How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
Many countries celebrate their new years, for a new year like a new birth of days that will bring a new round of hopes, a new round of good luck, and therefore a new round of perspectives on life.
In some Chinese cities, banks issue new banknotes for their customers to prepare red packet money/lai see (as blessing of wealth and good luck) for families, friends and colleagues etc. in a lunar new year. This hopeful and cheerful atmosphere is surrounding the cities for the next new year is around the corner.
Every body loves blessings. Many people celebrate their birthdays wanting to receive birthday’s blessings, too. Among them, there are Christians who also enjoy the blessings of other fellow believers. I am prompted to ask, however, “How many Christians would celebrate their born-again-day, or how many would remember their born-again-day?”
I was not born into a Christian family, but into the family of my father who was inspired to name me “Give thanks to Jehovah”. My given name marks the purpose of my life and signifies how I am going to live on the earth. I speak for my own experience that without God is without life. People without hope for eternal life restrict their perspective on life to the temporal world.
I grow day by day in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. The older I become, the more I experience the Way, the Truth and the Life. I know, and I believe other born-again Christians do, too, that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesian 2:10).
Through the passage of time and experiencing God’s love and grace, I no longer celebrate my birthday, but I give thanks to God for my born-again-days, for since my rebirth in Christ, I was born into the eternal kingdom of God.
Moses was born with the purpose of taking the Israelites out of the house of slavery; John the Baptist was born with the purpose of paving the way for Jesus; and Jesus was born with the purpose of saving the world. Every born-again Christian is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and to serve Him in the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is in our midst （Luke 17:21; Rome 14:17).
Christian’s perspective on life is to serve Christ in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, through which we bear witness to Christ and give thanks and praise to our gracious and loving God. The new creation must be diligent, not lazy, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord constantly (Romans 12:11), bringing Christ’s likeness into our lives, and bearing the fruit of light (Ephesians 5:9).
More sharing on “The New Old • The Old New” under the page of Words.
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 