Writer: 阿草
Image Source: Freepik, Pixabay
How were you in the first half of 2020?
To many people, the first half of 2020 was filled with disasters and tragedies, especially those infected by the Covid-19 virus as well as their friends and family. Not only does the virus bring physical pain but also the loneliness from being isolated from their families and the fear of death. This virus is like a big warning bell, reminding all those who were once only about their own pleasures and arrogance, as if to shout: life was never in man’s control!
For others, this virus has disrupted all our plans and arrangements, forcing us to change our lifestyles. It seems like the year 2020 is the end of one era and the start of another. When we finally realised this, we are already in the midst of it and constantly being pushed forward.
What invisible force is propelling us forward? Is it fate? No, it is God’s sovereign hand.
Over the first half of this year, perhaps you have been checking on the virus situation and government rulings daily; perhaps you have been home as you while your time away; or perhaps you have been working hard to adjust your lifestyle and create new habits to adapt to the new normal… no matter how you spent your time, one thing is for sure, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ will come again one day.
Some people may see this world as one ravaged by disease, disasters and famine. But to Christians this world holds a higher significance – this is the world that Jesus Christ lived in as a physical man and where he then died and resurrected from.
As early as one night 2000 years ago, the world already rejected the way of righteousness of God. Man’s heart was unable to find peace in this dark world and have all walked the way of the lost. The one true God of the universe – Jesus Christ became flesh and came to His own place (for He had created the world), for the sake of His people to save them from sin. From that point on, the world now has new hope: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
As Christians, have you and I heard the call of our Lord, asking us to step out of ourselves, out of the safety of our lifeboats, to cry out about this hope to others? Do we truly believe that the lives we live today are rewards, to lead us to repentance and to turn to Him?
When time and years flood us like tides, do we have that stable and unshakeable anchor, anchored on a solid rock, so that we will not be taken captive by the world?
I hope that we will all truly live our lives for the Lord and use our time wisely. Arise and live for Him!