Taliakum Pongen
Italians have a certain custom of celebrating the New Year’s Eve. Around midnight, the streets become empty, cars stop plying and even police take cover. Everything comes to a standstill, almost like a ghostly scene. At midnight sharp, houses fling open their windows and family members start throwing out things they want to forget. They throw out anything from furniture to ornaments. Nobody would want to be hit by such things. That is quite a way to forget the past to welcome the New Year.
It’s a New Year for all of us and we do need some throwing to do. The bottom line is your past cannot be equated with your future. We also know we can never jump into the same river again because its waters keep flowing. Letting go of the past and embracing the future ahead is the kick starter to an abundant life – a thriving life.
When we hear the word ‘thrive,’ the picture of a beehive or an ant colony comes to our mind. Not a moment goes to waste. There is so much to be done: to give, to receive and stay focused. Every bee knows what to do and so as the ants. The central theme for these creatures is collective cooperation and that principle keeps the beehive and the ant colony up and running 24x7. Every bee and every ant knows that each is accountable to the other for their success, survival and thriving. Now, we as followers of Christ cannot be ‘fair weather’ individuals. Even the soulless bees and ants will start laughing at us at that.
A clear understanding of who we are in Christ is how we thrive in life. That your past has been forgiven is the starting point for a better life. Changes come to us gradually but surely. Wait in life. Be assured that you are walking in God's grace not your own. Satan’s main ploy is to draw you to your past in order to disturb your present and muddle up your future. You don’t have to be perfect. You are accepted by God through Christ is all there is to know. God expresses Himself in surprising details to show us we are already living thriving lives in fact. The clouds rolling, the rain pouring, the butterflies fluttering, the pressure cookers wishing, the morning tea and other things. All these tell us God is in control and that we are blessed in many ways.
Have you thought of these little things of late? God shows up big in small things because He is God. Put yourself into perspective in the light of God’s unfailing love as a parent's love is for the children. A mirror can reflect only what is in its perspective so much as we also can reflect only what God has for us. The Bible tells us that we are made in the image of God. That imagery goes farther away from the truth the farther we go away from Christ. Stick to Christ because he said he will stick to you closer than a brother would.
It is 2016 now. Let us fast rewind the time tape to Abraham’s timeline and go to the city-state of “Ur of the Chaldeans” (Genesis 11:31) in Mesopotamia about 5000BC or earlier. Ur was said to be a thriving metropolis of at least 300000 people with its capital Sumer, an advanced civilization. According to archaeological diggings, there were all kinds of musical instruments, crafts, art, a library and a university specialising in mathematics and astronomy, much like today.
Again, much like today this city-state citizens worshipped several gods of which Sin, the moon god, was worshipped. In fact, an ancient Jewish commentary called Midrash is said to have records of Abraham’s father Terah crafting little idols assisted by Abraham, his son. So, Abraham’s family had idolatry going on from before. Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, married two sisters, Rachel and Leah. The Bible says that Rachel took some gods and put them in the camel's saddle (Genesis 31:34). So, even after three generations down the line, idolatry was still there in the family circle.
We too have similar experiences like Abraham’s boyhood days. There are just too many voices going on inside you and around you. Your phone battery is about to die, your internet signal is weak, too many updates in the WhatsApp groups and you cannot stay away from your Facebook.
Anything that replaces God in your life is an idol. Worrying does not make things better either. Maybe you have very troublesome siblings who are always drunk. Maybe you are from a divorced family. You name it, you are in it. All these “names” are sapping the juice out of your life.
With all the things happening around us from bad to worse, it is comforting to know that Jesus is the Name above all names. We can thrive because we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). Your past must have made you shapeless. But it does not have to misshape your present or future in any way. Christ stands in the present between your past and your future. He is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:16) and indeed, all of us are looking for ways in truth and life. It is ours for the taking.
To thrive is to bring your pain, disappointments, hurts, failures, rejection, abuse and what not at the feet of Christ. Joy always comes in the morning. And surely the sun will keep raising until the Lord calls you home. Also know that God prepares a table for you down in the valley right in the face of your enemies (Psalm 23:5). He is a table-bearer because you are His beloved. Do not park your life in that place of pain because you’ll gain at the end. Your disappointments are God's appointments. Your hurts are God’s charts for healing. Your failures are God’s renewals. Your rejections are God’s projections for success. Your abuse is God’s profuse love.
In short, God’s plan for us is teeming with life like a river. Won’t you take a moment, be still and let God be God?
Observe God’s glory reflected in the dewdrops. Listen to God’s feet patter in the raindrops. Know that God’s justice will roar like thunders and His deliverance will chisel down like lightning. In His time, He will make all things beautiful. It is not every time you enjoy your favourite pork dish. There is a time, a balance. In the fullness of time, Christ also came (Galatians 4:4). He HAD to come. It was a binding. You are bound to rise because Christ thrives in you. Let God arise in you and you will forget what thriving was not.
