Who You Are

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are" (Joseph Campbell). I can connect this quote to what I have learned this week especially in the life of the church historians named  John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin. I so highly appreciate their great works in the church history. I could not imagine how did they able to show to the world their identity in Christ without compromising to ungodly standards even their lives had been put at stake. They had just exposed to the world what they got and they really stood in the gap for the sake of Christ. They made the best use of how God designed them in order to bring glory to His name.

I was guilty about not being true to oneself before. I was too shy enough to show the real 'me' in the image of Christ. When I was with my unbelieving friends, there were times that I became too shy to do good because of  fear of rejection. Even though I was already a Christian in my high school days yet studied in a Catholic school was pretty hard for me. My faith was really stretched out during those times. I could say that I was a lukewarm Christian at that time. As I looked back, it seemed like I just use my being a 'Christian' to gain respect from other people. Most of the people around me in my high school institution looked up to me and I could say that I was very proud to myself at that time, acting as a self-righteous person and doing things to please men. I tended to forgot that I didn't own anything because only God can rightfully claim what I have and even me, myself. Then after I gained the people's affirmation during high school, I held tightly to the honors and recognition I got from them through my own effort and  partly from God (what I acted before). Then suddenly after my high school career, God broke my heart into pieces and I experienced a devastating fall. I chose to keep the thing I can lose and  to lose the thing I can keep. It's because I neglected God's calling for me, He chastened me.

My life now in the seminary is far different from my high school days. I have learned in here that attitude matters more than achievements. Being a winner can be achieved through living a life pleasing to the One who gives it. Even though there are still times I fail because of my human frailties, I am proud of what God is continually working in me. To aim for excellence is not bad if you do it for God but doing it for self alone can lead to a great stumble. I thank God for always reminding to live a Christlike life. He always reminds me that life is not about me but it's about Him. Just like Calvin, Luther, and Wycliffe, they chose to value God more than people. They feared God in their lives and this caused them to be courageous enough to fight for the truth. This time, I am having lots of struggles. One of my struggles is to decide what I am going to do after BTC? There may be lots of opportunities but then my desire is to to choose to do the will of God for me. I don't like to fail Him again and even this time I am still constantly praying that He will show me His way. I want that my life radiates who I am and whose I  really am.