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God does not love the crowd,
but the person
within the crowd.

He may attract a multitude,
but what truly matters to Him
is if you could let Him in your heart.

“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.”
Isaiah 40:26

when man first fell
from the grace of god
and left the perfect happiness and love
from his presence
God knew
that He will not totally disappear from them
God knew that even in this fallen world,
He will always be in our midst
Yea, even in this valley of tears
there are streaks of love that can get through
there are traces of grace and blessing
in every God-given relationship that we shall have
God is there from the very beginning
In your mother
in your father
God is the love that embraced you
from the moment you were born

God is there when your heart
first learned to beat for your special someone
God is there when you knelt before Him
as you made your vows for the beloved you have found

God is there when you gave birth
when you first held your baby in your arms

Wasn’t it paradise?
Wasn’t it heaven?

Love is our heaven here on earth
the love that finds us all
wherever
and whoever we are

God designed all things
that we may find Him
from the moment in our mother’s womb
to the moment we ourselves give life to our own child

Love appears before us
always…
even when we think it has hidden itself away

Nay I say
for there is a friend there waiting
smiling
loving you.

A friend loves at all times,
a friend that’s only been waiting
to be found
 

 There are many philosophers and experts of the law, religious experts even, they who seem to know everything and who can win many discussions and arguments as to who is right and who is wrong.  But who can really tell which one has wisdom in him?  Can we really put God inside a box and tell everyone who He is and who He is not?  Can we be absolutely certain what happens after death?  Can we be so confident in judging who will go to heaven and who will descend quickly into hell?  Who are we at all to say these things?  With what authority do we speak?

“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,  unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in a week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” -   (LUKE 18:10-14)

As I was pondering upon the nature of sin and of the fallen nature of man, I have read one thought that caught my attention. This thought posed a question similar to this, “Why must God punish us if He created us this way?”

Indeed, should a righteous God punish a person for being weak and susceptible to sin? And if the Church teaches that our fallen nature is due to the fault of our first parents, Adam and Eve, why should we be punished for sins we did not commit in the first place? Should children be punished for the sins of their parents?

I’m quite sure nobody would agree to being punished for the sin of another, but I guess the truth is that this situation happens.

Suppose you get married, and later on you had children. And suppose you did not become responsible parents but lived like you’re accountable to no one. You spend the night drinking, you didn’t finish your studies, you mess up your work. And then after all of these things, you fight with your husband, and sooner or later, this fight becomes a habit, and your children grow up not knowing what peace is, or what commitment and true love really means.

Surely these children have no fault of their own for the life that they have been given. But are they not affected? Don’t they suffer for sins that are not their own?

I guess the same is true with our first parents. Sure, we weren’t there yet. Sure, we can say it’s quite unfair that we suffer now for the sins they have done.

But then this is what happened, and this is what Jesus’ redemption is all about. God is so good that He went on His way to rescue us where we have been dragged by sin. God is so merciful He gave up His own life so that we can regain the fullness of life we’ve been destined for.

This world may be dark, this life may be full of suffering. Yet we need not stay in the darkness. We need not live in despair anymore. God tells us that there is hope. God tells us that we are loved, and just with that, all sins are banished, and Mercy and Grace prevails over death.

Various religious denominations have risen, countless discussions and arguments, a multitude of opinions and counter opinions spoken to the point of disgust or contempt with those stubbornly clinging to their beliefs.  In the process however, the true Spirit of the Bible is lost somewhere, and many people leave the Bible altogether, hoping to find some peace somewhere, hoping to find their soul’s salvation.  Isn’t there a simple way to interpret the Bible?

By far, I have found the following to be the simplest way:

GOD is LOVE.

And by these three words, you may now read the Bible in the light of this perspective.  Is there something confusing?  Why so?  Does the interpretation lead to God being Love, or is your interpretation reducing God into some alien being bereft of any human emotion, observing you, picking on you, waiting for you to fall so He could punish you in the end?  Is the verse you are reading a literal command you should follow or is it a glimpse of God’s face, revealing to you one aspect of Himself?  Is the verse God’s infallible word?  Or was it spoken thru fallible men who may have failed to express God’s true intention on the matter?  Have you read a specific text and based all your interpretations on those limited words?  Or have you found out the meaning of those words in the context of mankind’s journey in getting to know his God?

GOD is LOVE.

LOVE is merciful and forgiving.

LOVE is strong.

LOVE does not delight in evil.

LOVE does not force itself.

LOVE, perfect love, casts away all fear.

Is your interpretation leading to a revelation of God as Love?  If not, better look deeper, better pray.  At times it is not the intellect that gives true wisdom.  It is God.

Is being a highly sensitive person (HSP) a curse or a gift?

Pearl S. Buck, (1892-1973), recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938, said the following about Highly Sensitive People:

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:

A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.

To him… a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.

Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - - - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.” -Pearl S. Buck

According to author Elaine Aron, “About 15 to 20 percent of the population have this trait. It means you are aware of subtleties in your surroundings, a great advantage in many situations. It also means you are more easily overwhelmed when you have been out in a highly stimulating environment for too long, bombarded by sights and sounds until you are exhausted.” An HSP herself, Aron reassures other Highly Sensitives that they are quite normal. Their trait is not a flaw or a syndrome, nor is it a reason to brag. It is an asset they can learn to use and protect.

In my case, I experienced high sensitivity as both.

“There was a time that I cursed the curse that lay upon my veins.

Wild spirit chained
Flaming fire quenched over and over
’til it can consume no more
’til it can arise no more
with passions that blaze within my soul…

I’ve cursed my curse
and then I realized -

I’ve also cursed my gift.”

There is a high price to pay for being an HSP, but there is a great joy in it as well, for in being able to harness one’s gift, one is able to understand many things, one is able to penetrate even the deepest parts of another person’s heart. In transcending the barriers that usually imprison a suffering soul, one is able to soothe another’s pain, one is able to heal.

It has a high cost indeed, for before one can heal, one must be wounded first; before one can understand, one must accept to be misunderstood.

For more information on HSPs, see the following links:
http://hsperson.com/
http://hsperson.com/pages/test.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_sensitive_person

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.”-Isaiah 40:11

The world is full of hurting and comfortless hearts. But before you will be competent for this lofty ministry, you must be trained. And your training is extremely costly, for to make it complete, you too must endure the same afflictions that are wringing countless hearts of tears and blood.
-Streams in the Desert