Dear Annie,
I need to share you a story. A not-so-closed-friend of
mine, who studied in a theological school, (He said to me once, “I’m a Calvinist-reformed.” I don’t know
what that really mean, and I think he’s just repeating his favourite preacher’s
sermons) asked me, “Are you a Calvinist
or Arminian?” I know he wants to have a theological debate with me. I know
about the Calvinist’s 5-points (TULIP) and because I admire David Pawson and
John Wesley, I know about basic Arminian’s arguments too. But I don’t want to
argue with him. So I answered, “I’m an optimist.” I can tell his
eyes widen when I continued, “I think if
I labelled myself to either one of that, I’ll become a pessimist Christian”
like you, I thought to myself.
Annie, my dear, life is hard. Anyone who want to live
a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Bad things will happened. So if persecution is a
sure thing, why we need to add more troubles by being pessimist? I want to be
an optimist Christian! Pessimism and
Christianity don’t mix. Why? Because Christians have every reason to be
optimistic about life here on earth and life eternal. As. C.H. Spurgeon
observed, “Our hope in Christ for the
future is the mainstream of our joy.” But sometimes, we may fall prey to
worry, frustration, anxiety, and our hearts become heavy. What’s needed is a
large dose of perspective, God’s healing touch, and the Word of God: “Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take
care of you. He will never let good people down” (Psalms 55:22).
Let us make a promise to
ourselves today: vow to be a
hope-and-joy-filled Christian. Think optimistically about our lives, our
families, our future together and our friends. Let us trust in God’s love, hope
and don’t fear of the future. Our future is belongs to God. When we filled our
hearts with hope and gladness, we can share our God-given optimism with our
friends and loved ones.
A very close friend once
told me, “If you genuinely believe that
God is good and that His Son died for your sins, how you can be pessimistic
about your future? The answer, of course, is that you can’t!” I agreed. But
Annie, sometime we forget that actually Jesus’
resurrection and ascension (not only his work on the cross) are the biggest
reasons why we have to be an optimistic Christians. Jesus is Alive! Jesus
the Victorious! Curse are the anxious and sad-face Christians! Optimism is a
choice. When we choose to trust God for everything, we can rest in His promises
to take care of us the way He sees fit. Knowing that we have a loving heavenly
Father who desires to care for us and provide for us should give every child of
God a reason for true optimism.
By God’s grace, I pray
that you and I will be filled with God’s joy.
Don’t forget to text me
today okay. Smile my love.
Miss
you very much,
Richard
P.S: I’m also optimistic about marrying you
(Am I sound too preach-y lately? ha2)
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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