CRASH

It’s not my kind of a movie to spend this weekend with. The beginning is too gloomy that I often couldn’t finish it after feeling so depressed watching the first parts. But it’s changed today. The realities of pain have truly made the whole story so beautiful that I felt like I will never get to see anything more beautiful than that ever again…

It’s a story of redemption. It’s a story of His redemption for His people. It’s not “The Passion of The Christ” movie, it’s “CRASH”. It’s a story of living in the fallen world. It’s a story about you and me. It’s a story of His invisible hands everywhere in our lives. It is to me His way of saying, “I do not want to keep it that way, that is why I came to die for redeeming you.” In the Passion movie, I see a Saviour taking all the judgments we all truly deserve, to bring us back as His own. Here I see what we are as the redeemed ones to do after that.

We Do Not Know A couple of months ago as I watched the evening news one particular news caused me to keep on thinking. The President was spending three days in Surabaya, taking care personally of the matters of Lapindo case. A disgrace to our nation as the long-awaited solutions are kept on delayed, it is not unsolvable, it is simply being delayed, on and on. While the President was there, here in Jakarta some of the victims were crying out loud on the streets, protest rallies were everywhere from the House of the People to the main streets and all. And they were protesting the government, accusing especially the President for not taking care of their matter…

Our lives are just like uncountable puzzles bumping against one another. We do not know why some people enter our lives and bring unending miseries since. We do not know why we get unfair evil treatment after doing so much good for those who then purposefully hurt us. We do not know why we are punished for doing what is right.

But just as we do not know the things that happen to us we also do not know the things that happen to other people. We do not know their stories as much as we do not know ours… Behind every man’s seemingly unkind action there’s always a painful story to tell. Behind every man’s anger, there is always an untold grief. Under every man’s roof there’s always an unspoken cries. And just as we do not know about others, moreover, we might not know how wonderful God's works are in our life.

That is the reality, my friends… The realities of living in the fallen world… There seems to be more things are going wrong that they are going right. More grieves to expect than more joy to come. More things are unknown than they are to be known. How do we see it then? How can we make sense of what is going on to us? Where is God behind all these things? The only One who can tell us the stories seems so silent. Or is He not….

The Log in Our Eyes
The easiest way to find false temporary relief to our pain is by having someone or something to blame. We all are naturally inclined to do so. It is always easier to see the speck that is in other people’s eyes than the log in ours (Matthew 7:3 NASB).

A white police office harrased a lady after asking the black couple to pullover as a revenge against a black lady officer who refused to help his father getting a correct medication that previous morning…. An American-Persian man blamed an innocent key repair service guy for the robbery that happened at his store after that guy had so kindly advised him to replace his broken door…. A man angrily challenged a group of police officers that chased him down for speeding out of control in the busy street after his wife called him a coward for not standing up for her…. A lady kept on waking up every morning with anger inside and blaming everybody for everything… Familiar with that stories? I surely am, I know you are, too. What are we to do then? Stop it. Stop blaming others!

Ambassadors of Christ
Something broke inside me as I continued to watch the movie. In the midst of unending chaos that linked one person to another, in the events where people are blaming one another, there were some who refuse to do so and stood up against the odds. A guy who refused to return the evil act he just received. A husband who decided to forgive his wife. A son who decided to keep on loving his mother who only truly loved his brother. A gangster who refused to sell the refugees found in his car.

There is something in the power of Christ’ resurrection. As He turned death into life, He put everything back into places. He broke every chain of hatred and brought love into life. How do we see it today? Through our own life. When we refuse to pay back evil. When we forgive one another. When we act kindly against one another. When we pay respect to one another. When we share our love although there is no guarantee of its return. We have been made the ambassadors of Christ in this world…

Do you hear the cracking sound of your broken chains? Listen to that beautiful sound… Be strong and courageous, the Lord your God is in your midst! He does not work around your sins, He works through them all! Some things may never recover before Christ second coming, yet that recovery starts even now… We are allowed to taste the sweetness of His kingdom even as of now until one day we will be fully in it. Live today as the member of that kingdom while accepting the reality of this fallen world. Choose today to love one another as Christ has loved us, that will make us the ambassadors of Christ…

God Intervenes
It is very disheartening to think we are to be His ambassadors by using our own strength. We know too well of our own weaknesses. One scene that struck and reminded me that God does intervene in our life was when a hurting old man shot his gun to a young man shielded by his little daughter that ran to the young man in order to protect her father with her “invisible cloak”. The bullet escaped the gun without fail, straight to the little innocent body. But… that little angel was intact because the old man's daughter intentionally chose blank bullets when purchasing the gun.

That day, a little girl was cured from her previous traumatic gunshot experience. A father was spared from the grief of losing his only daughter. Another daughter was spared from losing her father and a man was spared from having to spend the rest of his life in jail. God does intervene. He sends His angels to protect us, to bring us through the hell of life, to ensure us that His eyes never leave us. He will neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121 NASB). Sometimes His intervene is not something that is favorable to us. We know this verse well, too.

See Sandra Bullock who had to slipped out of the stairs before she finally fully came around of what she had been doing. Many of us require the whips first before we come around. When the Holy Spirit brings illumination into your heart of the repentance you are to do, be ready to be disciplined and taught to grow up. Take courage that you will certainly endure because He will strengthen your weak hands and feeble knees. Your limb which is lame will not be put out of joint, but be healed.

Every piece will fall into places for the good Lord orchestrated everything in all our lives. He redeemed us and broke our chain of slavery for the evil. Now, it is our turn to be His ambassadors in the fallen world. Have you seen “CRASH”? The crash of our sinful natures, one by one through His redemption. Every good deed you do for Him counts. Be strong and courageous, the Lord your God is on your side…!