“You come at me with your sword. I come at you in the name of my God.” the young man answered calmly.

Once again, the undefeated swordsman was taken aback with surprise.

“Your God?” he asked mockingly. “There is no God! In this world, only those with strength rule! Without men like me to govern them, the people will all kill each other! Besides, how can your God help you when he cannot even provide you with a decent sword?”

“I have a sword.” the young man answered calmly, raising the sword with no blade.

The unbeatable swordsman grew exasperated. “But your sword does not even have a blade! How can you defeat someone unless you have a blade to cut them with?!”

“My God will provide the blade.” replied the young man. “And I WILL cut and defeat you.”

For the third time, the unbeatable swordsman was taken aback.

He looked carefully at the young man. His veteran eyes surveyed the young man’s steady stance and the calm way in which he grasped his sword. His swordsman’s instincts told him that this was a very skilled opponent: probably the most skilled he has ever faced.

Most of all however, the unbeatable swordsman was drawn to the young man’s eyes. They were clear and bright as they looked back at him intently. It was as if a fire was lit behind them.

The unbeatable swordsman grew unsettled with the way those eyes looked at him. They seemed to pierce his skin and look deep inside of him. They seemed to be searching for something. The unbeatable swordsman felt that he could not hide anything from those searching eyes. For the first time in his life, the unbeatable swordsman became afraid.

“What are you looking at!” he blurted. “Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid that I will kill you?!”

“No, I am not afraid of you.” the young man answered. “I am looking for that part of you which is most vulnerable. It is this part which I will cut with my sword.”

The unbeatable swordsman grew even more afraid. He swung his sword menacingly at the young man.

“Don’t make me laugh!” he screamed hysterically. “I can kill you anytime I want to, boy! No one has ever defeated me in a duel! I will cut you and you will die! Are you not afraid to die?”

The young man’s unflinching eyes continued to look at him intently.

“I am afraid to die.” he admitted. “But that will not stop me from cutting and defeating you.”

The unbeatable swordsman had had enough. With a wild scream he lunged at the young man. His sword whistled in the air, singing its deadly song.

It hit the young man’s side with full and deadly force. The unbeatable swordsman immediately knew that it was a killing blow.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. And then all at once, a red spray burst forth from out of the fatal wound, covering the unbeatable swordsman with the young man’s blood.

The unbeatable swordsman cried out in horror. His mind shrank at the realization of what he had done.

“I have cut down an innocent man!” his thoughts screamed.

The unbeatable swordsman’s sword fell down to the ground with a clatter as he fell to his knees. He began to shake and weep uncontrollably. He covered his bloody face with equally bloodied hands, afraid to turn around and see the handiwork of his blade.

But lo! From behind him came the calm voice of the young man:

“I have found that part of you which is most vulnerable.”

The undefeated swordsman’s eyes grew wide at the sound of the young man’s voice. Slowly he turned around to face the source of that voice.

His gaze fell upon the young man’s radiant face. His eyes were full of triumph.

“And I have cut you with the blade my God has given me. You are beaten!”

The unbeatable swordsman watched in horror as the young man began to fall. He caught him just before the young man’s body hit the ground.

The young man’s eyes continued to look at the unbeatable swordsman with their piercing gaze.

The young man then laid the sword with no blade on the unbeatable swordsman’s hand. “You are now worthy to carry the sword of my God.” the young man whispered to him. “Use it well.”

“I do not understand!” cried the unbeatable swordsman.

“You have shown my God that you still have a soul,” the young man replied quietly. “Now use the sword my God has given you to search for the souls of others.”

And with that the young man died.

The undefeated swordsman cried over the body of the young man for many days. Then he buried him in a grave which he dug with his bare hands.

Afterwards, he carried the sword with no blade back into his town. There he continued to govern the people. But instead of fear, the people grew to love and cherish him, for he governed them with mercy and compassion as well as with wisdom and justice all the rest of his days.

The people of his town and the leaders of the neighboring towns all began to follow his example and treated each other with dignity, respect and compassion.

When the unbeatable swordsman finally died, the people found him lying on his bed holding the sword with no blade upon his chest. A look of infinite peace was upon his face.

The people mourned for him a long time. Then they buried him among the elders of the town and put up the sword with no blade on his grave as a marker. And many people came from far and wide to see it.

There it still stands to this day, seemingly waiting for its next wielder.

Perhaps you too have come across the sword with no blade in your travels in the land.

It looks something like this:

Judgment Day

(Author's Note: I began this blog entry sometime before we left Vientiane for the Philippines. Due to the business of my schedule, I only managed to finish it now. It was meant as a response to the May 21 (now turned October 21) prediction of a well-known American preacher for Judgement Day. I hope that it retains its relevance in these times.)

"The day of judgment is here; your destruction awaits! The people's wickedness and pride have blossomed to full flower. Their violence has grown into a rod that will beat them for their wickedness. None of these proud and wicked people will survive. All their wealth and prestige will be swept away. Yes, the time has come; the day is here! Buyers should not rejoice over bargains, nor sellers grieve over losses, for all of them will fall under My terrible anger. Even if the merchants survive, they will never return to their business. For what God has said applies to everyone—it will not be changed! Not one person whose life is twisted by sin will ever recover.

(Ezekiel 7:10-13 NLT)

I have forgotten how many times I have heard people predict the arrival of Judgment Day (and be proven wrong afterwards).

It seems there are a lot of people who relish in the idea that they can predict the doom of humankind.

I am no exception to this.

After all, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that by the way humankind has been mismanaging the earth, there will come a day wherein the earth itself will break beyond recovery, and humankind would indeed reap the harvest of our actions.

Science calls it causality.

Scripture describes it as reaping what we sow.

As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians:

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

(Galatians 6:7-8 NIV)

There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a time of reckoning for our actions on this earth.

It’s just that scripture tells us that nobody knows when that time will be.

Even the Messiah said that He Himself does not know:

"However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows. - (Matthew 24:36 NLT)

Only the Father knows.

Scripture is full of references to the arrival of the Day of Judgment.  Bible scholars have even founded a separate branch of theology that focuses on the study of the End Times. (They call it eschatology.)

But although Scripture is generally consistent in pointing towards the coming of the End Times, it almost always qualifies those predictions by saying that the exact day and hour of Judgment Day is unknown.

It is important for us to realize this, because it helps us to identify false prophets who claim to know the exact time and date.

As Scripture notes:

And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. - (Matthew 24:11 NLT)

And:

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. - (1 John 4:1 NLT)

That there will be people who will claim that they know the exact date of Judgment Day is therefore to be expected.

This brings about another dilemma.

The presence of these false prophets will inevitably cause many to fall from the faith.

This too was predicted by the Messiah:

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. - (Matthew 24:12 NLT)

The more false prophets come; claiming to be messengers from God, the more the faith of the people will be tested. Many will be lured into believing them, as the Messiah predicted, and many will be sorely disappointed when their promises prove false and will end up falling from the faith. They will add to the number of the skeptics and will end up as haters and mockers of those still faithful.

"Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are My followers. And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate each other. - (Matthew 24:9-10 NLT)

It will truly be a dark day when the way of peace and love will be completely rejected by the worldly.

But we have been warned ahead of time by the Messiah Himself:

"I have told you these things so that you won't abandon your faith. - (John 16:1 NLT)

I know that it is not my place to remind everyone who believes to be steadfast in the faith. This trial of faith is for all of us to bear, and each trial will be unique as each one of us is unique.

I look at myself and ask: how strong is my faith in the Living God? Will I remain steadfast in the presence of the most severe trials?

My worst nightmares now consist of visions of what trials I would have to face to have my faith tested.

Would I be faithful enough like Job not to fall away when all that I have is taken from me?

Would I be strong enough like Abraham when the lives of my loved ones are put on the line?

Would I be steadfast like the Prophets and the Apostles when my own body is tortured and mutilated for sharing the Gospel of Truth?

Lest I fall into the same trap as Simon Peter and the Sons of Thunder and boast that I would die for my Lord, I would like to be perfectly honest and say that I don’t think my faith is strong enough for trials like these.

I suspect that many among the faithful share this same dilemma.

So should we just abandon my faith now even before these trials ever come to pass?

Should I just toss away my Bible and renounce my love for the Living God?

But to echo the words of Simon Peter: “To whom shall I go Lord?”

If I do not follow the path of peace and love, where then shall I end up going?

Shall I abandon the eternal riches of God’s Kingdom for the fleeting riches of this world?

Shall I become one of the worldly, whose sole motivations in life are greed and lust for power, fame and fortune?

Who will I become without the Living God?

Just another person meant to suffer His wrath on Judgment Day.

-------

It would seem that the faithful are given the devil’s choice: love God and suffer persecution from the world, or love the world and suffer judgment from God.

This is not surprising given that the devil himself tempted our Lord with the same choice.

…the devil took Him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. "I will give it all to You," he said, "if You will kneel down and worship me." - (Matthew 4:8-9 NLT)

The Messiah Himself warned His disciples of these trials:

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. - (John 15:18-20 NIV)

If our Lord was persecuted by the world, then as His followers we can expect to be treated no less.

This has always been a hard teaching for me to accept.

Is not a leader supposed to lead his people into safety? Why then does my King tell me that I must suffer for following Him?

The Apostle Paul offers the following words of comfort:

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. - (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT)

The Creator Himself encourages me as He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah:

For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. - (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

I hold on to these words, as I hold on to my faith in the Living God.

His words will be a lamp to guide my feet, allowing me to walk through the darkness until the coming of dawn, so that when dawn breaks, I will not cringe and fall from its light.

So that when all of the Truth is revealed, I will not be found living a lie.

So that when the Day of Judgment does come, I will run to my Lord rather than flee from Him.

May His rod and staff continue to guide me until that day.

I urge you therefore brothers and sisters in the faith, not to be misled nor distracted by the predictions of false prophets. I believe that if our Lord meant for us to know the exact day of His Judgement, then people will be tempted to wait until the last moment to repent of their ways.

Thus says the Lord through the prophet Isaiah:

Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." - (Isaiah 6:10 NIV)
In the Lord's infinite wisdom, He has chosen to seal up this knowledge from the world, so that the truly faithful might be revealed.

As the Messiah commented on the faith of His disciple Thomas.

"Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." - (John 20:29 NIV)

Let us be encouraged that our faith in Him is not in vain.

To Him be all the Glory.

Why Do We Need Peace?

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - (John 16:33 NIV)

We need peace. The world needs peace. Peace is all we need.

Blame it on the fast paced life that we are forced to live nowadays, but I’ve never really had time to think about what it is that is so desirable about peace in the first place.

 While the question might seem obvious, childish even, has anyone of us really thought about peace? Is peace really the solution to all of humanity’s problems? Do we really even want peace?

In my humble opinion, there are only two kinds of people who will answer that they DO NOT want peace.

The first, and most obvious, would be a madman. A social outcast. A loony. Someone not right in the head. Pick your description.

The second is a bit more complicated. The other person who rejects peace, is the person who benefits from the lack of it.

Several decades ago, I would have contested that such a person even exists. Blame it on naiveté or the insulation brought about by our present social conditioning (perhaps even both), but I found it hard to believe that people would even consider choosing conflict over peace.

My ignorance then was matched only by my juvenile contempt for history.

Like most young male adolescents who would rather spend their time on more “worthwhile” pursuits such as watching television, playing video games, hanging out and ogling young girls, I found little to gain from reading passage after boring passage of accounts of peoples and cultures long dead.

But there IS one historical subject that seems to hold a universal appeal to young men: the subject of war.

Let’s face it; there is not a single, healthy male adolescent in this world that does not have dreams about being a war hero: to fight and offer your life to a great and noble cause as fighting for your homeland and loved ones.

That’s the romantic view of war. And many are those who are lured into the battlefield by such romantic notions.

Thank God for my father, who was wise enough to show me the other aspect of war. The side that our history books always seem to glance over. And that is the cost – the real cost of war.

If there was one thing that I utterly hated as a child, it was the sight of blood. And apparently in war, there are lots of it. Not just blood, but lots of other nasty stuff as well. Stuff that are meant to be hidden inside the human body, not strewn all over the place.

The sight of blood and all these other nasty things made me come upon one inevitable conclusion:

War is ugly.

It is, in fact, the ugliest part of being human.

And if there is any reason, any reason at all to justify going to war, it had better be a damn good one.

Because the real cost of war is not money, weapons, or land.

Its human lives.

I had already established that death is universally undesirable. But to meet death on the battlefield, to have your body mutilated and trampled beyond recognition as a result of being at the opposite end of the manifest hatred that your enemy has for you, and then be fed upon by creatures of carrion: that for me counts as the worst kind of death. It is a most inglorious and ignoble death.

And so I was thankful that I was born in a time of “peace”, continually assuring myself that war would never again happen in the scale that it has happened before because of its sheer ugliness.

It is this kind of naiveté that will prove humanity’s undoing.

Why?

Because conflict is a part of human existence.

Proof of that statement can be seen in every facet of our lives. We have conflicts at home. We have conflicts at work. We have conflicts with our relatives, our neighbors, with our friends and foes alike. We even have conflicts within ourselves.

In fact, conflict goes beyond humanity. It permeates all of creation itself.

Life IS conflict.

To deny the existence of conflict would be to deny the existence of life itself.

And war is the ultimate expression of conflict. It is conflict taken to the extreme. While there is life, war is always a possibility, if not an inevitability.

And lest I be misconstrued as being un-Christian in this view, allow me to refer once again to the words of The Teacher:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. - (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV)

God Himself has instituted that war exist.

But how can that be? Is not God a loving God? Is He not forgiving and full of mercy? Does He not love all of creation?

Why would He create something that is so ugly? Why would He allow for something that causes so much death and destruction to even exist?

My answer to that would be this:

God instituted war, so that we may truly know and appreciate peace.

Peace is NEVER to be taken for granted. It is to be longed for and sought after, and if the situation merits, it should even be fought for.  The fact that all of life is conflict, means that peace should be the ultimate goal of every living thing in creation.

Now the philosophical among you might say: but that is a flawed argument! If life IS conflict, does not searching for peace therefore, go against life?

To this, I ask another question:

If you come across a person who is being mugged, what is your first reaction?

Is it to walk away, telling yourself that life is conflict, and that the person being mugged just happened to be unlucky enough to be at the receiving end of it?

Or is it to call for help, if not assist the person yourself, knowing that an injustice is being committed?

Let me rephrase the question a little bit:

What if the person being mugged is your loved one? What if that person is yourself?

Will you just offer yourself to the mugger in resignation, telling yourself that life is conflict, and to resist would be to go against life? What if the mugger decides to kill you? Would you still accept the situation?

To this the philosopher might answer:

But isn’t that what Jesus Christ says for us to do in His Sermon on the Mount? To give when someone takes from you?

And isn’t that exactly what He Himself did when He died on the cross?

Doesn’t that mean therefore, that for the Christian to have peace, he must offer everything that he has, including his life, to the whims of conflict?

If such be the Christian life, then I would not have any part of it.

But obviously, this is NOT the reason why I chose to be a follower of Christ.

First of all, the Messiah offered His life, not in resignation to conflict, but so that others may live.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. - (John 10:10-11 NIV)

Secondly, the Christian life does not mean the absence of conflict. In fact, being a follower of Christ is itself an invitation to a life full of conflict.

For as the Messiah says:

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. - (Matthew 10:34 NIV)

In this oft misunderstood and (therefore dangerous) verse, Jesus alludes to the fact that being good means you are against evil in whatever form it takes. That being good automatically makes you an enemy of those who do evil.

Says the Apostle Paul:

How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? - (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT)

And lastly, if the message of the Gospel is simply to do nothing in the face of evil, then why bother with the Gospel at all? Do we even need the Gospel for us to do that?

I follow the Gospel precisely because it tells me that evil exists, and that I must do everything in my power to resist it.

And to resist evil does not mean a surrender to conflict.

For the peace of Christ does NOT mean the absence of conflict.

The peace of Christ means mastery over conflict.

And to master conflict means to overcome and master any and all sources of conflict.

And the greatest source of conflict in this world is none other than ourselves.

I am my own worst enemy.

Therefore, to truly attain the peace of Christ, I must overcome and master myself.

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Have you ever been offended or hurt so bad that you’ve become blinded to everything else except retaliation? I sincerely believe that one couldn’t be human otherwise.

I also believe that this is the primary reason for the existence of human conflict.

But I also believe that to participate in the human race is to overcome all obstacles that hinder us from growing beyond our present humanity.

It is to voluntarily choose to strive and become more than what our current humanity is capable of.

And if our current humanity cannot see past the need for revenge and conflict, then it is our sovereign duty to choose to overcome that short-sightedness.

For as a human being, I AM the master of my fate, and the captain of my soul. That much the Creator has given us to achieve while in this life.

And no one, absolutely no one, has epitomized self-mastery and mastery over all conflict, as He who is known as the Prince of Peace.

For when He hung on that cross, dying a slow and agonizing death, bearing the full punishment for the transgressions we have made, as He offered His last drop of blood, and breathed His last breath with the words “It is accomplished!”, it was not in resignation, nor surrender.

No, those words were uttered with the final triumph of one who has fought and won the only battle worth fighting.

It is the victory that comes from having mastered conflict and attained true and lasting peace for all of humanity.

And for this alone, He deserves all our praise.  

For this alone, He deserves all the glory.

This is the reason why I choose to call His faith my own.

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Going back to my earlier statement on the second type of person who would reject peace, it is true that there are people in this world who has seen it fit to profit, and to profit greatly from conflict.

In fact, there are people who have reaped such a great profit from conflict, that it has become their interest to keep conflict going, even up to the point of starting and engaging in conflicts themselves.

This is the very description of people who have given themselves up over to evil. To sin.

For to embrace conflict is to fall short of the purpose of conflict.

To embrace conflict is to deny peace.

Sooner or later, those who call themselves the Children of the Most High will have to face these people.

In fact, the battle has already been joined.

And the frontline is being fought right here, in the marketplace of ideas.

At stake, is the only thing worth dying for in this life.

It is the battle for the soul of humanity.

All of creation waits with bated breath at the arrival of Him who will lead the forces of truth and light and triumph over the forces of deception and darkness in this world once more.

And how I long to be in that number.
 

Blessed is the man who searches for peace.

Blessed is the head of the man who meditates on peace.

Blessed is the heart of the man who desires peace.

Blessed is the tongue of the man who speaks words of peace.

Blessed are the feet of the man who follows the path to peace.

Blessed are the hands of the man who works for peace.

Blessed are the arms of the man who gladly embraces peace.

For such a man, the sufferings of this world will have no lasting trouble.

For such a man, the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven will be given.

For to be at peace with all of creation is to be at peace with God.

And God is the ultimate source of peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. - (Matthew 5:9 TNIV)

When Our Weakness becomes Strength

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. - (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

Few people I know can readily admit that they’re weak.

In living the worldly life, I have noticed that it has become increasingly difficult for one to admit to making mistakes. Not only is making mistakes a sign of weakness, but it also entails cost: the cost of correcting that mistake.

And for the worldly, cost is everything.

If all that a worldly person is concerned about is making a profit, anything that detracts from profit therefore, is not to be desired.

Consider the example of a corporation: that entity which best represents the worldly life. Seldom would you see a corporation voluntarily admit to making mistakes, much less take the effort of correcting them. Legions of corporate lawyers are hired for the sole purpose of defending against people who would point out the corporation’s mistakes.

Have you ever tried reading through the fine print of a corporate waiver of liabilities or license agreement? I am told that these are deliberately long, vague and tedious to read for the layperson, so that he/she will be discouraged from interpreting what it truly means.

For laid deep within the legal jargon is a simple yet powerful disclaimer: “that as much as legally possible, the corporation will NOT be responsible for its mistakes.” In fact, if the corporation would have it their way, they will not accept responsibility for ANY mistake whatsoever.

Mistakes cost money. Mistakes eat away at profit. And for a corporation, profit IS everything.

Therefore, a corporation will do its best NOT to admit to any mistakes.

For this reason, corporations are NEVER to be considered paragons of moral and ethical behavior. Look to them for innovation. Look to them for examples of efficiency and resource management. But never ethics.

For the basis of ethical behavior is grounded in the premise that people ARE liable for their mistakes. 

To produce people who readily admit to making mistakes and take responsibility for them is the goal of any ethical civilization.

And that is what the Kingdom of Heaven is: the ultimate state of civilization where the highest ethical and moral values are upheld.

Those who concern themselves only with profit will find it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. For as the Messiah, who calls Himself Lord of that Kingdom says:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. - (Matthew 6:24 NIV)

Why is it that the we should seek profit in the first place?

Because we have been led to believe that the accumulation of worldly wealth can provide security against our fears.

What are these fears?

The fear of rejection. The fear of suffering. The fear of loss.

And chief among these fears is the fear of death.

Nothing motivates the worldly more than the fear of death.

For we all know that death is a harsh taskmaster. Death waits for no one. Death comes for everyone. To death we must all give an account. Nothing else in this world has a finality attached to it that is so total, so irrevocable, as that accounting.

And so we work and toil in vain to try and escape death. Though many of humanity’s mightiest have surrounded themselves with the greatest of worldly wealth, the best they have done against death is to just delay its inevitability.

Rich and poor. Young and old. Strong and weak. Saint and sinner. Death does not discriminate against them, for death comes for them all.

It is ironic that death would be the common factor that unites all of humanity together.

For to be human is to die.

If all the reward we get for living our lives on this earth is death, what then does anything matter?

What does it matter that I strive to admit my mistakes and correct them? Would it not be far better for me to enjoy life as much as I can? Why waste time dwelling on my mistakes? What do I care for accountability? What do I care for ethics or morality? Am I not entitled to live a life of pleasure? Let the strong prey on the weak! Let the poor be a slave to the rich! Let the guilty and innocent both go free! For in the end there is no distinction between them.

Death comes for us all.

The certainty of death makes us slaves to it, for we are slaves to that which we fear the most.

A slave does not have rights. A slave cannot make choices. When a slave’s master calls, he has to come and do the master’s bidding.

A slave has no freedom.

Death therefore, is master of the worldly, for there is no freedom from death.

And therein lies the salvation offered by the Christ.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. - (Romans 6:9 NIV)

The Gospel of Life testifies to the significance of the risen Christ:

Death is NOT our master.

For there is SOMEONE GREATER than death.

As the Christ testifies:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. - (Matthew 10:28 NIV)

And so our fear of death is revealed for what it truly is: a capital sin.

For it is not death whom we should fear. It is not death whom we should call master. To do so would be to commit idolatry against The One whom we should fear.

And the testimony of Christ reveals the One who is greater than death. It is to Him and to him alone we must give an account.

And He is worthy.

For unlike death, He is NOT indiscriminate.

As He says of those loyal to Him:

"They will be My people," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. "On the day when I act in judgment, they will be My own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not." - (Malachi 3:17-18 NLT)

Our loyalty to Him does not result in slavery, but in freedom: freedom from fear itself.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." - (Romans 8:15 NIV)

A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. - (John 8:35-36 NLT)

And if He who is greater than death rewards loyalty with freedom, where then is our weakness? Where then is our fear?

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  - (Romans 8:31 NLT)

So do not mourn you who humble themselves before the Living God. Do not weep for those who give up their lives in His service. Do not cringe when the worldly laugh and mock you. Do not be ashamed that they would call your faith in Him a weakness.

For He who is Lord even over death is faithful.

In our weakness, He becomes our strength.

Soli Deo Gloria.

This Whole Witnessing Thing

Listen! It's the voice of someone shouting, "Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! - (Isaiah 40:3 NLT)

I am a believer in Jesus Christ.

No doubt about it.

Even an atheist friend of mine vehemently determined that to be true.

According to the statistics posted by Wikipedia on Christianity, there are approximately 2 billion people all over the world who believes as I do. Together, we make up the largest community of theists among the major religions of the world.

That’s 2 billion people. Roughly a third of the world’s total population. A majority by certain standards.

My question to you this day is this: what does it mean to be a believer in Jesus Christ?

Of course, this question would be meaningless if the person to whom it is addressed does not know WHO Jesus Christ is.

It seems highly implausible that anyone in the world today would not have heard of Jesus Christ. After all, there are 2 billion of His followers scattered all over the world.

At the very least, the name itself would be familiar, even to the most ardent of non-believers.

So perhaps my question should be revised as follows:

Who in world is Jesus Christ?

It seems only logical that the person to whom you should address this question to is someone like me: one who professes to believe in Him. A “Christian.” For that is what a believer in Christ is called, ever since the movement began not too long after His death. (The term was first used in Antioch, which is now part of modern Turkey, according to the Book of Acts, 11:26.)

So WHO is He?

My first answer will be in the form of another question: How do we know who anyone is?

When someone new is introduced to me, the very first thing I get to know about that person is his name. A conversation about that person would then ensue. Kind of like the following:

“Hello, my name is John.”

Pleased to meet you John.

“Pleased to meet you too!”

So John, what do you do for a living?

“Well, I’m kind of an eccentric by my people’s standards. (And my people are already considered to be an eccentric bunch). My birth was foretold by an angel. See my dad’s a priest in the order of Aaron from the tribe of the Levites. They’re the caretakers of the Temple of God, where we store this thing called the Ark, which contains relics from our past. It’s a history of our people really. But more importantly, our priests talk to our God for our people. They intercede for them and offer up their prayers. Apparently, our people are so stubborn that we need an intermediary to even come close to our God, who is so righteous that His mere presence obliterates unrighteousness (that usually means someone gets burned to a crisp). So our God set down rules for us to follow so that we don’t get burned to a crisp, because our God wants to be with us, and we want to be with our God.”

Uh, okay John. So what does that make you? Are you a priest too?

“Well, not quite. I’m a bit different from a full-time Levitical priest. Besides, not all of the Levitical priests are good guys (even though they’re supposed to be). Some of them are bad. I mean REALLY bad. You know, in the inside. I’m kind of surprised really that they are not burned to a crisp outright for even setting foot in the Temple of our God. I guess our God got tired of burning our people to a crisp. Anyway, that’s supposed to be the reason why I’m born. See, I’m supposed to be part of God’s plan to set things right for my people, so that nobody will get burned to a crisp anymore. I’m supposed to ‘make straight the paths of the Lord’, which is what one of our prophets foretold. Actually, I’m a prophet myself.”

So you predict the future?

“Well, kind of. Its not really some mystical thing. Its simple really. I just look at what’s currently happening, and make a prediction based on that.”

That sounds kind of simple. I mean, I can do that too.

“Yes! Actually you can! We all can! But for some reason, my people can’t. It has something to do with their being blind to the truth. You see, you CAN’T predict what’s going to happen if you can’t see the truth. Maybe its because a lot of my people have become bad. You know, bad in the inside. And I suppose NOBODY wants to admit that they’re bad. So they tell themselves that they’re good, even though in reality, they’re bad. That’s why they can’t predict the future. That’s why they need prophets like me to tell them where to go.”

That’s interesting. So where ARE your people headed?

“Somewhere really, REALLY bad. Unless they open their eyes to how bad they really are and then change their ways. But see, they can’t do this alone. They need someone to show them that they’re bad. And the only way you can know what is bad, is to know what is good.”

Sounds reasonable enough. So I take it that YOU will be the one to show them what is good?

“Oh no. No, no, NO! I am DEFINITELY NOT that person. I’m flattered that you would think so, but I’m not. I’m not even worthy to tie His sandals (which get kind of REALLY dirty out here in the desert), let alone be mistaken for Him.”

So, who is He? Who is this Guy who is supposed to show your people how to be good?

“Why, there He is right now! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

Lamb of God? What’s that?

“Oh, well, I told you that the Levitical priests are supposed to intercede for our people right? Well, part of that is to make atonement (or payment) for their ‘sins’, that is, the bad things they have done. We do this through sacrifices, usually a lamb. That lamb is supposed to be the best of the flock. The priest then slaughters the lamb, and sprinkles its blood on the altar in the Temple and over the people.”

How barbaric! Blood over the people? Isn’t that gory?

“Actually, yes, it is. It’s VERY gory. But this is part of the rules our God laid down for us, and which we have been following for many centuries. Anyway, the blood is supposed to remind you how terrible the price is for doing bad things. Nobody wants to see blood. Its horrible! (not to mention the stains are a pain to remove).”

So what does that have to do with that Guy you just pointed to a moment ago?

“Oh Him? Well, He IS our Lamb! The Last Lamb we are to sacrifice to our God. After Him, we don’t need to sacrifice any more lambs.”

What? So you’re going to KILL Him?

“Well, yes. That too was foretold by our prophets.”

But WHY!?

“Because He needs to show my people that it is a good thing to die for others. Even for those who are bad. That’s part of being good. There are a whole lot of other good things that He will do as well. My people are not going to like Him very much though. Because His goodness will make their badness stand out for everyone to see. That’s why they’re going to kill Him.”

But, but that’s TERRIBLE!

“Yes. It is. But there is no other way to wake my people up to the truth. There is no other way to make them see how bad they’ve become. But don’t worry, He will not die forever.”

I’m sorry, you said “not die forever?” So He’s immortal?

“In a way yes. Goodness cannot die. Because goodness is a part of our God. And our God IS immortal.”

Wait, so are you telling me that HE is your God?

“I’m sorry, I have to go, I’m being summoned to the dungeons by that guy with the big sword. Something about a request by the daughter of the King’s wife (whom He illegally married by the way because she used to be the wife of his brother. And that’s just one of the MANY bad things my people have been doing.) It was nice talking to you!”

Wait! Wait! I want to know more about this Lamb of God!

“Ask one of His disciples! The people who follow Him!”

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Of course, we could know more about a person by reading about him/her. Reading about something is a lot easier because the words don’t change as the story is told. And you can read and absorb the information at your own pace.

Which is probably why they’ve come up with the Bible. Because people can get tired telling stories, especially LONG ones that span thousands of years. Not to mention that people’s memories are not too long. They can forget things. Important things.

And Jesus’ story supposedly began since the beginning of time, and is continuing up to the present. It would take lifetimes to document everything about Him.

But we don’t need to know everything there is to know about Him. We just need to know the important things, like who He says he is, what He believed in, what He did with those beliefs, and where He went.

The answers to these questions are recorded in the Bible. And that Bible has been passed down for millennia. Meticulously copied and reproduced throughout the ages. Of course, being human, the copying and the reproducing are all subject to human errors. But the underlying message of the Bible stays the same:

There IS a God. That God is Good. He wants to be with us. But He can’t because we’ve been Bad. So He lets go of His divinity for a moment, so that He can be as close to us as possible. He stays with us just long enough to show us how bad we’ve become. And He does this by showing us what it means to be truly good. And in the ultimate act of goodness, He sacrificed Himself so that we could start afresh with our lives and finally be with Him.

That’s the underlying message of the Bible. According to the timeline of events recorded in the Bible, this has been going on since God created humankind.

God’s plan for humankind’s salvation is an ongoing story. He may have gone back to His heavenly throne, but His message for mankind remains:

“Be Good. Love me because I’m good. And love each other because I created you to be good.”

Over two thousand years after His death as a human, we have a new priesthood of believers. A new order of intercessors for God. 2 billion of them.

Just what exactly are these people doing? Are all of them doing what they’re supposed to be doing? Are they bringing the people closer to God?

Or are they doing the opposite?

Are they being like the Pharisees and the Saducees and the rest of the priests that comprise the old Levitical Order?

The Apostle Matthew records Jesus as having rebuked the Levitical orders so badly, they responded by arranging for His murder. Jesus’ rebuke has been titled the “Seven Woes”.

The underlying message of the rebuke is unmistakable:

You are NOT doing your job!

How are they not doing their job? By not setting the proper example for the people to follow.

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. - (Matthew 23:2-3 NIV)

You’ve heard of the smoker parent who wanted his own son to stop smoking? He told his son in between puffs of smoke: “Son, don’t smoke. Its bad for you.”

The son answers, “Yeah, right dad.” And picks up a cigarette from his dad’s pocket, and uses his dad’s lit cigarette to light it.

That’s exactly what a “Christian” is doing when he/she preaches to a non-believer and does not take care to practice what he/she preaches.

Jesus warns:

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. - (Matthew 7:1-5 NIV)

And some Christians wonder why there are still non-believers in the world.

Christian missionaries who go out into the world to teach the Word of God would do well to remember the Messiah’s words:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. - (Matthew 23:15 NIV)

I am not writing this from a third point of view. Truth, any truth, is double-edged. The words I use to cut others can be used to cut me back. That’s the whole point of truth.

Which is why truth is so reliable. ANYONE can use it.

But who will use it on him/herself? How many will the Messiah find on earth who used His message to cleanse him/herself for His return?

Let me conclude this lengthy entry with the words of the Apostle Peter:

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight. And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved… - (2 Peter 3:10-15 NLT)

To my brothers and sisters in the faith I exhort:

Make straight the paths to the Lord. Do not hinder anyone from entering the Kingdom of God, for His Kingdom belongs to all who live by the truth.

For the right to rule that Kingdom is His, and His alone, forever.

Soli Deo Gloria.

May God bless you all this coming long weekend!