The Darkroom

When I was in college back in the eighties, we had photography class that taught us how to take great pictures. We took photos under broad daylight pointing at various subjects from portraits to landscapes, and from still life to moving objects. There were also subjects taken at night like city lights and moving lights. The images, however, were all captured in a roll of film hidden inside my camera. During those days, the technology has not yet evolved to the digital age. Therefore, digital computer images were not yet in existence. And don’t try to count back and calculate my age either!

To develop photographs, the film must be taken into a darkroom. Only after the chemicals have done their work in the dark is it safe to expose the negatives to light and produce the final prints. The light, which would have destroyed the film, now brings out the beauty within the film.

In the same way, God takes us through “darkroom” experiences to develop our spiritual life. Many factors contribute to our developing process and are considered the chemicals that work on us while in the darkroom. Trials, disappointments, frustrations, and sorrow prepare us in the process. As we pass through all these, the image of Christ is produced in us. Only then we are ready to be displayed in the light.

Whenever we go through our dark tunnels of despair and frustration, we often blame people or circumstances. Although they may be the secondary causes, we need to realize that the hand of the heavenly Father momentarily shades the light from our pathway. He graciously takes us through such experiences because He wants to provide us the benefits of darkness; the way photographs are developed in the darkroom. So when it comes to life’s trials and frustrations, do you consider yourself inside God’s darkroom? If so, what would your response be? There are incidents when we question God’s presence or motive at times of adversity. If there is really a God, why am I suffering like this? Why does He allow bad things happen to such good people? For whatever reason, His ways are not our ways. And there is no doubt whatever He is doing; rest assured it is always to our best advantage. The only difference is the angle of how we look at it. After spending some time in the dark, then you will learn to appreciate the light even more.

Do not despair for God is developing the beauty of Christlikeness within you for display in His art gallery of eternity. Do not seek to get back into the light too soon. “The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3: 25-26 (KJV). You must wait for His perfect timing or you’ll spoil the imprint of His love on the film of your life!

Bible passage to read: Lamentations 3:1-6; 22-26

“GOD TAKES US INTO HIS DARKROOM

TO DEVELOP US INTO HIS LIKENESS”

Seeing Or Remembering?

There’s this story of a man who was slowly losing his memory. After an examination, the doctor said that an operation on his brain might reverse his condition and restore his memory. However, there is a risk involved. The surgery would be so delicate that a nerve might be severed, causing total blindness. “What would you rather have,” the doctor asked the patient, “your sight or your memory?”

In such life’s emergency situation where you can only choose either sight or memory, which one for you is more valuable? If you were the man in this condition, what would you choose? To have your sight retained to go on living, or your memory? You have all what you’ve got in the past with your memory. Your sight will keep you in the light. But sometimes, in order to see the light you have to risk the dark. And often, those who have never experienced darkness at some point in their lives do not appreciate the light. If I were in the shoes of this man, I probably would take a lot of time to put things in consideration before making my final call.

But this man pondered only for just a few moments and then replied, “I’d prefer to have my sight because I would rather see where I am going than remember where I have been.” Why? Is the future more interesting than the past? Does this man mean he do not want any of his past remembered?

In Philippians 3, the apostle Paul made the same choice spiritually. His past, with both its success and shame, he chose to forget. What mattered to him most was keeping his eyes on the goal of gaining Christ’s approval. It is what we call the priceless gain of knowing Christ. In this chapter, Paul expressed about how successful he was in the beginning being a real Jew. His achievements included being a member of the Pharisees who demanded the strictest obedience of the Jewish law. So strict he was, in fact, he persecuted the church and obeyed the Jewish law so carefully he was never accused of any fault. To the apostle Paul, before he became a follower of Christ, those things were so very important until the time he had to travel from Jerusalem to Damascus to track down the fleeing Christians and bring them back for execution (Acts 9). That was when Saul, the persecutor, became Paul. Since his conversion, everything else was worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ and became one with Him. Anyway, Paul had reason to turn his back on his past and choose not to remember them.

We all have done things for which we are ashamed of. And still there is this tension in our life of what we have been and who we wanted to be. Since our hope is in Christ, we can let go of the past guilt and look forward to growing in the knowledge of God by concentrating on our relationship with Him. We are forgiven. When we confess our sins, they are buried in the deepest seas. Let’s not dredging them up. Therefore, we can move on to a life of faith and obedience. That kind of mindset is one sure mark of Christian maturity. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you (Philippians 3:13-15).

We can’t forget our past, of course, but certainly we do not have to live in it either. Surely we cannot change what has passed. And our past is what made us who we are. Any good we may have done is from God, so we can only be thankful. Like the Apostle Paul, his goal was to know Christ, be like Christ. This is a good example for us – not allowing anything to take our eyes off our goal, which is to know Christ. But if you are like that man who had to undergo a brain surgery and make a choice between sight and memory, you must really have a valid reason for choosing sight rather than memory, or vise versa. So finally, what would be your choice? Do you prefer to see or to remember?

Bible passage to read: Philippians 3:12-21

"WE CAN'T CHANGE OUR PAST.

WE DON'T HAVE TO LIVE IN IT EITHER."

Big Men Don't Cry

Would you believe men don’t cry? What is your impression of a man who does? There must be many reasons why a person would cry but can you think of a reason why a man should not? Crying is defined as any expression of distress, or grief, accompanied with tears or sobs; a loud sound uttered in lamentation.

Nearly sixteen years had past, I recall when one of my elder brothers used to beat me up almost everyday for no known apparent reason. Physically, I was no match to him. He was big and I was not. I’ve made a decision to go home very late at nights when most of them were asleep since I used to share the room with him during those days. But the unpleasant things used to occur in the early mornings. When I woke up he will strangle me, kick me and verbally abuse me. This went on for about a month without the knowledge of my parents. That was the time when I felt completely lost, restless and confused. I turned to my friends but not a single individual could give me answers to the questions I was longing for. “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why am I being treated this way?” “Should I fight back?” But I never did, nor even questioned him on his cruel behavior. Until the time came I was so anxious to go back home and had planned to run away. One night, just about a couple of weeks before we moved house, both my parents finally noticed the gap between my brother and me. They waited until I came home. We had a family devotion and talked about it that night. Several months had passed but I felt unhappy still thinking it wasn’t fair. I bid farewell to my parents and moved out to live on my own. It was then I made a vow I would revenge! But how? I was a skinny young man and the best place to build me up was the gym and so I did spent hours after work in the gym just to get what I wanted.

If an ambulance siren is the signature of an injury that needs immediate attention, what would be the signature for the silent injuries that do not get anyone’s attention? It seems that every day people get hurt and everyone has to hear about it when they are rushed in an ambulance. What about those injuries that don’t get a siren? How long would the injured remain wounded and a victim? Do we have a choice? Of course, in life we can decide whether or not to leave fear behind and move on, or remain a victim. I chose the first option and decided to move on. Days, months and even years had passed and vengeance remained in my mind. Somehow, the fun seems to have faded away as I lost my sense of direction. I ended up going to the wrong places and hanging out with the wrong people. Yet, there were no answers to my questions, “Why God, why?” “What are You trying to tell me?” If only my hands are long enough to reach heaven I could have boxed with God! The Bible has bountiful answers to any kind of injuries that we sustain in life. And it is the signature cure for anyone who needs guidance and direction.

So I turned to David, who became king of Israel and one of the prominent figures in the Bible, and studied about his character during his hard times and learned many things:
1. David became a threat to Saul’s kingship at a young age (1 Samuel 18). When King Saul started to hunt down David, the young man fled to be out of King Saul’s sight.
2. David was at peace – with God. Instead of retaliation (1 Samuel 24 & 26), he wrote Psalm 18. David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. (2 Samuel 22)
3. David was prayerful – Psalm 13 & 17
4. David kept on praising God – Psalm 19
5. David put his trust in God – Psalm 25
6. David forgives his enemies and found joy - Psalm 32
7. David poured his heart out - Psalm 40

And now I turned to the pages of my days and found I was no match to him:
1. David has a pure heart. Mine was not.
2. David was peaceful. I was bitter and sought revenge.
3. David cried his heart out to God. I was questioning Him.
4. David wrote his Psalm. I did not even have one.
5. David went to the right direction. I took the wrong path and lost my sense of direction.
6. David was mature at a young age. I still need to grow up!

So I fell flat on my face and learned the hard way. However hard it was for me, I got up through the ‘Word of God’ and I look at those injuries as nothing but hurdle because they made me what I am today. Then I learned that the “why” questions may not really have definite answers. But it gave me hope to an extent that made my pains an easier pill to swallow because they were used to display God’s work. There are times when God’s work is manifested through dramatic miracles. Some of you may even ask how is that possible? But such pains and hurdles do magnify the presence of God. You see, when we are all so busy, content, and all happy we tend to forget about God. But our pains and injuries offer opportunities for us to display His works. As for my resentful plans to my brother, it all faded out gradually over the years as I learn, understand and forgive him. After all, big men do cry.

Bible passage to read: Psalm 17

“I’M GLAD GOD HAS ALL THE ANSWERS,

BECAUSE I BARELY UNDERSTAND THE QUESTIONS”

All About Time

According to a Greek philosopher, “Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” At the end of the day, no matter how hard we try, many of our tasks remained undone. Our energies all burned out and our minds exhausted. At work, no matter how much we try and complete a day’s workload, there are always new tasks popping up even before the next day begins. People who really get things accomplished move without much furor and dither. They have discovered the secret of making time work for them.

How valuable time really is? It is so valuable that when it is spent or wasted not a single second can be taken back. A lost time can never be found again. The clock ticks on and on and will never wait for you. In a race or even when making tough decisions, every single second counts! But can anyone really stop the time? This is a story of two brothers in their early thirties who are twins and wanted to put time to a test. So the elder twin decided he would fly to the space and the younger twin would stay on ground and see what would happen. On that day, the twins went on to their journey. The elder twin went to the space and the younger brother moved on to live his life on earth. Fifteen years had past and their test had finally come to an end. The elder brother returned to earth and met his younger counterpart. Upon meeting each other face-to-face they were in for some surprise. You know, time can be a great healer but it is a lousy beautician! The younger brother, who got married and has raised his family, has aged 10 years older while his elder brother did not aged as much as his younger twin did. But who do you think is more happy? The elder twin who flew to space who did not aged much or the younger twin who remained footed on earth and aged 10 years more?

If you are to trade place with one of these twins which one would you choose and why? “To every thing there is a reason, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV). God definitely has plans for everyone. That is why He provides cycles of life and the works in its cycles are for us to do. We may be facing many problems that seemingly contradicting to God’s plans. However, these should not become barriers to believing in Him but rather opportunities to discover and realize that without God, life’s problems have no lasting solutions.

Timing is very important. To a pianist, every single push of a finger on the keyboard must be in perfect unison to produce that awesome melody. To a vocalist, timing is essential in order for his voice to blend audibly with the accompaniment. The same principle applies to a sprinter, a farmer, a patient, a fisherman, an inventor, and even to a child. Their experiences are all appropriate at certain times. Their achievements, success and failures all come at perfect timing. And nothing is more perfect than discovering, accepting, and appreciating God’s perfect timing. But it will require you a lot of patience to do that! Since He is the author and finisher of our faith, there’s no doubt He knows every single one of us even before we were born. Simply put your trust in Him.

So have you decided whom you want to trade place with? If you choose to be in space because you do not want to age a bit and keep that youthful look, you better think twice! What is your youthful looks for when there’s nobody out there in space but massive body of gases, asteroids and aliens from other planets who would do nothing but bother you to take them to your leader? Who’s going to look at you in space for 15 years except your command base from a monitor screen in Houston when you’ve got problems? Who’s going to laugh at your stories or cry with you? Who’s going to drink the other half of your glass of orange juice and share your bowl of cereal in the morning? Who will you share your love with? I’m pretty sure you’ve got my point taken here. On the other hand, the younger brother had his own test of time by experiencing most of what life has to offer. He has faced his problems, found solutions, made tough decisions, become more patient, and has learned to move on. He’s got most of the things his elder twin did not have for the past 15 years. He’s for sure a lot happier than his elder twin who has learned that time may stop in space. But the younger twin learned that life is for us to face head on no matter what, for there is a reason and time to every purpose under heaven.

Bible passage to read: Ecclessiastes 3:1-15

“HOW WE SPEND OUR DAYS IS, OF COURSE,

HOW WE SPEND OUR LIVES.”