Pastor's Corner by Pastor Larry Tong
April 2008
After a seemingly long and cold winter, spring season is finally here! For those of us who don’t particularly like gloomy and sunless weather, we breathe a sigh of relief. We may now see more sun, and the temperature should be a few degrees warmer. Spring time seems to give people a lift in the spirit because we see more of the rebirthing of lives. Flowers start to bloom, birds start to come out more often to sing, and lawns are getting greener. Other than those who have allergies and may have to go through a period of running noses and watering eyes, we welcome the new signs of life.
With all the new signs of life spurting up, springtime seems to give us new hope, new vitality and new beginnings. It seems all the mishaps in the past could be put aside, and buried with the cold winter of the past season. This is more than “positive thinking”, it is reality. We often dwell too much on the past, and allow our mistakes to hinder us from moving forward. It is unwise to live in the past, good or bad. The past is history. We certainly can learn from history, but we can’t live in history because it doesn’t help. The future is a mystery. We won’t know what is around the corner in this maze of life. It may be something extraordinary delightful, yet it may also be unexpected challenges or even disasters. No matter how much you would like to control it, you know you can’t. Therefore, you don’t worry about it. The Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow because we have enough to do today. If we spend too much time worrying, which takes a lot of energy, we won’t have enough strength to live for today.
We can’t change the past; we can’t control tomorrow. The only thing we can do is to do our best for the present. The English word “present” has a double meaning: one being now, and the other being “a gift.” Have you thought of your present life in this way? The fact that you are breathing and have the signs of life is a “present—gift” of God. Since God is giving you the “gift of present”, how then should we live? Life is too precious to be living wastefully without any purpose. We need to find a better purpose to live that is above and beyond earning our daily bread and nightly lodging. For Christians, we know that we live for Christ. It means our purpose is to live within the construct of Jesus’ will. The highest goal is to bring glory to God through our daily living because He has given us a New Life. Therefore, live with positive attitudes and gratitude.
Before I sign off, I wish all of you can experience Jesus’ promise as recorded by the Apostle John: “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” A full life is a life that knows who Jesus is in our lives, and be assured through Jesus we have found the way to God the Father.
Pastor Larry
