book reprinted

On Sunday, Ps Cesar Castellanos, the founder of the G12 mission, of which our church shares the vision, was the preacher. There was an analogy he used which I thought would be interesting to share here.

An English translation of one of his books was published and they had printed 10,000 copies. However, someone discovered that there were some serious mistakes in the translation. As much as he wanted to salvage the 10,000 copies, the only way was to destroy all 10,000 copies and print copies from a version that had no mistakes/has been rectified, all because the original (proof) had errors.

Just as the original was tainted, so was Adam, the 1st man, when he sinned. Hence, those after him were also "tainted" and were set for destruction. So the only way to salvage the situation was to have one who had no sin (Jesus) to replace the original.

What is love? A puzzle piece?

It's really hard to define, but I was watching a show on Hallmark the other day (can't remember the name) but here's how love was defined as the mother told it to her 10-year-old son (who asked her) what her late husband used to say about their love - that love is when you find someone who makes you feel complete.

I think this is a rather good definition and there is truth in it. Just like how a husband and wife are meant to complement each other in making whole a relationship, so is how we define love, a completeness.

It's like a puzzle isn't it? And finding the right one is like finding a piece of a puzzle that fits, such that you can complete the puzzle and all other things fall into place. I won't say it's like finding that missing piece of a puzzle because both will need to work together to complete the puzzle of their lives together. You can't force a piece to fit into somewhere it doesn't belong. It will damage the piece and the final puzzle will look wrong, including causing other pieces to be placed wrongly. Worse still if it's a piece from another puzzle.

The 'Light Bulb' Phenomenon

As I was mentioning earlier, I've been a little bit more conscientious in my daily devotional recently and as such, have been a little more attuned with God, where something just *ding* in my head when I read the Word and the spirit warmed. I suddenly thought of this analogy yesterday to describe this phenomenon, which is the analogy of the light bulb.

The brightness of the light bulb is related to how well it is wired/connected to the power source. If we seek God conscientiously, we will be more attuned and connected to Him, our source of power and strength, and thus we will shine brighter as His people, and serve our purpose as light in the world. If we have faulty "wiring" or we do not communicate with Him, the light is dim, off, or may even fuse.

Placing Reservations

I happen to think about this. It was probably due to "The Ugly Truth", which led me to recall "He's Just Not That Into You". It's about how guys, if they are really into you, they will want to "reserve you" by making a commitment (as depicted in the book and stipulated by my guy friends). This inevitably made me think of the analogy that this was just like placing reservations at a restaurant.

Scenario 1:
Say you do a walk-in at a restaurant without any reservations, there is no guarantee that there would be a seat for you. The whole experience would turn out different. You might need to queue quite a while and well, what you intended to eat might get sold out or the food less fresh. Even if you managed to get a seat, it might not be a seat you'll really like.

Scenario 2:
Let's say you made a reservation. However, you're late and the restaurant would only hold your reservation for 15 minutes. So that's it, you lose your reservation and got to start queuing again. Making a reservation doesn't guarantee you'll get your seat unless you make the point to be there on time and make a real commitment.

Scenario 3:
Let's say you wait till the last minute to make a reservation. However, the restaurant is already fully booked, so you missed your chance.

Well, just some thoughts.

Butter?

I attended a church retreat last weekend and as it was a cross-network kind of event, we had some ice-breakers. 1 such ice-breaker happened during lunch. We had to pick an item on the table and describe 3 things about ourselves.

Well, trying to come up with something, I picked butter. I presumed no one would actually pick that (coz I was the only one having butter for my bread) but I guess I did manage to come up with something.

Butter. When cold, it is hard, and when warm, it becomes soft.
I guess I'm like butter as I take a while to warm up to people. I can seem a bit "anti-social" and cautious around strangers, but once I "ok" them, I warm up to them and soften up like oozy butter.

(This later part's a post-reflection & very much self-promotion :P)

Another aspect of butter is that it usually complements something, like as a spread for bread, an ingredient in cakes, cooking, etc., basically enhancing the flavour. It's very subtle and sometimes taken for granted (except in instances when the rich buttery flavour is meant to come through). I won't say I'm taken for granted (maybe sometimes), but I'm quite subtle and reserved, often hidden in the background. Of course, I would like to believe I "enhance the flavour" for some people. And it's definitely 1 of the ingredients to "comfort food". ;P