The Life of Fölscher
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Found Lacking
I turned back a few pages in my diary and found this entry from 6 Jan this year:
I read the accounts of the church in Acts and just realize how comfortable I am and how far I need to go to truly live for God's purposes. I sin the same sins over and over again so easily. I sit in front of a computer screen everyday doing the work of God, but where are the people I lead to Jesus? By this my life is measured in my opinion and I am found lacking. Please Lord, put people in my life that need you.
Reading this I realize I do not have to go far. I can just turn and speak to someone, engage someone and start a relationship. In any journey that I start with someone God will create opportunity for me to point the way to Jesus. But for me to start a relationship with someone who need God I can not just wait for God to "put" them in my life. I have to GO and make disciples. The Bible tells me that I am to to go find the lost and the broken.
I am growing sick of my mediocre approach to God's call on my life to win souls. Strong statement? As long as it is strong enough to bring change in my life. -
Rejoice or Shut It
Progress or at least the effort to progress and move forward will always encounter opposition. Usually from those leading mediocre lives not being able to see the bigger picture. When someone does something well people tend to vocalize criticism especially if it contrasts with their mediocrity. I am one of those people that struggle to take joy in other people's successes especially when it contrasts with my half-heartedness. It's a human thing I guess but I believe we should shut up if we can not encourage. It is difficult to encourage though when you see someone taking up the baton which you have dropped and start running the race passionately and excellently. Instead we want to pull people down to size, because we do not want to be out done.
It is difficult to be inspired by someone who takes over from you when you have grown tired of what you do and a lot of times you have been wanting to let go and do something that you're "more passionate" about a long time ago, but you haven't left it strong. Rather you have given it shoddy effort and only maintained it because there's no-one else. Then when God comes and takes the talent away (remember Jesus' parrable) and gives it to the one who multiplies what God gives him and it contrasts with our tired effort we can't handle it.
Instead we should see what is being accomplished in God's Kingdom, repent and get busy helping. It's painful I know, but God's Kingdom is the focus, not who does what best. I have been really bad in this area a couple of times in my life and because I dream strong and usually do things which I don't believe nessecarily tie in to my passion (which is the way life is) I reach out so hard to that destiny I see that my other hand starts losing grip on what God has put in it to do for now. And when someone else start doing that which God gave me to do well, my human nature kicks in. Just remember that God will give you sufficient grace to do what He places in your hand.
Bottomline, when we see God's Kingdom growing and progressing regardless of who did what well let us rejoice or keep quiet. -
When Others Are "Better"
There are so many pressures in this life that makes you put yourself in a place where you compare yourself against the strong, the decent, the happy those that have it all together. We all do it, regardless of what cliches we throw at one another about how unique we are and how we should not compare ourselves with others. It is ingrained in our being.
God knows who we are, what we struggle with and what we desire. He encourages in the Psalms by telling us not to worry when others prosper, but to delight in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Still we find ourselves comparing our reality with those of others. Sometimes we do it with thankfulness when we see our privileged situation against the less privileged, but mostly we compare "up". With those who have more and get it right more than you, according to you. An we become discontent and ask questions that make us even more discontent.
Or we listen to the prosperity piesangs who proclaim you can be as "blessed" as they are if you only follow these steps. And when you never reach that mountain of blessedness you resign to the thinking that you do not have enough faith.
Where you are at in life is where you need to be. You can only learn what you need to learn where you are at. God will move you on and grow you. He promises that you will grow and have an abundant life for the sake of His Kingdom. But be patient and content while at the same time dreaming and pushing forward. Keep on planning and scheming, but more important keep on spending time with God and your human effort will be multiplied beyond possibiliy, for God's Kingdom. Never stop dreaming but have faith in God and His timing and purposes not in the evidence of your dream becoming reality.
Forget about the progress of others. Its about your reality and how that influences, helps and brings Jesus' hope to others. -
Change
Change is good and it is scary. Even if you have been wanting it for a long time, leaving the familiar, that which is known, is without securities or assurance of success. The proof will be seen only a year or two down the line if you have made the right choice. And then it's too late.
Even when you have all the assurance in the world in your heart that this is right, that it is from God, you are still taking a chance. All you have is faith in God that He will never forsake you even when you are wrong.
Change need to be accompanied with time, prayer and humility. I think to put God at the centre of everything you do in life is more important than trying to find the perfect will of God although I think the first will lead to the latter. -
Ai Weiwei (artist) on Chinese government
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who lived in New York for 12 years but returned to China. He is the son of a revolutionary poet who's text is admired by the Chinese government, but he himself have become more outspoken against the Chinese government. He was detained and interrogated by the government last year with no public knowledge of where he was, but international and local pressure saw him released and served with a $2.4 million bill for taxes and penalties. Chinese citizens spontaneously started giving him money and he ended up with $1.3 million toward this. This is a quote from the Time Magazine about the Chinese government:
We need clear rules to play the game. We need to have respect for the law. If you play a chess game but after two or three moves you can change the rules, how can people play with you? Of course you will win, but after 60 years you will still be a bad player because you never meet anyone who can challenge you.
