Faithfulness and Love

Category Archives: Thursday

Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent

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Whenever we experience a life-changing event, a part of us becomes different. We are no longer the person we were before. For example, when we were baptised, we were given a baptism name as a new identity, a new beginning, a child of God, and a member of a Christian community. Our old self dies and our new self emerges.

This was also the case with Abram, who God renamed as Abraham. God made a covenant with Abraham to be observed by him and his descendants. Notice here that it is God who takes the initiative and invites us to come closer to Him. God made the covenant with Abraham but He did not force it down Abraham’s throat. Abraham had a choice; to follow or not to follow. Most of us would assume that it would be absurd for us to not follow, but it is indeed surprising that some of us choose not to follow. Sometimes, even our attitude, behaviour, way of life, etc. are indications of our choice of whether we want to be close to God or otherwise. Ultimately, we are given free will to choose. May we choose wisely as our choice would be for eternity.

Thursday of the 4th Week of Lent

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What sort of approval are we seeking? Are we looking for fame, approval, recognition, status and fortune here on earth? Or are we seeking a closer relationship with God? Sometimes we may be so zealous in one that we forget the other, or we think that one is more important than the other. Some of us think that God is too difficult to please or it takes too much time to have a right relationship with Him. But ultimately, what sort of approval do we really want to achieve?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “I have come in the name of my Father and you refuse to accept me; if someone else comes in his own name you will accept him. How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God?” The Jews were so zealous in keeping with their customs and traditions, that they forgot the main reason why they were keeping such customs and traditions in the first place. Instead of keeping such customs and traditions so that they could grow in relationship with God, their focus began to sway and such customs and traditions are kept so that others would look up to them. Are we trying to draw attention to ourselves, for our self-gratification, to fuel our pride, to lord it over others? Or have we learnt to walk humbly before God and do things for His greater glory?

Thursday of the 3rd Week of Lent

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Pride and stubbornness are two great obstacles to our spiritual growth and good relationship with God. When we are proud, we think that we are ok and there is nothing for us to improve on. When we are stubborn, we think that only our way is the right way and we go through great extent to protect our way. This leads to contempt, arrogance, aloofness and a whole list of other attitudes which not only alienate us from God, but also from our fellow humans.

Today’s reading reminds us of how the Israelites were so proud and stubborn, refusing to listen to God’s voice. We too may, in one way or another, be just as guilty. Are we still continuing on such attitude and behaviour, leading to our own self-inflicted ruin? Or have we learnt to wisen up and walk humbly before God, with hope of being Him with eternally? Let us not be fooled and complacent, and choose rightly.

Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent

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Some people can be difficult to understand or comprehend. They may put on appearance and masquerade in one way, but the fact of the matter is they are not who we may think they are. There is more than meets the eye, and it takes much observation to figure out their true intentions. Sometimes they are so adept in cloaking their true self that many could be easily fooled by them. It takes a trained eye and a discerning heart to penetrate through their facade.

But though such people can fool others, they cannot fool God. Today’s reading tells us: “The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets? I, the Lord, search to the heart, I probe the loins, to give each man what his conduct and his actions deserve.” We can try to appear to be good, holy, respectable, etc., but God can clearly see whether we are genuine people or fake people. The question is: are we going to continue to portray a false image of ourselves for our own glory and win the admiration of others, or are we willing to come to terms with our true selves and walk humbly before God?

Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent

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Whatever our needs and wants may be, are we asking God consistently and properly? Today’s Gospel tells us: “If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” We may begin to wonder, “How is it that I have been asking for this or that and yet God has not given me what I asked for?” Let us take a good look at ourselves for a moment… Are we asking God with the right intention and with humility? Or are we expecting God to do our bidding? Are we asking so that ultimately we would be glorifying His Name? Or are we asking only to glorify ourselves and look good?

Let us be reminded that God loves all of us and treats all fairly. Today’s Gospel reminds us: “So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.” How willing and generous are we to love and treat others well, just as God loves and treat us fairly? Let us walk humbly and lovingly before God and behave justly and lovingly towards others, with hope that He will grant our needs for His glory.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

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All of us are given choices in life. We can choose good things, or we can choose bad things. It may seem strange that a person would want to choose bad things, but some people have resorted to choosing bad things due to one reason or another. For example, a person who is addicted to alcohol may choose to buy alcoholic drinks, even though that the person is aware that too much of such alcoholic drinks is detrimental to one’s health. However, the urge to have a drink is great and it would require much willpower and help from others to overcome such addiction.

The same principle can also applied to today’s reading. We are given a choice in today’s reading to choose life or death. While it may seem strange for people to choose death, we can see examples of a culture of death in today’s world, where people are willing to commit abortion or use contraception for one’s own convenience and personal gratification. This is where today’s reading is a stern reminder to us: choose life and you will live and increase; choose death and you will most certainly perish.

In our lives, are we continuously making a decision to choose life? Do we value and take seriously our eternal life, or are we only interested and focused in this life on earth? Let us choose carefully and not end up regretting later.

Thursday of Week 7 Year 2

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Are we a just people? Do we treat others fairly? Some of us have maids helping to care for our loved ones at home. Are we just in our treatment towards them? From time to time, we hear horror stories of maids, factory workers and other migrant workers being mistreated. Some are even being paid pittance for the amount of work they do. Some don’t get a rest day, because some of us think that we had paid a huge sum to hire them and bring them into the country, and we think that it is right for us to get the most of our money.

However, today’s reading serves us a warning: “Labourers mowed your fields, and you cheated them – listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realise that the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered you no resistance.” When we mistreat other people for our own gain, we are only bringing condemnation towards ourselves. We may not experience punishment here on earth, as we think that we are clever enough to circumvent the law. However, we forget that God is watching us. Are we ready to answer Him when we meet Him face to face?

Thursday of Week 1 Year 2

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Sometimes we ask God for things, and when we don’t get what we want, we begin to try to bargain with God. Some of us may even resort to other forms of help, including bomohs, feng shui, divinations, seances, etc, hoping that we would still get what we want. Some of us may get angry and upset that God seems mean or stingy, not wanting to help us. However, the point is this: are we trying to control God? Must God grant our desires at all times? Because if we expect God to do our bidding, then we become a god. We become more powerful than God.

Today’s reading shows us that Israel tried to force God to help them win their battles against the Philistines. They brought the ark of God to their camp, thinking that God will have no choice but to protect them and help them. However, as we see at the end of the reading, God will not kow tow to their bidding. God helps them according to His terms, not according to their demands. Even if the ark is captured at that point of time, God is not perturbed. What about us? Are there times we have been guilty in trying to make God answer our prayers? Have we forgotten who we are? Let us take heed and let God be God, fully trusting that He loves us and knows what is best for us.

Thursday after Epiphany

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For many of us, loving God seems easy. We do not actually see Him, we do not feel Him directly, and we experience His continuous care in one form or another, without us even having to ask at times. However, when it comes to loving our neighbour, that becomes a great hurdle for some. Our neighbour could be our spouse, children, parents, in-laws, out-laws, friends, associates, acquaintances, un-friends, enemies, etc. We may find it easy to love those who love us, but loving those who hurt us, belittle us, irritate us, anger us, betray us; that seems a tough thing to do.

Today’s reading reminds us that: “Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen. So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother.” Are we selective in our love towards others? Or do we genuinely love all, regardless of how they treat us? Loving indeed is not easy, but we should remember that God loved all and sent His Son to save all. Are we willing to follow Jesus’ way in loving all?