How Wonderful How Beautiful

In a split second, flashes of people who walked in and out of my life surfaced as the bus rammed into the side of the taxi. When we were about to come into this world, we took 9 months.But when we enter the kingdom of God, when we leave this temporary residence, it could just be in a second and we could be gone :
Have we really appreciated our family? Have we really taken the chance that we have to look them in the eye to simply say "thank you" or tell them how much we love them? Have we really appreciated the friends that God so generously gave to us? Have we take the chance that we have to tell them how thankful we are or how apolegetic we are or how annoyed we are?

Through this reflection, forgiveness stood out the most. Forgiveness of the inflictions that people caused, forgiving the people who insulted and misunderstood. A close friend once shared with me about forgiveness.The time when Jesus was cruxified on the cross,the pain and the sufferings he had from the nail pierced hands and feet, from the scourging. He could have chosen to hate the people who caused Him all these pain and suffering BUT He said " Father forgive them for they know not what they do" ( Luke 23:34 ) And later when He appeared to his disciples and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." ( John 20:27) The scars were still there, but the scars did not hurt any longer.

Yes the memory may hurt, yes they may caused us to be upset, but forgiveness does not mean that we will forget them, we will still remember them, and learn from them. Today, while sitting at the hall waiting for the teacher to collect the scripts, the sudden thought of everything started to be so overwhelming. The time when I knew God, the time I decided to join ZJ and the bumpy ride of 2006 is like an eye-opener.I saw myself stepping out of that circle of events and watching it from the outer view. From a totally different view. Suddenly I finally understood why they all happened... I understood why the ride was bumpy, why walking alone and taking the narrow path was necessary, and why finding your identity in Christ is so important. Like what the planetshaker guy said and what Mat said, "it is a form of testimony, we share our life's struggle with everyone and showing how God has changed it." How God was there and making things work for our good. And through the outer view of the circle of events the one thing that stood constant was the LOVE OF GOD.

Then I recalled a wonderful song shared by a wonderful friend, "Why" by Nicole Nordeman. In the very beginning when I heard the song, I felt the tune was nice, etc, the words didn't really mean much till yesterday. It depicts about a girl walking to see Jesus at the calvary, but not knowing who He was. And when she approached the crowds who were jeering him, she heard the voice of Jesus calling out to His Father and thereafter God the Father replied, and said " she is why you must die".

It gave a pang in my heart when I heard the last line of the entire song, that I was the reason that Jesus had to sacrifice His life. A reminder of His love, that He willingly gave up His life when He could simply choose not to. A reminder that no matter what happens along the way, the LOVE OF GOD remains and He will be my strength, my shield, my shelter, deliver and very presence help in time of need.
Here is how the song goes:
We rode into town the other day
Just me and my daddy
He said I'd finally reached that age
And I could ride next to him on a horse
That of course was not quite as wide
We heard a crowd of people shouting
And so we stopped to find out why
And there was that man that my dad said he loved
But today there was fear in his eyes
So I said daddy why are they screaming
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is he dressed in that bright purple robe?
I'll bet that crown hurts him more then he shows
Daddy please can't you do something?
He looks as though he's gonna cry
You said he was stronger then all of those guys
Daddy please tell me why? Why does everyone want him to die?
Later that day the sky grew cloudy
And daddy said I should go inside
Somehow he knew things would get stormy
Boy was he right
But I could not keep from wondering
If there was something he had to hide
So after he left I had to find outI was not afraid of getting lost
So I followed the crowds
To a hill where I knew men had been killed

( the part where Jesus speaks to his father)
And I heard a voice come from the cross
And it said father why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why are they casting their lots for my clothes?
This crown of thorns hurts me more then it shows
Father please can't you do something?I
know that you must hear my cry'sI thought
I could handle a cross of this size
Father remind me why?
Why does everyone want me to die?
When will I understand why?

( the part when God the Father replies)
My precious sonI hear them screaming
I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming
But soon I will clothe you in robes of my own
Jesus this hurts me much more then you know
But this dark hourI must do nothing
Though I've heard your unbearable cries
The power in your blood
Destroys all of the lies
Soon you'll see past their unmerciful lies
Look there below
See the child
Trembling by her father's side
Now I can tell you why
She is why you must die


" Daddy God, help me remember of your constant, never changing love. That no amount of hurt, no situation, not even anybody, can seperate it from me. Without you, I'll be lonely. How wonderful and how beautiful you are! "
- Julie