The recent fireworks factory blast in Gharb, Gozo, has left a bitter taste in many people's mouths not only with regard to the lack of safety procedures involved which, in all probability, led to the explosion of the factory, but also to the amount of lives that this incident has taken. Unfortunately, in Malta, we seem to have the mentality that something tragic is needed in order for the authorities (if any!) to take due action; and even when this happens, what due action is taken is something that is generally beyond the general public, i.e. it is never reported. We just have to face the reality that we're living in a state where practically everyone covers up for one another at whatever cost, even if it means that the lives of other people are at stake.
Of course, first, second and third come the protection of our personal interests, and then only after that - and there should indeed be a big IF inserted into that equation - come the interests of the public at large and the state in general. Crazy and mentally demented as he might be, perhaps Norman Lowell was right when he recently called the public at large a bunch of sheep - for they generally religiously follow and accept anything that someone with the remotest hint of power says. It's pathetic, to say the least.
That aside, however, I found it blatantly ridiculous - even more so than certain things that occur on these islands - that the Xaghra feast scheduled for today was not cancelled in light of this recent tragedy, the official reason being that those who died did not form part of the Xaghra locality and therefore the village should not be affected by it. The link between the two instances, that being the feast in question and the fireworks factory as mentioned above, was that this factory was actually producing fireworks for the Xaghra feast. I beg to imagine what the hell might have been going through the mind of the parish priest in question when he uttered these comments, and where his Christian roots have gone. The least that the community could have done, as a sign of respect for those people who perished in this blast and their surviving families - and just for the record, this was not the first explosion at this factory, for another such explosion occurred in 2005(!!) - was cancel the feast. But no, and I quote Daphne Caruana Galizia here because I agree with her viewpoint 100% in this instance, the community has just lost thousands of euros worth of fireworks; it would be a shame if the amount of money spent on the village feast had to suffer the same fate!
Honestly, sometimes I wonder how certain people were educated. It's a trait that's becoming all too familiar with time, placing our personal agendas before that which makes sense in the context of things. The shocking thing is that the Xaghra feast continues to be backed by its parish, and that there are also some people who are willing to celebrate the night away, drunk on cheap ass beer and lying down in the middle of Xaghra's main square, while five people who were working on their fireworks are dead. Obviously, thinking that what happened is not tragic and that the show must nonetheless go on. It's one of the biggest paradoxes I could ever imagine - but at the end of the day, the most important thing is that we boast about being a Christian country, isn't it?
God Bless You all,
Matti
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
And We're Back!
There is no doubting my mind that Soul Survivor is just a wonderful experience no matter how many times one ends up by going to England.
While this year's trip marked my second time in going up to Shepton Mallet, I really felt that this time I went up knowing that I shouldn't really be in line for any unpleasant surprises or difficult times and that I could see this trip as an opportunity to just relax, forget about all my worries and just receive instead of serve, which is the position that I willingly find myself positioned in all too often while in Malta. I knew how Soul Survivor worked now, as opposed to having to venture into the unknown two years ago; and therefore, could see this as a different experience to that which I passed through back in 2008, which was primarily an experience of healing and confirmation.
And indeed, for the most part, my thoughts above were confirmed. Having said that, however, nothing is ever plain sailing and of course, there indeed had to be a hitch or two along the way just so that I would have endured a test. However, I found that even though some of these 'tests' did initially worry me, keeping a calm head - something which I don't think I would have even been able to envisage around a year ago now - managed to help me plough through them with flying colours. Being sick for the majority of the trip, for example, was something that I found immensely frustrating, especially when this culminated in me not being able to speak for most of the second day, all of the third day and part of the fourth. However, especially during the praise and worship sessions, this made me realise that you don't necessarily need a voice to worship Him - if you just keep focus in your heart, it's more than enough and just as effective.
Sickness and poor health aside, however, I found that the biggest test was not having my best friend there for a week. It made me realise a couple of things in particular - primarily, while Mark and I still communicated on a daily basis, it meant that personally, I had to make it my mission to ensure that I could just 'let go' and rely on other people; and secondly, it also allowed me to form some bonds with people that I would not have previously imagined I would indeed 'bond' with. I'm obviously not speaking about the obvious culprits, people who besides Mark, I can always be found with; but people that I was friends with before but I now feel that I've brought back to Malta a stronger friendship. The experience really served well for that purpose.
Also equally amazing, and I say this being an older member of the group, is the maturity levels that the majority of the younger members of the group have. While I already knew this, I really found Soul Survivor to be a confirmation of it, and a real fantastic way to find out about these people's characters. A lot of those who are four or five years younger than people like myself have their heads screwed on really well and they really do have their priorities set straight. That aside, they are also exceptionally intellectual and caring people, and I believe that the majority of them indeed do display a maturity that belies their age. I know that when I was 16/17, acting like this was more of the exception rather than the norm. Now, I can only see it from the opposite perspective, which in my eyes, is encouraging. The best thing about it all though is that such maturity is not being achieved at the expense of having fun and not enjoying teenage life - these people just have enough in them to go and find a balance in this regard. Kudos.
Perhaps I might not be as charged up as I wanted to be coming back from Soul Survivor, but I do understand and appreciate that the experience served me in good stead and that I would have no regrets in going up again. And again. And again. It's just something out of this world, outstanding, titanic; something that cannot be missed. Indeed, for me, just being one of out 12,700 other people who are there for the same reason is humbling and overwhelming enough.
God Bless You all!
Matti
While this year's trip marked my second time in going up to Shepton Mallet, I really felt that this time I went up knowing that I shouldn't really be in line for any unpleasant surprises or difficult times and that I could see this trip as an opportunity to just relax, forget about all my worries and just receive instead of serve, which is the position that I willingly find myself positioned in all too often while in Malta. I knew how Soul Survivor worked now, as opposed to having to venture into the unknown two years ago; and therefore, could see this as a different experience to that which I passed through back in 2008, which was primarily an experience of healing and confirmation.
And indeed, for the most part, my thoughts above were confirmed. Having said that, however, nothing is ever plain sailing and of course, there indeed had to be a hitch or two along the way just so that I would have endured a test. However, I found that even though some of these 'tests' did initially worry me, keeping a calm head - something which I don't think I would have even been able to envisage around a year ago now - managed to help me plough through them with flying colours. Being sick for the majority of the trip, for example, was something that I found immensely frustrating, especially when this culminated in me not being able to speak for most of the second day, all of the third day and part of the fourth. However, especially during the praise and worship sessions, this made me realise that you don't necessarily need a voice to worship Him - if you just keep focus in your heart, it's more than enough and just as effective.
Sickness and poor health aside, however, I found that the biggest test was not having my best friend there for a week. It made me realise a couple of things in particular - primarily, while Mark and I still communicated on a daily basis, it meant that personally, I had to make it my mission to ensure that I could just 'let go' and rely on other people; and secondly, it also allowed me to form some bonds with people that I would not have previously imagined I would indeed 'bond' with. I'm obviously not speaking about the obvious culprits, people who besides Mark, I can always be found with; but people that I was friends with before but I now feel that I've brought back to Malta a stronger friendship. The experience really served well for that purpose.
Also equally amazing, and I say this being an older member of the group, is the maturity levels that the majority of the younger members of the group have. While I already knew this, I really found Soul Survivor to be a confirmation of it, and a real fantastic way to find out about these people's characters. A lot of those who are four or five years younger than people like myself have their heads screwed on really well and they really do have their priorities set straight. That aside, they are also exceptionally intellectual and caring people, and I believe that the majority of them indeed do display a maturity that belies their age. I know that when I was 16/17, acting like this was more of the exception rather than the norm. Now, I can only see it from the opposite perspective, which in my eyes, is encouraging. The best thing about it all though is that such maturity is not being achieved at the expense of having fun and not enjoying teenage life - these people just have enough in them to go and find a balance in this regard. Kudos.
Perhaps I might not be as charged up as I wanted to be coming back from Soul Survivor, but I do understand and appreciate that the experience served me in good stead and that I would have no regrets in going up again. And again. And again. It's just something out of this world, outstanding, titanic; something that cannot be missed. Indeed, for me, just being one of out 12,700 other people who are there for the same reason is humbling and overwhelming enough.
God Bless You all!
Matti
Friday, July 30, 2010
Plastic Christianity
Malta is renowned for being a devout Christian country that is the beacon of moral values, which is fine by many people's standards. However, shrouded in the midst of this nation's values is an air of hypocrisy that is so vast and so explicit; a hypocrisy that even shames the majority of us from being called Catholics and practicing this religion. Mhux l-aqwa li nmorru l-quddies nhar il-Hadd, hux?
Here, I'm not speaking about the major topic of the day, i.e. the possible introduction of divorce legislation in Malta - that is something on which another blog could possibly be dedicated to and something that I have my own viewpoint on - but speaking about the public's attitude at large to other people. If Malta was the true beacon of Christianity and Catholicism, then I'm almost certain that we wouldn't be seeing Cikku and Peppu swearing at every corner in Valletta, or fights breaking out in the middle of Paceville almost every Friday. I'm not saying that we would be perfect either - no one is - but surely if those practicing people, the people who are allegedly holier than thou for the best part of 45 minutes on a Saturday evening or a Sunday morning, stuck to their apparent values during the week, when out, when at work - wherever - then we would be a lot better for it all.
Just because you play a game of football and you make a mistake, it doesn't mean that you have to go swearing in the direction of God and blame Him for your troubles. Just because something doesn't go right when you're doing a chore or have an errand to do, it doesn't mean that we have to curse until we feel better. Just because someone teases and bullies another person, it doesn't mean that such a person has to go on a subsequent rampage. If there's anything about this in particular worth highlighting, I would know - I've been down this route and for practically ten months now, I've managed to 'reform' my character accordingly. On a personal level, when compared to the past, I do not lose my temper as much as I used to and I do not descend into such vulgarities so easily, as was the case back then.
However, if you do something that allegedly offends our morals, as seen in today's online edition of the Times, where two youths decided to sunbathe in the middle of Valletta as part of a sketch designed to make the hits on YouTube, then we very ironically hit back at such people by reoffending our morals and swearing the hell at them. I don't care if these people were wrong and acting contrary to the law - although, quite frankly, I don't see anything offensive in sunbathing in the middle of Palace Square or in front of the Law Courts (if people do so on the beach, which is a public place, then what's the difference?) - that's not the point. Perhaps those institutions of our country need to be mocked, anyway. The point is that the people who passed by these youths, disgusted at them and swearing away just to prove their point, are probably people who are such alleged practicing Christians. Of course, being a Christian only counts for that amount of time on Saturday or Sunday, as I mentioned above. It doesn't count for the rest of the week. It doesn't count in every second that passes during the day. Or so we think.
This is not to mention that people in this country perhaps do need to get their act together and start thinking as if we're in 2010, soon to be 2011 - and not stuck in the 1950's, or, God forbid, the 1970's - taht il-gvern soppressiv ta' Mintoff. In addition to living the values that we Maltese allegedly promote, we also have to move with the times and realise that it is time to catch up with modern-day Europe, and stop acting like a third way country or a dictatorship. But it's easier said than done for this is Malta, after all.
God Bless You all!
Matti
Here, I'm not speaking about the major topic of the day, i.e. the possible introduction of divorce legislation in Malta - that is something on which another blog could possibly be dedicated to and something that I have my own viewpoint on - but speaking about the public's attitude at large to other people. If Malta was the true beacon of Christianity and Catholicism, then I'm almost certain that we wouldn't be seeing Cikku and Peppu swearing at every corner in Valletta, or fights breaking out in the middle of Paceville almost every Friday. I'm not saying that we would be perfect either - no one is - but surely if those practicing people, the people who are allegedly holier than thou for the best part of 45 minutes on a Saturday evening or a Sunday morning, stuck to their apparent values during the week, when out, when at work - wherever - then we would be a lot better for it all.
Just because you play a game of football and you make a mistake, it doesn't mean that you have to go swearing in the direction of God and blame Him for your troubles. Just because something doesn't go right when you're doing a chore or have an errand to do, it doesn't mean that we have to curse until we feel better. Just because someone teases and bullies another person, it doesn't mean that such a person has to go on a subsequent rampage. If there's anything about this in particular worth highlighting, I would know - I've been down this route and for practically ten months now, I've managed to 'reform' my character accordingly. On a personal level, when compared to the past, I do not lose my temper as much as I used to and I do not descend into such vulgarities so easily, as was the case back then.
However, if you do something that allegedly offends our morals, as seen in today's online edition of the Times, where two youths decided to sunbathe in the middle of Valletta as part of a sketch designed to make the hits on YouTube, then we very ironically hit back at such people by reoffending our morals and swearing the hell at them. I don't care if these people were wrong and acting contrary to the law - although, quite frankly, I don't see anything offensive in sunbathing in the middle of Palace Square or in front of the Law Courts (if people do so on the beach, which is a public place, then what's the difference?) - that's not the point. Perhaps those institutions of our country need to be mocked, anyway. The point is that the people who passed by these youths, disgusted at them and swearing away just to prove their point, are probably people who are such alleged practicing Christians. Of course, being a Christian only counts for that amount of time on Saturday or Sunday, as I mentioned above. It doesn't count for the rest of the week. It doesn't count in every second that passes during the day. Or so we think.
This is not to mention that people in this country perhaps do need to get their act together and start thinking as if we're in 2010, soon to be 2011 - and not stuck in the 1950's, or, God forbid, the 1970's - taht il-gvern soppressiv ta' Mintoff. In addition to living the values that we Maltese allegedly promote, we also have to move with the times and realise that it is time to catch up with modern-day Europe, and stop acting like a third way country or a dictatorship. But it's easier said than done for this is Malta, after all.
God Bless You all!
Matti
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Cheesecakes for Sale! Going for Free!
I have just finished the best part of an hour and a half's work at one stretch, which, in normal terms, would be great - especially by my rather hopeless working standards where even the mere sight of my (non-working, dead battery) clock, which looks like a brake disc from a Formula 1 car, would generally distract me.
The only thing is that this last hour and a half has, when you look at it in personal terms, been wasted. This statement, on the facet of things, is rather contradictory especially considering what I have just said in the paragraph above. But I know for a fact that I have not lost my mind and that I still am indeed sane, despite the work constantly piling up at now alarming levels (don't we nonetheless always get through this all in the end?).
The fact of the matter is that for this last hour and a half, I have been organising many series of notes for others to enjoy and study from in the forthcoming exams. To use the Maltese expression, I feel like "qed nbigh turtiera pastizzi". Of course, there is a wee bit of a personal gain here as well as this organisation of notes and insertion of missing lecture notes into their proper places has obviously put me on track to just study everything in an apparent plain-sailing fashion, but I don't think much from that which I read has really entered my head at the moment, which is a tad worrying!
But I don't mind doing this. I'm not saying I enjoy it, but I don't mind it; and I don't mind it simply because I'm a Christian and because I'm being there for other people by doing this. It's not easy for me to give out my notes practically all the time, but who said being a Christian is easy? I do this because even though I try not to believe it, I do know deep down that it is a way of bringing out the Christian in me at the end of the day. I don't grumble when giving out these notes, and I never will - and indeed, this is not a grumble, but just a statement. Being a Christian, I don't expect anything in return for what I'm doing.
At least my life is serving a useful purpose, apart from stirring up debates, now that being a 'taxi driver' no longer really happens any longer.
God Bless You all,
Matti
The only thing is that this last hour and a half has, when you look at it in personal terms, been wasted. This statement, on the facet of things, is rather contradictory especially considering what I have just said in the paragraph above. But I know for a fact that I have not lost my mind and that I still am indeed sane, despite the work constantly piling up at now alarming levels (don't we nonetheless always get through this all in the end?).
The fact of the matter is that for this last hour and a half, I have been organising many series of notes for others to enjoy and study from in the forthcoming exams. To use the Maltese expression, I feel like "qed nbigh turtiera pastizzi". Of course, there is a wee bit of a personal gain here as well as this organisation of notes and insertion of missing lecture notes into their proper places has obviously put me on track to just study everything in an apparent plain-sailing fashion, but I don't think much from that which I read has really entered my head at the moment, which is a tad worrying!
But I don't mind doing this. I'm not saying I enjoy it, but I don't mind it; and I don't mind it simply because I'm a Christian and because I'm being there for other people by doing this. It's not easy for me to give out my notes practically all the time, but who said being a Christian is easy? I do this because even though I try not to believe it, I do know deep down that it is a way of bringing out the Christian in me at the end of the day. I don't grumble when giving out these notes, and I never will - and indeed, this is not a grumble, but just a statement. Being a Christian, I don't expect anything in return for what I'm doing.
At least my life is serving a useful purpose, apart from stirring up debates, now that being a 'taxi driver' no longer really happens any longer.
God Bless You all,
Matti
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
If I Died Today...
Late last night, while reflecting away in bed having been woken up by the computer restarting itself at half 3, thoughts of what would happen if I died suddenly today or in the near future passed through my head. Why, I don't know; and quite frankly, I'm hoping that I won't be passing away anytime soon(!), but it just happened. I thought about what kind of 'legacy' I would have left behind me in the event that this happened, but to be quite honest, I didn't really think much further than that because the subject was too sordid and it was not exactly the appropriate time to do so either.
Now is the time to reflect about this slightly - I'll leave the rest to whoever feels like commenting afterwards (if any person does, that is). One thing for certain, I believe, is that I would have left behind a cloud of controversy in my wake. I've never been the most uncontroversial person around and indeed, have always seen myself as trying to push certain borders and boundaries in order to either prove a point or get my way, no matter how correct or incorrect I was. However, in light of the controversial nature, I think that over the last couple of years or so, I have become a better person overall, compared to what I used to be. Granted, I was never one who would go out every Friday night, or any other night for that matter, and get stoned out of my head or dangerously high, but I believe I have become a better person in the sense that nowadays I see myself as a less egotistical figure and someone who is more willing to bend over backwards to not only accomodate other people, but to help them out to the best of my abilities, where possible. In other words, the humanitarian within me, I feel, has emerged more over recent years.
Of course, what is sure to draw some form of criticism from my readers, as is generally the case (but I will never back down about this, no matter how many sticks, stones and derogatory terms are thrown at me) is the fact that another 'legacy' that I would have left behind me is that of getting closer to God and, in this light, hopefully being an example for others to follow. Perhaps it's coincidence, but the above point vis-a-vis my (willing and not enforced) humanitarian nature coincided with the same time that I made God a part of my life. Of course, various people will or might disagree on this point completely, and I wouldn't be surprised if they do, but I believe that God's presence in my life has made a hell of a big difference with regards to the way I live. With Him in my life, I feel fulfilled and I feel a sense of protection that I previously didn't feel.
Would I have achieved everything that I set out to achieve in life? Definitely not, but if I had to go sometime soon, then for the most part, I feel that I would have left a general positive impact on people's lives, even though certain people obviously wouldn't see this and believe that my effect in life has probably been the total opposite.
And now, if you wish, over to you. (Any derogatory comments posted will either be ignored completely or be subject to deletion.)
God Bless You all!
Matti
Now is the time to reflect about this slightly - I'll leave the rest to whoever feels like commenting afterwards (if any person does, that is). One thing for certain, I believe, is that I would have left behind a cloud of controversy in my wake. I've never been the most uncontroversial person around and indeed, have always seen myself as trying to push certain borders and boundaries in order to either prove a point or get my way, no matter how correct or incorrect I was. However, in light of the controversial nature, I think that over the last couple of years or so, I have become a better person overall, compared to what I used to be. Granted, I was never one who would go out every Friday night, or any other night for that matter, and get stoned out of my head or dangerously high, but I believe I have become a better person in the sense that nowadays I see myself as a less egotistical figure and someone who is more willing to bend over backwards to not only accomodate other people, but to help them out to the best of my abilities, where possible. In other words, the humanitarian within me, I feel, has emerged more over recent years.
Of course, what is sure to draw some form of criticism from my readers, as is generally the case (but I will never back down about this, no matter how many sticks, stones and derogatory terms are thrown at me) is the fact that another 'legacy' that I would have left behind me is that of getting closer to God and, in this light, hopefully being an example for others to follow. Perhaps it's coincidence, but the above point vis-a-vis my (willing and not enforced) humanitarian nature coincided with the same time that I made God a part of my life. Of course, various people will or might disagree on this point completely, and I wouldn't be surprised if they do, but I believe that God's presence in my life has made a hell of a big difference with regards to the way I live. With Him in my life, I feel fulfilled and I feel a sense of protection that I previously didn't feel.
Would I have achieved everything that I set out to achieve in life? Definitely not, but if I had to go sometime soon, then for the most part, I feel that I would have left a general positive impact on people's lives, even though certain people obviously wouldn't see this and believe that my effect in life has probably been the total opposite.
And now, if you wish, over to you. (Any derogatory comments posted will either be ignored completely or be subject to deletion.)
God Bless You all!
Matti
Thursday, January 14, 2010
I Think...
Happy New Year, guys!
So, for the first blog of 2010, I decided to share a few thoughts that have been going through my head... and while they're not penned down yet (indeed, this is the first time I'm actually going to be writing them down and seeing them face me), they're going to assume some kind of poetic form. I would hope. Enjoy.
I Think...
I think about those times
Where I am lonely,
No one to turn to,
Nothing to say;
I think about those times
Where all is well,
Those times where I look forward
To every brand new day.
I think about life
Its ups and downs,
Topsy-turvy moments
Many smiles and, indeed, frowns;
I think about it more
How lucky we are,
To be here, living comfortably
No problems, by far.
And yet, despite all this,
You, God, I think about last,
The One I should be most grateful to
For all: future, present and past;
I never mean to do so
But us humans err,
We know you should be at the forefront
But none of us dare
To even say "Thank You"
For all that you've done,
For coming here to save us
By sending your son.
All that I've seen
And all that I will go through,
Pales in comparison
To what's been done by You;
You're there for us always
In good times and bad,
To put us back on track
With Your comforting hand.
So God, while I'm thinking
Forgive me, please do,
For making you secondary
To the things that I do.
God Bless You all!
Matti
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Fanaticism - or Fans - at their Best
Last Wednesday, around two hours before heading off to see the Inter vs. Barcelona game, I was speaking to a friend of mine (ahem, before she rudely abandoned me in mid-conversation!) who asked me if I was going to the Red Carpet Event later on that evening. I promptly replied that I had opted to see the match instead and while she seemed to be a bit disappointed that I was going to watch football instead of spending a night out with friends, she then pondered why it is fine for someone to be a football fanatic and not fine for them to be a God fanatic. This got me thinking a bit.
First, however, before moving onto my arguments, I would like to set the record straight slightly. This argument, I believe, was not intended for me but was very much a generalisation. I believe that in such scenarios, we have to distinguish fully between events that are completely intended for God, such as Youth Meetings and the Mass, and social events that are designed to spend time amongst your friends, even if the majority of these form part of a community. In the case presented here, we are clearly speaking about the latter. It is clearly wrong and irresponsible, especially if you are building up a relationship with God, to abandon Him to watch a football match or do some sort of social activity that would overlap one's participation in getting closer to Him. It goes against the grain of making God the centre-focus of one's life; by doing something such as the above, one is simply placing materialistic items before God. Furthermore, to also close a point that has been lingering on for quite a while, not going a community-based social event does not mean that you are choosing other things, such as football, over Jesus. While the latter point was not a problem with my friend, who didn't even bring this argument up, I have heard it one too many times from certain people in the past to not mention it; so doing so now will indefinitely clear things up.
Having said that (and that indeed was an argument in itself, and probably part of my argument too for that matter), I will tackle the argument of fanaticism. For a start, I'm not of the school of thought that fanaticism, is positive. Fanaticism shows that something is needed in excess; you cannot live without this something in life; it leads you to do things that you might not even want to do. Of course, there is something that we cannot live without in life, and that thing is God. Actually, the word 'thing', I believe, is incorrectly used - I'd rather use the term 'entity' instead. Anyway, some people, in all fairness, opt to do so and survive accordingly, but as practicing Christians, we cannot live without God at any moment in our lives because otherwise our lives will be empty and void. Our lives, in a nutshell, would not be worth living at any moment, any time, and any day. Hence, by elimination, we can say that being a football fanatic is something that is not even a tenth as critical as being a fan of God*. Indeed, nothing is as critical as that.
Therefore, why do we seem to be fine with being football fanatics and not fine with being fans of God? It ultimately boils down to the same issue as always - God seems to be a taboo among people in general, and when people openly admit that they are Christians and that they love living in the Christian way because they really do experience God fully, then they get condemned, criticised and often emarginated for it. Placing football ahead of God is ultimately that that I mentioned earlier - giving an increased level of importance to something materialistic as opposed to giving that increased level of importance to Him. It seems as if for the most part, the general societal perception is that God is not 'cool' enough for such people, and hence society finds it easy to take the mickey out of the segment of society that really does make an effort to be better Christians and incorporate Him more in their lives. While this isn't right, it's unfortunately reality - and as we all know, reality is something that we have to live with.
We, as Christians, must try to change this perception as much as we can; but while it isn't impossible (as nothing is impossible for God), we have to acknowledge fully that we have a major battle on our hands to do so.
God Bless You all!
Matti
*Following an important distinction between 'fanaticism' and 'fan', it is important to realise that I have been referring to the latter all throughout. The context has been edited to reflect this.
First, however, before moving onto my arguments, I would like to set the record straight slightly. This argument, I believe, was not intended for me but was very much a generalisation. I believe that in such scenarios, we have to distinguish fully between events that are completely intended for God, such as Youth Meetings and the Mass, and social events that are designed to spend time amongst your friends, even if the majority of these form part of a community. In the case presented here, we are clearly speaking about the latter. It is clearly wrong and irresponsible, especially if you are building up a relationship with God, to abandon Him to watch a football match or do some sort of social activity that would overlap one's participation in getting closer to Him. It goes against the grain of making God the centre-focus of one's life; by doing something such as the above, one is simply placing materialistic items before God. Furthermore, to also close a point that has been lingering on for quite a while, not going a community-based social event does not mean that you are choosing other things, such as football, over Jesus. While the latter point was not a problem with my friend, who didn't even bring this argument up, I have heard it one too many times from certain people in the past to not mention it; so doing so now will indefinitely clear things up.
Having said that (and that indeed was an argument in itself, and probably part of my argument too for that matter), I will tackle the argument of fanaticism. For a start, I'm not of the school of thought that fanaticism, is positive. Fanaticism shows that something is needed in excess; you cannot live without this something in life; it leads you to do things that you might not even want to do. Of course, there is something that we cannot live without in life, and that thing is God. Actually, the word 'thing', I believe, is incorrectly used - I'd rather use the term 'entity' instead. Anyway, some people, in all fairness, opt to do so and survive accordingly, but as practicing Christians, we cannot live without God at any moment in our lives because otherwise our lives will be empty and void. Our lives, in a nutshell, would not be worth living at any moment, any time, and any day. Hence, by elimination, we can say that being a football fanatic is something that is not even a tenth as critical as being a fan of God*. Indeed, nothing is as critical as that.
Therefore, why do we seem to be fine with being football fanatics and not fine with being fans of God? It ultimately boils down to the same issue as always - God seems to be a taboo among people in general, and when people openly admit that they are Christians and that they love living in the Christian way because they really do experience God fully, then they get condemned, criticised and often emarginated for it. Placing football ahead of God is ultimately that that I mentioned earlier - giving an increased level of importance to something materialistic as opposed to giving that increased level of importance to Him. It seems as if for the most part, the general societal perception is that God is not 'cool' enough for such people, and hence society finds it easy to take the mickey out of the segment of society that really does make an effort to be better Christians and incorporate Him more in their lives. While this isn't right, it's unfortunately reality - and as we all know, reality is something that we have to live with.
We, as Christians, must try to change this perception as much as we can; but while it isn't impossible (as nothing is impossible for God), we have to acknowledge fully that we have a major battle on our hands to do so.
God Bless You all!
Matti
*Following an important distinction between 'fanaticism' and 'fan', it is important to realise that I have been referring to the latter all throughout. The context has been edited to reflect this.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Heal the World...
Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough
For the living
Make a better place
For you and for me
Finally, the blog I've been waiting to write for a rather lengthy period of time!
Perhaps a positive thing to come out of Michael Jackson's life was this song. The lyrics to it are amazing beyond belief and can be interpreted on so many different levels, as well as can be applied to anything and everything. However, the main message behind it all is that the world is currently in a state of degeneration and that we have to act before it is way too late for us to do so. And believe it or not, Michael Jackson is right.
Take it from an environmental level, for example. Jackson said that if we care enough for the living, then we should make [the world] a better place for you and for me. Yes, we have EU-set targets regarding pollution, carbon emissions and other things so that the world can eventually be a better, more sustainable place for our children and our children's children to live in, but unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that we continue to pollute and harm the environment more and more day after day. Myself included, unfortunately (switches off air-conditioning). How will out current activities haphazardly affect future generations? And looking even at our lives, are our own actions as well as those of our predecessors going to really be costly when we approach the latter stages of life?
What about the level of poverty? We all know that there are many families in the world struggling to make ends meet in many circumstances, so should we, as developed countries, continue to increase such a burden on the citizens of these countries as well? Humanitarian aid is undoubtedly needed here; and furthermore, I believe that such aid would also be part of a major solution to problems such as illegal immigration. Part of the EU's budget allegedly goes to such third world countries in order to help them fund solutions to the problems that they face. But giving money is simply not enough - it's useless having money if you don't know how to spend it. Hence, the money should be invested not only in the basic necessities such as housing and clean water for everybody, but also education for younger and older generations so that they learn how things should be done. Of course, much of this is idealistic (in terms of how such things can be implemented), and unfortunately, will probably remain this way for many a year to come.
However, my main thought about how the world could be healed and made a better place is through Jesus. It is of great concern that there are many people who are now converting to the Muslim religion and that this is growing and slowly becoming a stronger world influence. Nowadays, for example, 16% of the French population is Muslim. If numbers remained at those levels, then it would (kind of) be fine, but the reality is that everything in this regard is on the increase. Proof of this is not just shown via the conversion rate, but also by the marked lack of Christian births vis-a-vis Muslim births. There is a strong need for evangelisation to take place, for us Christians to spread Jesus' word for the word that it is and make this world a better and righteous place. This is not to say that I am condemning other religions, but the main purpose behind this message is to continue to ensure that people know that Jesus died for them on the Cross.
Recently, I was told a story that regarded a conversion of faith. One person constantly kept on telling the head of a gang that Jesus loved them; eventually, this person was threatened with death if he said the phrase "Jesus loves you" one more time. This individual told the gang leader that even if he cut him up into 1,000 pieces, each piece would still say that "Jesus loves you". The gang leader then converted. As difficult as it may be, we have to have blind faith in Jesus and His mission for us all - no matter how different that may be - as well his plan for the world. We have to believe that as Jesus' representatives on earth, we are called by Him to indeed make that world a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race. We have to stomp out the deaths of Christianity, i.e. eliminate those conversions from Christianity to another religion, and really proclaim that which He told us. We also have to stop turning away from Jesus and moving towards deviant things, as unfortunately often happens especially during teenage; and stick by his side through thick and thin. Having said that, there is no doubt that even if we do walk away from Jesus, He still loves us so much that He will welcome us back with open arms at any time, just like the father did in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
I will conclude here, but remember - we're here to make the world a better place! Like what is often done in scouts, one's motto in life should be to leave a place better than how one found it at the beginning of something. Why can't we invest some time into something that is so precious not just to use, but also to future generations?
Heal the World guys.
God Bless You all!
Matti
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough
For the living
Make a better place
For you and for me
Finally, the blog I've been waiting to write for a rather lengthy period of time!
Perhaps a positive thing to come out of Michael Jackson's life was this song. The lyrics to it are amazing beyond belief and can be interpreted on so many different levels, as well as can be applied to anything and everything. However, the main message behind it all is that the world is currently in a state of degeneration and that we have to act before it is way too late for us to do so. And believe it or not, Michael Jackson is right.
Take it from an environmental level, for example. Jackson said that if we care enough for the living, then we should make [the world] a better place for you and for me. Yes, we have EU-set targets regarding pollution, carbon emissions and other things so that the world can eventually be a better, more sustainable place for our children and our children's children to live in, but unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that we continue to pollute and harm the environment more and more day after day. Myself included, unfortunately (switches off air-conditioning). How will out current activities haphazardly affect future generations? And looking even at our lives, are our own actions as well as those of our predecessors going to really be costly when we approach the latter stages of life?
What about the level of poverty? We all know that there are many families in the world struggling to make ends meet in many circumstances, so should we, as developed countries, continue to increase such a burden on the citizens of these countries as well? Humanitarian aid is undoubtedly needed here; and furthermore, I believe that such aid would also be part of a major solution to problems such as illegal immigration. Part of the EU's budget allegedly goes to such third world countries in order to help them fund solutions to the problems that they face. But giving money is simply not enough - it's useless having money if you don't know how to spend it. Hence, the money should be invested not only in the basic necessities such as housing and clean water for everybody, but also education for younger and older generations so that they learn how things should be done. Of course, much of this is idealistic (in terms of how such things can be implemented), and unfortunately, will probably remain this way for many a year to come.
However, my main thought about how the world could be healed and made a better place is through Jesus. It is of great concern that there are many people who are now converting to the Muslim religion and that this is growing and slowly becoming a stronger world influence. Nowadays, for example, 16% of the French population is Muslim. If numbers remained at those levels, then it would (kind of) be fine, but the reality is that everything in this regard is on the increase. Proof of this is not just shown via the conversion rate, but also by the marked lack of Christian births vis-a-vis Muslim births. There is a strong need for evangelisation to take place, for us Christians to spread Jesus' word for the word that it is and make this world a better and righteous place. This is not to say that I am condemning other religions, but the main purpose behind this message is to continue to ensure that people know that Jesus died for them on the Cross.
Recently, I was told a story that regarded a conversion of faith. One person constantly kept on telling the head of a gang that Jesus loved them; eventually, this person was threatened with death if he said the phrase "Jesus loves you" one more time. This individual told the gang leader that even if he cut him up into 1,000 pieces, each piece would still say that "Jesus loves you". The gang leader then converted. As difficult as it may be, we have to have blind faith in Jesus and His mission for us all - no matter how different that may be - as well his plan for the world. We have to believe that as Jesus' representatives on earth, we are called by Him to indeed make that world a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race. We have to stomp out the deaths of Christianity, i.e. eliminate those conversions from Christianity to another religion, and really proclaim that which He told us. We also have to stop turning away from Jesus and moving towards deviant things, as unfortunately often happens especially during teenage; and stick by his side through thick and thin. Having said that, there is no doubt that even if we do walk away from Jesus, He still loves us so much that He will welcome us back with open arms at any time, just like the father did in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
I will conclude here, but remember - we're here to make the world a better place! Like what is often done in scouts, one's motto in life should be to leave a place better than how one found it at the beginning of something. Why can't we invest some time into something that is so precious not just to use, but also to future generations?
Heal the World guys.
God Bless You all!
Matti
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Change
Many a time, it's those singular words that mean so much to a multitude of people. One word can potentially have a thousand definitions - for example, to us, God is the ultimate, everlasting authority in our lives, but to other people, God might be a deity, a Buddha, or, indeed, before I discovered Him, even Jose Mourinho (scarily enough). It's a case of words being subject to interpretation in all cases.
Hence the reason why I think 'change' can also fall into this category. In our everyday lives, when we speak of change, we often refer to receiving the remnants of the money that we regularly spend, or even giving away these remnants simply because they're a massive inconvenience. Most of us think in that manner as it is the most easily applicable theory. Many also see 'change' as a political slogan, such as that that US President-elect Barack Obama used in the recent White House elections, as well as that that the Malta Labour Party is currently promoting itself under. However, how many people have ever thought of the concept of change in terms of ourselves and our attitudes towards God and our faith? What can we do if the way how we perceive our relationship with the living Christ is stale, or if we feel distant from God?
The answer is simple: we have to pray. Through this, the following will happen, as listed in the Scripture:
The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. - 1 Samuel 10:6
One might easily state that it's simple to pray to the Lord: just say an Our Father, a Hail Mary and an occasional Glory Be, and everything is done and dusted. However, although God hears all prayers, no matter how short, quick or detailed they might be, I feel that there has to be a certain purpose within that prayer itself for it to be truly effective. One cannot pray just for the sake of praying, as that defeats the purpose of entering into communication with God in the first place. One might also argue that if his/her relationship with God is stale, or if they feel distant from God, then how can they take heed of such advice, i.e. simply to pray? Here, I believe that personal experiences from other people should also come into play - testimonies could be used to show that the power of prayer does indeed change people into different ones to the ones that they previously were.
The Bible also tells us that if we constantly sin, then it is also best that we change our ways, for there could be severe consequences:
Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. - Jeremiah 13:16
No one is perfect in life, and, indeed, we all do sin, but we have to be man enough to realise that when we do so, we should own up and confess that that we did. If we don't, we will continue to stumble, as it states in Jeremiah, to the point where there literally will be no return. If we continue to sin but realise that it is too late to rectify that that we've done, then we will continue to fall into the abyss. However, this doesn't mean that the 'deep gloom' that we will pass through cannot be forgiven, for our God is an ever-forgiving God and an ever-loving God, and welcomes back everyone into His Kingdom with open arms, even though He doesn't need to. Therefore, this is another reason why we need to take the notion of change seriously, as otherwise, there is a real possibility that we will not end up in God's Kingdom at the end of the day, and that will definitely be the point of no return.
The notion of change is something that is therefore omnipresent. We have to subject ourselves to change in order to understand and appreciate the full glory of God, and perhaps, even more difficult than this, we have to be ready to subject ourselves to this change if we want to enter into a meaningful and blossoming relationship with the Father. The road towards salvation is never a straight path, but it is tight and twisty, narrow and often very bumpy. This is what models us into becoming good Christians.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. - Matthew 7:13-14
God Bless You All!
Matti
P.S. Would those who read this blog and have Blogspot kindly subscribe to my blog by clicking 'Follow this Blog' on the right hand toolbar - I want to have a general idea of who reads this. Thank you!
Hence the reason why I think 'change' can also fall into this category. In our everyday lives, when we speak of change, we often refer to receiving the remnants of the money that we regularly spend, or even giving away these remnants simply because they're a massive inconvenience. Most of us think in that manner as it is the most easily applicable theory. Many also see 'change' as a political slogan, such as that that US President-elect Barack Obama used in the recent White House elections, as well as that that the Malta Labour Party is currently promoting itself under. However, how many people have ever thought of the concept of change in terms of ourselves and our attitudes towards God and our faith? What can we do if the way how we perceive our relationship with the living Christ is stale, or if we feel distant from God?
The answer is simple: we have to pray. Through this, the following will happen, as listed in the Scripture:
The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. - 1 Samuel 10:6
One might easily state that it's simple to pray to the Lord: just say an Our Father, a Hail Mary and an occasional Glory Be, and everything is done and dusted. However, although God hears all prayers, no matter how short, quick or detailed they might be, I feel that there has to be a certain purpose within that prayer itself for it to be truly effective. One cannot pray just for the sake of praying, as that defeats the purpose of entering into communication with God in the first place. One might also argue that if his/her relationship with God is stale, or if they feel distant from God, then how can they take heed of such advice, i.e. simply to pray? Here, I believe that personal experiences from other people should also come into play - testimonies could be used to show that the power of prayer does indeed change people into different ones to the ones that they previously were.
The Bible also tells us that if we constantly sin, then it is also best that we change our ways, for there could be severe consequences:
Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. - Jeremiah 13:16
No one is perfect in life, and, indeed, we all do sin, but we have to be man enough to realise that when we do so, we should own up and confess that that we did. If we don't, we will continue to stumble, as it states in Jeremiah, to the point where there literally will be no return. If we continue to sin but realise that it is too late to rectify that that we've done, then we will continue to fall into the abyss. However, this doesn't mean that the 'deep gloom' that we will pass through cannot be forgiven, for our God is an ever-forgiving God and an ever-loving God, and welcomes back everyone into His Kingdom with open arms, even though He doesn't need to. Therefore, this is another reason why we need to take the notion of change seriously, as otherwise, there is a real possibility that we will not end up in God's Kingdom at the end of the day, and that will definitely be the point of no return.
The notion of change is something that is therefore omnipresent. We have to subject ourselves to change in order to understand and appreciate the full glory of God, and perhaps, even more difficult than this, we have to be ready to subject ourselves to this change if we want to enter into a meaningful and blossoming relationship with the Father. The road towards salvation is never a straight path, but it is tight and twisty, narrow and often very bumpy. This is what models us into becoming good Christians.
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. - Matthew 7:13-14
God Bless You All!
Matti
P.S. Would those who read this blog and have Blogspot kindly subscribe to my blog by clicking 'Follow this Blog' on the right hand toolbar - I want to have a general idea of who reads this. Thank you!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
If Only I Had Some Thoughts...
Well, go figure. I, prime thinker, have nothing to think about. So, well, I decided that now is an opportune time to think about God's love for us. I actually have something of the like on my laptop, which I might upload later if I deem it appropriate, as it was essentially a doodling of my thoughts during my quiet time at STRONGER. The reason is that because it was a 'doodle', it won't make much sense. And that's exactly the opposite of what the aim of my blog really is... I don't want to lead my readers into thinking that I'm just a bullshitter par excellence. Which I am, anyway.
Well, I decided to Google (!! - yes, I was feeling lazy and tired when writing this!) some Bible quotes with regards God's love for us, as I felt that these could really be attributed to STRONGER (for those reading who don't know what it was, it was Y4J's recent weekend live-in). Anyhow, in my opinion, this was the strongest verse that emerged of all:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
This quote managed to make me further reconfirm the love that God has for us all. God has no plans to abandon us when the going isn't good, because He knows that He can pull us through the hard times. God loves each and everyone of us so much that He gave us His only Son, who then subsequently died for us in the ultimate form of suffering - on the Cross. God loves us so much that we will be saved simply by believing in Him, nothing more, nothing less. He promises everlasting life to all of those who do so, it says it clearly in the Scripture! STRONGER was an opportunity for us all to reconfirm our belief in the Lord, and hence quantify not only our love for Him, but also His love for us.
Then I came across another quote that I thought was really applicable to the weekend as well:
"The LORD opens the eyes of the blind: the LORD raises them that are bowed down: the LORD loves the righteous." - Psalm 146:8
I thought that prior to STRONGER, we might have perhaps been blinded by circumstances that took priority in our lives. I'm not perfect, and based on personal experience, I was definitely one of these people as well. Times would pass where I wouldn't pray or spend some quiet time with God, and hence, start to become 'blind' once again. On the other hand, our faith might have grown stagnant and hence we might have needed to 'recharge our batteries'. This is what STRONGER enabled us to do as a group - it enabled us to realise that living in God's light, or, to use Andrew Consiglio's term, boarding and being part of the "ark", was the righteous thing. I felt that this weekend really helped a lot of people, myself included, to see this once again, and to get back on track with God firmly rooted in my life. Once again, I stress though, I'm not perfect... and indeed, there have been times this week where I have slipped back into being blind! However, I believe that living in this light is a growing process that one has to evolve through with time. Which brings me to wrap up this section with a verse from Deuteronomy, and is the reason why I believe in such a God...
"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He." - Deuteronomy 32:4
Moving on now. Something of a landmark (I was really going to say the word 'judgement' after 'landmark', seeing how many times I've heard it during law lectures!!) nature also happened for the first time in a long time at STRONGER... I went to Confession. Only God knows how long I hadn't gone prior to last weekend, and judging on my calculations, it must have been around 4-5 years ago. (EDIT: It was actually around 2 years ago. Honestly.) While I don't think I had anything in particular to confess about, I did somehow feel as if I had managed to take a huge weight off my chest after this happened. Now, suddenly, while browsing through other websites, I came across this and understood why fully...
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9
The priest that I confessed to then told me that as a penance, I should look at Psalm 23 and reflect on it. I decided that to do such an 'analysis', I should write down what I think about it on a piece of paper (as I didn't have my laptop with me at the time). Needless to say, I found Verses 3 and 4 of particular inspiration, and the following is what I wrote regarding this:
"You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage." - Psalm 23:3-4
There are many periods in life where we encounter walking through such dark valleys. Most times we know about them and are conscious of the wrong that we are doing, but sometimes we slip into such darkness subconsciously, without knowing it's there. It could be for various reasons, which need not be mentioned. In such circumstances, we have to try and realise the wrong that we are doing - as difficult as it may be - and rectify that wrong. (Knowing that we have the Lord by our side, in all circumstances, whatever the situation may be, makes us stronger.)
I think that's all I have to say... I'm sorry if my post has, for one, not come across in a clear and structured manner and secondly not made sense at all, and can hence be classified as bullshit! Ironic now, isn't it, that the title of this blog is If Only I Had Some Thoughts...
God Bless You all!
Matti
Well, I decided to Google (!! - yes, I was feeling lazy and tired when writing this!) some Bible quotes with regards God's love for us, as I felt that these could really be attributed to STRONGER (for those reading who don't know what it was, it was Y4J's recent weekend live-in). Anyhow, in my opinion, this was the strongest verse that emerged of all:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
This quote managed to make me further reconfirm the love that God has for us all. God has no plans to abandon us when the going isn't good, because He knows that He can pull us through the hard times. God loves each and everyone of us so much that He gave us His only Son, who then subsequently died for us in the ultimate form of suffering - on the Cross. God loves us so much that we will be saved simply by believing in Him, nothing more, nothing less. He promises everlasting life to all of those who do so, it says it clearly in the Scripture! STRONGER was an opportunity for us all to reconfirm our belief in the Lord, and hence quantify not only our love for Him, but also His love for us.
Then I came across another quote that I thought was really applicable to the weekend as well:
"The LORD opens the eyes of the blind: the LORD raises them that are bowed down: the LORD loves the righteous." - Psalm 146:8
I thought that prior to STRONGER, we might have perhaps been blinded by circumstances that took priority in our lives. I'm not perfect, and based on personal experience, I was definitely one of these people as well. Times would pass where I wouldn't pray or spend some quiet time with God, and hence, start to become 'blind' once again. On the other hand, our faith might have grown stagnant and hence we might have needed to 'recharge our batteries'. This is what STRONGER enabled us to do as a group - it enabled us to realise that living in God's light, or, to use Andrew Consiglio's term, boarding and being part of the "ark", was the righteous thing. I felt that this weekend really helped a lot of people, myself included, to see this once again, and to get back on track with God firmly rooted in my life. Once again, I stress though, I'm not perfect... and indeed, there have been times this week where I have slipped back into being blind! However, I believe that living in this light is a growing process that one has to evolve through with time. Which brings me to wrap up this section with a verse from Deuteronomy, and is the reason why I believe in such a God...
"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He." - Deuteronomy 32:4
Moving on now. Something of a landmark (I was really going to say the word 'judgement' after 'landmark', seeing how many times I've heard it during law lectures!!) nature also happened for the first time in a long time at STRONGER... I went to Confession. Only God knows how long I hadn't gone prior to last weekend, and judging on my calculations, it must have been around 4-5 years ago. (EDIT: It was actually around 2 years ago. Honestly.) While I don't think I had anything in particular to confess about, I did somehow feel as if I had managed to take a huge weight off my chest after this happened. Now, suddenly, while browsing through other websites, I came across this and understood why fully...
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9
The priest that I confessed to then told me that as a penance, I should look at Psalm 23 and reflect on it. I decided that to do such an 'analysis', I should write down what I think about it on a piece of paper (as I didn't have my laptop with me at the time). Needless to say, I found Verses 3 and 4 of particular inspiration, and the following is what I wrote regarding this:
"You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage." - Psalm 23:3-4
There are many periods in life where we encounter walking through such dark valleys. Most times we know about them and are conscious of the wrong that we are doing, but sometimes we slip into such darkness subconsciously, without knowing it's there. It could be for various reasons, which need not be mentioned. In such circumstances, we have to try and realise the wrong that we are doing - as difficult as it may be - and rectify that wrong. (Knowing that we have the Lord by our side, in all circumstances, whatever the situation may be, makes us stronger.)
I think that's all I have to say... I'm sorry if my post has, for one, not come across in a clear and structured manner and secondly not made sense at all, and can hence be classified as bullshit! Ironic now, isn't it, that the title of this blog is If Only I Had Some Thoughts...
God Bless You all!
Matti
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Where it All Stemmed From
The inspiration for this blog comes from a simple phrase - 'Thank you'.
Well, as I've written what is now around 6 blogs on this site (either I have, or haven't, or don't feel like counting the amount written!), I think it's finally time for me to give (part of) my testimony. It's taken me some time to actually get down to writing this, but I think that it should now be out in the open, once and for all.
In my previous blog, I wrote a few 'character profiles' for a select group of people who come to Y4J. As I mentioned, or more like as she mentioned(!!), I was requested to do this by Bettina and, over and above that, well, an angry mob of people who threatened to kill me if I didn't do so! (I joke). However, what I didn't mention was the fact that I placed my best friend Mark at the top of the list for a reason. It wasn't a case of favouritism - those who know me well know that I don't give preferential treatment to practically anyone (though I'm sure that it has happened in the past and will happen again, in some form, in the future). It wasn't a case of further proclaiming that Mark is my best friend. Indeed, that would be taking the easy way out, wouldn't it?
Of course, the latter is invariably linked to what I'm going to say, but I believe that he is someone who has managed to change my life for the better. I'm saying this because Mark was the person who brought me, and hence introduced me, to Y4J. Unfortunately, I tried finding the message that he sent me, which was around two days prior to the Lenten talks, to no avail, as otherwise I would have quoted it here. However, it roughly stated that it was an invitation - directly to me - to attend these talks as they might be good for myself. At first, I was extremely dismissive of the message, and in fact I remember asking Mark why on earth he had bothered sending it to me, stating that he knew I wouldn't come because I wasn't into these things and that it was a waste of 5 Euro cents. He responded in a similar fashion to "We [at Y4J] were told to send this message to people who don't attend and maybe don't believe... Cu there" (loosely quoted).
To cut a long story short, I had nothing to do the following Monday evening, and decided to head off to these Lenten talks, simply to see what they were about. However, I first checked whether any of my friends were going - to be honest, I wouldn't have dared to go had I been alone. Initially, like everyone else, I'm presuming, I needed that support and that encouragement to keep on going to the talks and indeed, later on, even Y4J meetings. Now, 8 months down the road, I obviously don't need this assistance any longer as I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing, but primarily, I'm now confident in my faith. Such a confidence and such a belief was lacking back in February; I can't say that it's lacking now.
So as the first line of this blog states - The inspiration for this blog comes from a simple phrase - 'Thank you'. Yes, thank you to everyone for being by my side when I needed it the most; but more specifically, thank you to Mark for making me believe once again. Without that SMS that he sent, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I may have already told him this a few nights ago when online, in a rather random statement, but I felt that it needed to be made public.
To conclude, I chose two quotes - one from Romans and one from the great philosopher St. Augustine - to show us how even though we might drift away from the Lord, He is always willing to welcome us back with open arms.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
"God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." - St. Augustine
God Bless You All & Take Care,
Matti
Well, as I've written what is now around 6 blogs on this site (either I have, or haven't, or don't feel like counting the amount written!), I think it's finally time for me to give (part of) my testimony. It's taken me some time to actually get down to writing this, but I think that it should now be out in the open, once and for all.
In my previous blog, I wrote a few 'character profiles' for a select group of people who come to Y4J. As I mentioned, or more like as she mentioned(!!), I was requested to do this by Bettina and, over and above that, well, an angry mob of people who threatened to kill me if I didn't do so! (I joke). However, what I didn't mention was the fact that I placed my best friend Mark at the top of the list for a reason. It wasn't a case of favouritism - those who know me well know that I don't give preferential treatment to practically anyone (though I'm sure that it has happened in the past and will happen again, in some form, in the future). It wasn't a case of further proclaiming that Mark is my best friend. Indeed, that would be taking the easy way out, wouldn't it?
Of course, the latter is invariably linked to what I'm going to say, but I believe that he is someone who has managed to change my life for the better. I'm saying this because Mark was the person who brought me, and hence introduced me, to Y4J. Unfortunately, I tried finding the message that he sent me, which was around two days prior to the Lenten talks, to no avail, as otherwise I would have quoted it here. However, it roughly stated that it was an invitation - directly to me - to attend these talks as they might be good for myself. At first, I was extremely dismissive of the message, and in fact I remember asking Mark why on earth he had bothered sending it to me, stating that he knew I wouldn't come because I wasn't into these things and that it was a waste of 5 Euro cents. He responded in a similar fashion to "We [at Y4J] were told to send this message to people who don't attend and maybe don't believe... Cu there" (loosely quoted).
To cut a long story short, I had nothing to do the following Monday evening, and decided to head off to these Lenten talks, simply to see what they were about. However, I first checked whether any of my friends were going - to be honest, I wouldn't have dared to go had I been alone. Initially, like everyone else, I'm presuming, I needed that support and that encouragement to keep on going to the talks and indeed, later on, even Y4J meetings. Now, 8 months down the road, I obviously don't need this assistance any longer as I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing, but primarily, I'm now confident in my faith. Such a confidence and such a belief was lacking back in February; I can't say that it's lacking now.
So as the first line of this blog states - The inspiration for this blog comes from a simple phrase - 'Thank you'. Yes, thank you to everyone for being by my side when I needed it the most; but more specifically, thank you to Mark for making me believe once again. Without that SMS that he sent, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I may have already told him this a few nights ago when online, in a rather random statement, but I felt that it needed to be made public.
To conclude, I chose two quotes - one from Romans and one from the great philosopher St. Augustine - to show us how even though we might drift away from the Lord, He is always willing to welcome us back with open arms.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
"God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." - St. Augustine
God Bless You All & Take Care,
Matti
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Character Profiles (as Requested!)
After being asked by my Y4J group of friends to resurrect my infamous character profiles - not that the majority of them knew they existed in the first place, but anyhow - I have finally decided to do so, simply because right now, I have absolutely nothing to do. For those who don't know what I'm on about, these are essentially 'snippets' of what I think about various people that there are within a certain group. Back in the days when I was at St. Aloysius, this was seen as a pristine opportunity to either really boost somebody's morale by me telling them what a great person they are, or else the total opposite - me giving a fully-fledged attack on a specific person's character, and subsequently, most of the time, getting a lot of stick for it. Well, without further ado, I shall do the same here... but will, in all fairness, keep it as 'nice' as possible.
Please note that some of the people who I have listed here - principally the first few - are those that I have known for quite a while, but still form part of Y4J.
Mark - Words can't describe how great this guy is. I've now known Mark (Mose) for 3 years and I'm proud to say that he's my best friend, and an irreplaceable one for that matter. He is one of the most patient, genuine and caring people that I have ever had the privilege of knowing and spending my time with, and I often consider him as the brother that I never had. I have never come across a person who has had a bad word to say about Mark and rightly so - while everybody has their faults, it is almost impossible to find faults within him. A great friend not just for me, but for everybody.
Jaccarini - Over the couple of years that we have known each other, Jaccarini and I have become very good friends. Always someone who you can count on, no matter the circumstance, she is the kind of person that you simply can't dislike due to her bubbly and warm personality. She's also of the belief that Liverpool - be it the city, be it the football club - is the best thing that has happened to the world since it's creation. If she could marry the city, she would - that's how much she's in love with it! On a more serious note, I'm very much honoured to have someone like Jaccarini form an important part of my life - as Mark is like the brother I never had, then she is like my sister.
Lanfranco - Having known him for around 2 years now, and always been very good friends with him, it's no surprise that I feel that he is one of my most trusted friends at Y4J. He is one of the people who I feel I can confide myself in, and has a heart of gold as he is willing to help people out whenever possible. He also does like to go with the flow sometimes, but is not afraid to be a leader in certain situations and help point people in the right direction. He does, however, have a tendency of becoming slightly agitated occasionally.
Sam - Once again, Sam is a person who I've known for 2 years but contrary to Lanfy, prior to Y4J, I didn't know him all that well. It's only through this that I've come to realise what a great person he is. When you need a shoulder to cry on or some consoling in one way or another, he's there, conscious of that fact and understanding towards it. He is very much a person who demonstrates excellent leadership qualities throughout and also has a humorous and even daredevilish side to him.
Stephie - Like Sam, Stephie is a person who I've known for quite a while yet hadn't really made friends properly with her till I started coming to Y4J and, in particular, went to Soul Survivor. She's also a person who demonstrates very good leadership qualities - she directed Hairspray at SAC Soiree 2008 - and, in my opinion, is someone who is constantly sensitive to many others' needs.
Analise - Even though many of those born in 1990 have become my friends, it was almost inevitable that (due to Mark) Analise would also be one of them. A caring, loving character with an impressive voice that could potentially shatter your glass windows, Analise may come across as being slightly bossy at first sight, but when you get to know her, you realise what a great person she is. She too is a person who you can thoroughly rely on when something is going wrong, provided she doesn't have any problems herself at the time!
Paul - Y4J's resident goofball is one of those people who can crack you up in an instant with his polar opposite character(s). At one moment in time, Paul can be the most serious individual in the house but then, at the flick of a finger, he can throw people into hysteria. A downside to him though is that he has the tendency to whine quite a bit, as illustrated quite aptly when we were filming our skit for the Talent Show! However, this does not take away anything from the fact that he is a great person with excellent values.
Bettina - Sam's sister, Ms. Goldilocks is the epitome of Jesus shining through her. She never has a bad word to say against anyone, no matter who it is, and is an immensely talented and intelligent individual. She has the tendency to 'act blonde' sometimes(!!) but that's a small price to pay for her caring and loving character. She is a genuine person who ultimately has a heart of gold.
Achie - It's hard to use relatively simple terms to describe this girl. You see, she's a bit like me in the sense that she doesn't know how to not complicate matters in the way that she portrays her (rather theological and sometimes philosophical) ideas. In my opinion, she possesses an intelligence that belies her age, as often illustrated by her argumentation. She's also not afraid to answer back - in particular with me - whenever someone challenges her viewpoints. This often leads to a long and tiring debate and heated discussion. She's a very nice person, but here's a tip - stay out of any debates with her! (For her sake, I really hope she takes part in Mini EU next year.)
Rob - Having known Rob for the best part of 8-10 years now (I honestly forgot when I first met him, but I remember it was at scouts!), and not having spoken to him in such a lengthy time, he and I have been reunited as friends at Y4J. A computing guru and around 4 years more mature than when I last met him, Rob has grown by keeping his head on a solid pair of shoulders via the various experiences he has passed through. He is very passionate about Y4J and, more importantly, praising Jesus.
Ok, I've really had enough of writing. Many apologies if your name wasn't 'listed' here, but I chose to do the first ones that came to mind and, well, I can't keep on writing for eternity! This doesn't mean, in any way, means or form that this is some kind of 'elite group' of people - I think that everyone knows that in one way or another, they are all special, and that they are also my friends.
And now, for the talking point... after I've written about you, what do you think about me!? Leave comments (if you want) in the comments form below.
God Bless You all and Take Care... the blog will return next month!
Matti
Please note that some of the people who I have listed here - principally the first few - are those that I have known for quite a while, but still form part of Y4J.
Mark - Words can't describe how great this guy is. I've now known Mark (Mose) for 3 years and I'm proud to say that he's my best friend, and an irreplaceable one for that matter. He is one of the most patient, genuine and caring people that I have ever had the privilege of knowing and spending my time with, and I often consider him as the brother that I never had. I have never come across a person who has had a bad word to say about Mark and rightly so - while everybody has their faults, it is almost impossible to find faults within him. A great friend not just for me, but for everybody.
Jaccarini - Over the couple of years that we have known each other, Jaccarini and I have become very good friends. Always someone who you can count on, no matter the circumstance, she is the kind of person that you simply can't dislike due to her bubbly and warm personality. She's also of the belief that Liverpool - be it the city, be it the football club - is the best thing that has happened to the world since it's creation. If she could marry the city, she would - that's how much she's in love with it! On a more serious note, I'm very much honoured to have someone like Jaccarini form an important part of my life - as Mark is like the brother I never had, then she is like my sister.
Lanfranco - Having known him for around 2 years now, and always been very good friends with him, it's no surprise that I feel that he is one of my most trusted friends at Y4J. He is one of the people who I feel I can confide myself in, and has a heart of gold as he is willing to help people out whenever possible. He also does like to go with the flow sometimes, but is not afraid to be a leader in certain situations and help point people in the right direction. He does, however, have a tendency of becoming slightly agitated occasionally.
Sam - Once again, Sam is a person who I've known for 2 years but contrary to Lanfy, prior to Y4J, I didn't know him all that well. It's only through this that I've come to realise what a great person he is. When you need a shoulder to cry on or some consoling in one way or another, he's there, conscious of that fact and understanding towards it. He is very much a person who demonstrates excellent leadership qualities throughout and also has a humorous and even daredevilish side to him.
Stephie - Like Sam, Stephie is a person who I've known for quite a while yet hadn't really made friends properly with her till I started coming to Y4J and, in particular, went to Soul Survivor. She's also a person who demonstrates very good leadership qualities - she directed Hairspray at SAC Soiree 2008 - and, in my opinion, is someone who is constantly sensitive to many others' needs.
Analise - Even though many of those born in 1990 have become my friends, it was almost inevitable that (due to Mark) Analise would also be one of them. A caring, loving character with an impressive voice that could potentially shatter your glass windows, Analise may come across as being slightly bossy at first sight, but when you get to know her, you realise what a great person she is. She too is a person who you can thoroughly rely on when something is going wrong, provided she doesn't have any problems herself at the time!
Paul - Y4J's resident goofball is one of those people who can crack you up in an instant with his polar opposite character(s). At one moment in time, Paul can be the most serious individual in the house but then, at the flick of a finger, he can throw people into hysteria. A downside to him though is that he has the tendency to whine quite a bit, as illustrated quite aptly when we were filming our skit for the Talent Show! However, this does not take away anything from the fact that he is a great person with excellent values.
Bettina - Sam's sister, Ms. Goldilocks is the epitome of Jesus shining through her. She never has a bad word to say against anyone, no matter who it is, and is an immensely talented and intelligent individual. She has the tendency to 'act blonde' sometimes(!!) but that's a small price to pay for her caring and loving character. She is a genuine person who ultimately has a heart of gold.
Achie - It's hard to use relatively simple terms to describe this girl. You see, she's a bit like me in the sense that she doesn't know how to not complicate matters in the way that she portrays her (rather theological and sometimes philosophical) ideas. In my opinion, she possesses an intelligence that belies her age, as often illustrated by her argumentation. She's also not afraid to answer back - in particular with me - whenever someone challenges her viewpoints. This often leads to a long and tiring debate and heated discussion. She's a very nice person, but here's a tip - stay out of any debates with her! (For her sake, I really hope she takes part in Mini EU next year.)
Rob - Having known Rob for the best part of 8-10 years now (I honestly forgot when I first met him, but I remember it was at scouts!), and not having spoken to him in such a lengthy time, he and I have been reunited as friends at Y4J. A computing guru and around 4 years more mature than when I last met him, Rob has grown by keeping his head on a solid pair of shoulders via the various experiences he has passed through. He is very passionate about Y4J and, more importantly, praising Jesus.
Ok, I've really had enough of writing. Many apologies if your name wasn't 'listed' here, but I chose to do the first ones that came to mind and, well, I can't keep on writing for eternity! This doesn't mean, in any way, means or form that this is some kind of 'elite group' of people - I think that everyone knows that in one way or another, they are all special, and that they are also my friends.
And now, for the talking point... after I've written about you, what do you think about me!? Leave comments (if you want) in the comments form below.
God Bless You all and Take Care... the blog will return next month!
Matti
Friday, September 12, 2008
Perfect Man (Under Construction)*
*Title shamelessly taken from Mark Galea's polo shirt bought from Soul Survivor
As I look back at a rather hectic beyond belief last week or so (and by golly gosh, how quickly it flew by), I have found some time to sit down, relax, and just write those thoughts that are flowing through my mind at the moment in time. Which, in all honesty, aren't too many and aren't too complex or philosophical either, but just worth writing down over here.
I saw this week as a challenge right from the word 'go'. It's only today that I've really had time to put my feet up and relax totally, and I suppose that it's a deserved rest to say the least. It's been a week full of temptation, a week full of running around from one point of the island to another (literally!), a week full of officiating tennis matches and a week of penning articles and speeches. Yes, it's been a very busy week by anyone's standards, let alone my own - and I can only help but wonder what it's going to be like as soon as I get back into the routine that I like to call University.
As I reflect on what's been going on, I took this opportunity to offer this rather challenging time to God yesterday afternoon. I realised that in the hype of everything, I didn't have time to just stop and stare, and just pray to Him. Now I know that in hindsight, one might say that if I'm making my time for everything else, then I should be able to dedicate at least a fraction of my time to God, but that simply hasn't been the case. Maybe, this week, it's a case of 'better late than never', and that from now on, I'll learn from my mistakes more. Well, I'm human, and judging on human nature, I won't learn a thing until something great affects me in some sort of negative way.
To put it into context, at last Monday's Y4J meeting, Tutzi told us that as soon as we wake up in the morning, we should kneel down besides our beds and just pray for a while. At that moment in time, I made that my challenge for the week - just to dedicate 2-3 minutes out of a grand total of 1,440 daily - to God. Needless to say, possibly due to my reckless nature or my urge to get on with things as soon as I get up in the morning, I failed to do this on Tuesday, Wednesday and till now, today (Friday) as well. I didn't pray as soon as I got up on Thursday, but did dedicate those specified two minutes to God in the afternoon, so while that is a partial failure, it in itself is not entire doom.
Which brings me to my talking point - why did I choose such a title for this blog? Well, I believe that we are all trying to attain the mantle of being a perfect man or perfect woman, irrespective of what we do. We try to be perfect in our own eyes and in the eyes of others and sometimes, this 'vision' does indeed work. For example, generally those who are in a relationship see their better half as the perfect match and perfect person for them (until something goes horribly wrong, that is). Our parents possibly see us as perfect too... albeit with plenty of imperfections. Therefore, this is the reason why this state of perfection is constantly under construction - we know that despite how good we all think we are, we have to work towards becoming truly perfect. Indeed, no matter how hard we work towards this ultimate goal, we - in all probability - will still not be able to achieve it.
I feel that God doesn't expect us to be perfect; far from it, actually. I think that our imperfections are a critical part of us and God acknowledges that, simply because through these imperfections we can grow and mature by means of experience. It is such experiences that lead us closer to Him. Perfect man? Perfect woman? Yes, but constantly under construction, till our demise, without a shadow of a doubt. And on a final note, it is perhaps when we leave this earth that we are, in God's eyes, truly perfect.
God Bless You all!
Matti
As I look back at a rather hectic beyond belief last week or so (and by golly gosh, how quickly it flew by), I have found some time to sit down, relax, and just write those thoughts that are flowing through my mind at the moment in time. Which, in all honesty, aren't too many and aren't too complex or philosophical either, but just worth writing down over here.
I saw this week as a challenge right from the word 'go'. It's only today that I've really had time to put my feet up and relax totally, and I suppose that it's a deserved rest to say the least. It's been a week full of temptation, a week full of running around from one point of the island to another (literally!), a week full of officiating tennis matches and a week of penning articles and speeches. Yes, it's been a very busy week by anyone's standards, let alone my own - and I can only help but wonder what it's going to be like as soon as I get back into the routine that I like to call University.
As I reflect on what's been going on, I took this opportunity to offer this rather challenging time to God yesterday afternoon. I realised that in the hype of everything, I didn't have time to just stop and stare, and just pray to Him. Now I know that in hindsight, one might say that if I'm making my time for everything else, then I should be able to dedicate at least a fraction of my time to God, but that simply hasn't been the case. Maybe, this week, it's a case of 'better late than never', and that from now on, I'll learn from my mistakes more. Well, I'm human, and judging on human nature, I won't learn a thing until something great affects me in some sort of negative way.
To put it into context, at last Monday's Y4J meeting, Tutzi told us that as soon as we wake up in the morning, we should kneel down besides our beds and just pray for a while. At that moment in time, I made that my challenge for the week - just to dedicate 2-3 minutes out of a grand total of 1,440 daily - to God. Needless to say, possibly due to my reckless nature or my urge to get on with things as soon as I get up in the morning, I failed to do this on Tuesday, Wednesday and till now, today (Friday) as well. I didn't pray as soon as I got up on Thursday, but did dedicate those specified two minutes to God in the afternoon, so while that is a partial failure, it in itself is not entire doom.
Which brings me to my talking point - why did I choose such a title for this blog? Well, I believe that we are all trying to attain the mantle of being a perfect man or perfect woman, irrespective of what we do. We try to be perfect in our own eyes and in the eyes of others and sometimes, this 'vision' does indeed work. For example, generally those who are in a relationship see their better half as the perfect match and perfect person for them (until something goes horribly wrong, that is). Our parents possibly see us as perfect too... albeit with plenty of imperfections. Therefore, this is the reason why this state of perfection is constantly under construction - we know that despite how good we all think we are, we have to work towards becoming truly perfect. Indeed, no matter how hard we work towards this ultimate goal, we - in all probability - will still not be able to achieve it.
I feel that God doesn't expect us to be perfect; far from it, actually. I think that our imperfections are a critical part of us and God acknowledges that, simply because through these imperfections we can grow and mature by means of experience. It is such experiences that lead us closer to Him. Perfect man? Perfect woman? Yes, but constantly under construction, till our demise, without a shadow of a doubt. And on a final note, it is perhaps when we leave this earth that we are, in God's eyes, truly perfect.
God Bless You all!
Matti
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Yes We Can - The Politics of Faith
Before I start, I want to make this very very clear - I am not blogging about Barack Obama. As many of you know - I hope you do, let's put it this way - the slogan for the Democratic candidate's Presidential campaign is indeed these three words, three words that have a very strong meaning attached to them. Having said that though, inevitably, I will be making references here and there to Barack - there really is no option.
In Obama's various speeches, two things he said in particular have really struck me heavily - "Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity" and "[these are] three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea". The inevitable questions obviously follow - why have they struck me, and what meaning do these specific words have to me? Well, while thinking about it, I thought that these two phrases could really tie in with our faith... not just the Christian faith, actually, but to any worldwide existent faith. In as clear and concise a manner as possible, I will now try to explain what I mean by this.
Let me primarily tackle the first quote, as that seems to be the simpler of the two to decipher. While Barack is obviously making reference to the USA as being the land of opportunity and what not, I think that we have to see our faith as an opportunity - an opportunity to show that God's message is being transmitted to us and also, over and above that, an opportunity to get in touch with and subsequently get closer to God. The term "opportunity" can also be seen from the perspective of an 'outsider', someone who might not be a Christian but wants to become one. God's family is never complete, He always leaves the door open for new arrivals into the family, and hence there is always this opportunity to join His family and indeed, follow Him. Subsequently, this leads to prosperity - the more people become Christians and follow God, the more the Christian family will prosper. I feel that God is always looking for more people to follow Him, and the more people do so, the stronger our beliefs and our faith will become.
Now, for a focus on the second quote. Again, I see this as an expansion on the basis of prosperity of our faith. "Three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can" - God is always telling us that yes, we can indeed get closer to Him. He is always welcoming us, He wants us to feel close to Him because He is our principal refuge; He is with us through the good times and the bad. The significance of "coast to coast" and "sea to shining sea" is immense though. It means that we have a God who is not just there for us and us alone, but is there, present, from one end of a country to another and indeed from one sea to the next; essentially confirming that we have a God who cares for each and every person who He has placed on the face of this Earth. If God didn't love us or indeed care for us, then we wouldn't be here, simple as. In a totally different fashion to what one might find while taking public examinations such as O or A Levels, to God we are not just a number - we are all specific individuals, each with separate characteristics but more importantly, each with our own personal relationship with Him. This is what makes God so great.
I don't know if I've been clear in my argumentation but I've tried to bring out what I think about two quotes that personally really have a deep and thoughtful meaning.
God Bless You all!
Matti
In Obama's various speeches, two things he said in particular have really struck me heavily - "Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity" and "[these are] three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea". The inevitable questions obviously follow - why have they struck me, and what meaning do these specific words have to me? Well, while thinking about it, I thought that these two phrases could really tie in with our faith... not just the Christian faith, actually, but to any worldwide existent faith. In as clear and concise a manner as possible, I will now try to explain what I mean by this.
Let me primarily tackle the first quote, as that seems to be the simpler of the two to decipher. While Barack is obviously making reference to the USA as being the land of opportunity and what not, I think that we have to see our faith as an opportunity - an opportunity to show that God's message is being transmitted to us and also, over and above that, an opportunity to get in touch with and subsequently get closer to God. The term "opportunity" can also be seen from the perspective of an 'outsider', someone who might not be a Christian but wants to become one. God's family is never complete, He always leaves the door open for new arrivals into the family, and hence there is always this opportunity to join His family and indeed, follow Him. Subsequently, this leads to prosperity - the more people become Christians and follow God, the more the Christian family will prosper. I feel that God is always looking for more people to follow Him, and the more people do so, the stronger our beliefs and our faith will become.
Now, for a focus on the second quote. Again, I see this as an expansion on the basis of prosperity of our faith. "Three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can" - God is always telling us that yes, we can indeed get closer to Him. He is always welcoming us, He wants us to feel close to Him because He is our principal refuge; He is with us through the good times and the bad. The significance of "coast to coast" and "sea to shining sea" is immense though. It means that we have a God who is not just there for us and us alone, but is there, present, from one end of a country to another and indeed from one sea to the next; essentially confirming that we have a God who cares for each and every person who He has placed on the face of this Earth. If God didn't love us or indeed care for us, then we wouldn't be here, simple as. In a totally different fashion to what one might find while taking public examinations such as O or A Levels, to God we are not just a number - we are all specific individuals, each with separate characteristics but more importantly, each with our own personal relationship with Him. This is what makes God so great.
I don't know if I've been clear in my argumentation but I've tried to bring out what I think about two quotes that personally really have a deep and thoughtful meaning.
God Bless You all!
Matti
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