Post by josmiguel on Apr 11, 2009 18:19:44 GMT 8
I have also been imprisoned since birth and for almost a lifetime. I have been in solitary confinement within the thick and suffocating walls of selfishness, pride, idolatry of power and wealth, envy, lust and hatred. I lived life within these confines. I have been tormented by the experience of having exhausted all my energies not to even stray lest I might break out and die of losing myself worth, my pride, my source of security and my reason for being alive. My world was a choice between giving myself for others and lose my own life, or preserve myself which resulted to others losing their lives. It has always been those walls of selfishness, pride, idolatry of power and wealth, envy, lust, and hatred that prevented me from making any other choice than preserving myself. But this choice consumed others as it also consumed me. There is such a prison. I had been thru it. That has been my world. It was dark that I was not able to see much beyond myself. I did not even know what freedom is all about. I had not known life outside of these.
But someone knew that there had been someone like me confined in such a prison. I came to know about the existence of this God and his world outside thru persons who went into my imprisoned world. They are the waning moon of this generation, who came to live in the world I live, to reflect to me the light of God thru His Son Jesus Christ. They need not because they did not have my status, but they did. It was the only way to reach me.
Thru the enlightening words they delivered, year by year, I began to realize how wretched my life had been and I need not remain in it forever. I realized there is a world out there. I began to think if there was indeed such a world out there. I began to accept a little that the words they delivered to me may be true. Whenever I decided to breakout of every wall of selfishness, pride, idolatry of power and wealth, envy, lust and hatred, I experienced the pain. These walls were the only life I have known since birth. Now how can I actually want to break thru them?
As a consequence, this Son of God sent me thru the persons who came into my life today, His spirit which is love for God and for others. This is the spirit that desires to breakout of those walls so that I may be able to love God and others. This is the spirit which led those people to live in the wretched world I live even though they need not since they did not have my status.
This is the same spirit which led Jesus Christ the Son of God to be crucified to draw to himself all the consequences of all our sins from the first to the last generation. This is the spirit which after having isolated all the sins of this world, destroyed it with him in his cross. This spirit led me to break thru, inspite of heart breaks, loss of money, time, pride and pleasure. But after all the bruises, cuts and pain out of persecution, loneliness, humiliation, and deprivation in life, I experienced a regeneration in life and realized I can function giving life to others after all. And indeed others received life. I became a functioning human instrument.
Had I not been imprisoned, there would not have been a need for the God who created me, to send His Son to liberate me. There would not have been a need for His Son to suffer and die to liberate me. There would not have been a need for His Son to become man so that He can die and suffer as an expression of the extent of His love.
Then there would not have been a way to lure death away from me and towards someone who has the power to lure death as well as the power to destroy it. It had to be a man and it had also to be a God. So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man to lure death to Him, destroy it and so was able to resurrect.
I still get captured many times and return to such a prison. But my guards, the walls and bars of my selfishness, pride, idolatry of power and wealth, envy, lust and hatred have been relatively weakened. There was a time when filled by the spirit, I paid for the sins of a close family member. As a consequence, I lost a considerable amount of money and pride. It was experiencing being imprisoned unjustly for the trespasses of others. But it was actually a liberating experience. I realized within me, how Jesus Christ have been giving to me that same love from His Father. But many times after having broken out of it, I slackened my security and find myself captured and returned to such a prison again. But what a wonderful experience to be indeed out of such a prison.
Now I need not be afraid even if I fail to recover that nation called Filipinas taken away from us by the foreign invaders. Now I need not be a loser even if I fail to liberate us, the Filipino people from those I consider collaborators of our foreign invaders. Now I know that true freedom is not made of breaking out of concrete walls and iron bars. It is not confined to this lifetime. It is not of this world. True freedom is found in the love of Jesus Christ. It is beyond this lifetime. It is beyond this world. Now I know that our true origins is from our God the Father in heaven. Now I know that our true home is with God our Father in heaven!
Now I am inviting all my brothers here on earth who have been prisoners like me, to allow Jesus Christ to liberate us and bring us home to where our Creator, our God, His Father and our Father as well, lives forever!
But someone knew that there had been someone like me confined in such a prison. I came to know about the existence of this God and his world outside thru persons who went into my imprisoned world. They are the waning moon of this generation, who came to live in the world I live, to reflect to me the light of God thru His Son Jesus Christ. They need not because they did not have my status, but they did. It was the only way to reach me.
Thru the enlightening words they delivered, year by year, I began to realize how wretched my life had been and I need not remain in it forever. I realized there is a world out there. I began to think if there was indeed such a world out there. I began to accept a little that the words they delivered to me may be true. Whenever I decided to breakout of every wall of selfishness, pride, idolatry of power and wealth, envy, lust and hatred, I experienced the pain. These walls were the only life I have known since birth. Now how can I actually want to break thru them?
As a consequence, this Son of God sent me thru the persons who came into my life today, His spirit which is love for God and for others. This is the spirit that desires to breakout of those walls so that I may be able to love God and others. This is the spirit which led those people to live in the wretched world I live even though they need not since they did not have my status.
This is the same spirit which led Jesus Christ the Son of God to be crucified to draw to himself all the consequences of all our sins from the first to the last generation. This is the spirit which after having isolated all the sins of this world, destroyed it with him in his cross. This spirit led me to break thru, inspite of heart breaks, loss of money, time, pride and pleasure. But after all the bruises, cuts and pain out of persecution, loneliness, humiliation, and deprivation in life, I experienced a regeneration in life and realized I can function giving life to others after all. And indeed others received life. I became a functioning human instrument.
Had I not been imprisoned, there would not have been a need for the God who created me, to send His Son to liberate me. There would not have been a need for His Son to suffer and die to liberate me. There would not have been a need for His Son to become man so that He can die and suffer as an expression of the extent of His love.
Then there would not have been a way to lure death away from me and towards someone who has the power to lure death as well as the power to destroy it. It had to be a man and it had also to be a God. So Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man to lure death to Him, destroy it and so was able to resurrect.
I still get captured many times and return to such a prison. But my guards, the walls and bars of my selfishness, pride, idolatry of power and wealth, envy, lust and hatred have been relatively weakened. There was a time when filled by the spirit, I paid for the sins of a close family member. As a consequence, I lost a considerable amount of money and pride. It was experiencing being imprisoned unjustly for the trespasses of others. But it was actually a liberating experience. I realized within me, how Jesus Christ have been giving to me that same love from His Father. But many times after having broken out of it, I slackened my security and find myself captured and returned to such a prison again. But what a wonderful experience to be indeed out of such a prison.
Now I need not be afraid even if I fail to recover that nation called Filipinas taken away from us by the foreign invaders. Now I need not be a loser even if I fail to liberate us, the Filipino people from those I consider collaborators of our foreign invaders. Now I know that true freedom is not made of breaking out of concrete walls and iron bars. It is not confined to this lifetime. It is not of this world. True freedom is found in the love of Jesus Christ. It is beyond this lifetime. It is beyond this world. Now I know that our true origins is from our God the Father in heaven. Now I know that our true home is with God our Father in heaven!
Now I am inviting all my brothers here on earth who have been prisoners like me, to allow Jesus Christ to liberate us and bring us home to where our Creator, our God, His Father and our Father as well, lives forever!
