We are Divergent

I've been following the Divergent series in print and in theaters since it has become a pop culture trend that captured the world's imagination, especially the youth's. The story line follows the life of a young woman named Tris Prior who is unlike any other. She is a "divergent"--a person who doesn't fit neatly into the society's strict imputation of roles and acceptable behaviors. She was unique. A non-conformist.

A glitch in creation.

As I was pondering about possible moral lessons that I can yank out from the movie (alright, it's a romanticist's tendency to romanticize things, you know) I was reminded about the fact that Christians are actually called to be like that--divergent. We are not called to conform, to fit in, and be "of the world".

We're a different breed in terms of values and lifestyles.

A reminder from 2 Corinthians 6:17 goes, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.”

God clearly wants us to be separated from the world and walk in purity. Let us therefore purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God, for He who promised is faithful. The Christian walk has always been this way: a call to a life that is set apart from the world. That’s why the Scriptures instruct us to not conform to the world any longer. We’ve been set apart for a purpose.

1. The Path to a Separated Walk

A mark of a true Christian is the constant awareness of what pleases the Lord. He or she identifies with deep conviction the path which leads to destruction and the path which leads to God. This instruction in 2 Corinthians 6:17 (ESV) is obvious: “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.”

2. The Promise for a Life of Separated Walk

The call to a separated walk in Christ might be costly, but for those who are willing to pay the price, it is all worth it. There’s an assurance in 2 Corinthians 6:18 that if we continue in this walk, God himself declares that “I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me.” Nothing is more rewarding that being given the privilege of having God call us his own children. It is a reward far greater than the price we pay for obeying Christ.

3. The Product of a Separated Walk

If there is any result of walking separately from the world, that would be our holiness. Getting rid of anything that dishonors this walk always lead to perfecting the life God intended for us. We are being made complete as we follow this road less travelled. In 2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV), Paul reminds us that “since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

Be a divergent...

The challenge now then is to stand fast to this separated walk. Whether we’ve been Christian for the longest time or we’re just beginning, the call to a separate life in Christ is a daily summons. It is a daily act of obedience until we are made perfect in Christ, and through his grace, to be made in the likeness of him who called us.

Branded

There's a dire need today for the world to see what real Christianity is. There's so much going on in the world that seem to discredit the truths of and about God. And it is the Christian's responsibility to demonstrate the power behind the gospel that we preach. The world needs to hear it. But it also needs to see it. Bilang mga Kristiyano, wag natin itago kung sino tayo. Let our talk match our walk.

It's time to make Him known through our life.

1 John 2:6 says “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

A true believer of Christ has distinguishing qualities that set him apart from the crowd. The world has enough of people claiming themselves to be Christians but the true ones always stand out above the rest. Here are three of those qualities:

1. A True Believer Obeys

This might be simplistic, but this is fundamental in every way. The call from Jesus came to the disciples this way: follow me. It was a resounding call to follow; it was a call to obey. Our faith always can be measured up by our willingness to obey. “But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him” (1 John 2:5 NIV). A believer who obeys recognizes that it’s not anymore about him, but about Christ. That passage in 1 John 2:6 is a stern command: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

2. A True Believer Grows

A good seed, if it was planted on good soil, always grows. It should be that Christians who were planted on with the good seed of faith must grow and bear fruit. For there is no other worthy way. But how does a Christian grow? The second chapter of 1 John gives us an overview of how we should grow from children to young men to fathers. One should not be content with just receiving the word but there should be that unmistakable desire to level up in the faith. The Lord promised us that as we believe him for greater things, he will also bring us from glory to glory.

3. A True Believer Remains in Him

Endurance for the gospel is a distinguishing mark of a believer. Once we identified ourselves with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it should be all the way and all throughout. It’s not enough that we start strong in him, but it should be that we also finish strong with him. It is true that tests and challenges will come, but the true believer will stand out despite of them. In 1 John 2:28 we are encouraged to “continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.”

A challenge...

A true believer lives out his or her faith. If we know that we are created in God’s likeness, then we should also know that we’ve been created to do what is right and pleasing to the Lord. A reminder from 1 John 2:29: “If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”

Don't be silent. Play your faith out loud!

Time to walk the talk...

The Radicalist

I have found
the secret to
loving more
than people do.

Because He tore
through time and space
to prove to me
that love means grace.

I barely knew then
that loving takes
more than me to
love for its own sake.

Now I see
that love is beyond
the human heart
and it takes more than
the heart and soul
to understand.

This love is fierce
so bold, so strong
that the King would trade
His rightful throne
to come to me
and love me first.

Love Worth Dying For

This love has found me, and it’s gonna be forever…

You’ll never think that love was real the moment you are captivated by it. You got to believe it was real because you can see it, because you can feel it, because you just knew deep inside you that if this isn’t real, then what is?

I was already disillusioned that love for me was just a romantic notion of an idealized fairy-tale; that love is nothing but hyper-reality and that romantic feelings are nothing more than that: ‘feelings’.

I’ve already become so accustomed to solitariness and silence ever since my first attempt at a relationship failed and came crashing on me like tumbling flood—it left me devastated at the least. And that is just an underestimation. When you give your all for the sake of love, you’re giving a big part of yourself to that person who came to compliment your existence. And when that person—your all, your reality and dream, your center, your meaning—leaves without promising to return, you feel so isolated, you feel so denied of the right to be happy. You feel so broken that the next thing you want was to end it all and vanish. Just like that.

But then I came through, like all people do. I moved on, like we always do.

I lived.

Coming from that experience, I willed to myself to avoid the call of romantic love for the meantime and focus on more necessary matters in my life that call for my attention; and also to get rid of unnecessary entanglements which have become my worst battles. I almost succeeded in doing that, and I was very proud of myself. I was slowly taking progress. Getting over a painful experience was really hard, but it was possible. It was necessary.

And so I was on my way to thinking that love is just a Hollywood construct or a cheap fairytale. I was ready to dismiss it as a myth that has been told to generations so that people can make sense of their world in the absence of concrete and more acceptable explanations. I’ve grown skeptical about its meaning and its end, and the more I refer to my past experience the more I strongly feel that it is not really necessary to one’s existence.

Or at least mine. Read: Bitter. Haha.

But then, whoever said that corny, shallow, insensible, exaggerated, hyper-reality quote “love moves in mysterious ways” maybe right, and I agree. I didn’t imagine that love is indeed a force that will make or break you, or a magic that puts you under spell. I wasn’t prepared for that magic this time inasmuch as I’m still not prepared to be swept away again.

But then, there is no telling what love can do when it comes. There is nothing one can do to rationalize love because love is not just an intellectual pursuit, nor a state of emotional hyper-delusion, but something that gives you clarity of vision and purpose. I realized then, it is not something to be found, but it is something that finds you.

And so, right before my eyes—in the most unnatural ways, in the most unexpected time, in the most unexpected place—it came all of a sudden. Wave after crashing wave. It swept me away. Without hows or whys or what ifs. Or any hint of reservation.

Just when I thought that my story could not get any better, you came. And I fell in love with you as clear as the bright sky and as imminent as the break of dawn. I still burst with gladness.

It has, indeed, found me. 

And the world since then was filled with wonder.

But I am writing this now not to tell of a personal story (really?). Although mine and yours are stories which will always be interconnected in some ways by some invisible threads which hold life and destiny together. Like my days and years and my name are inscribed in the palms of your hands.

I am writing this for you—to you who taught me about wonders and miracles. To you who taught me to tell others of their miracles and believe it with all their hearts. And that they can have their miracles, too. And in everyday because of this great love, we are not consumed; every moment is a spectacle of miracles unfolding each day.

I am writing this to let people know about this great and incomparable love that has searched out the lost and has filled the empty. That true love means giving your life for a friend, in total abandon. And so that they may know that true love is possible and that forever is real because you already found a way. All that’s because what is impossible with men you have made possible.

I wouldn’t stop writing and I mustn’t cease talking about you like David—that fearless warrior from long time ago, that giant slayer—when he said “my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” all for the love of his life, his king.

Because you have become the epitome of perfect, unconditional love. A love so profound and so eloquent that it resonates from here to infinity. A love that has filled the great divide between the temporal and the eternal. A love that has broken the chains for those wanting to break free.

I couldn’t believe in destiny within the bounds of human imagination but you’ve totally proven that you hold it altogether in your hands, and the things that happen are all part of that grand and romantic story you’ve written even before the ancient of days has begun.

And so I give no less than my whole heart for the sake of this love. I give no less than my life and my loyalty and my utmost devotion to love you with all my strength. And if my strength would not be enough, my heart and soul will persist to reach out to and seek you first of all. And to let this love fill me up to overflow so that it will spill out and reach to others in limitless streams of grace.

I know that loving you would require sacrifices—to turn my back to so many things in this world, to leave behind ambitions that I have for myself, to get rid of my claims and my crowns—but what else is there to do? Loving you is all-consuming. To turn my back to this is recklessness and foolishness.

Which led me to this place two summer seasons ago: there on the beach one fine morning as we huddled in the sand to seek for your presence. I remember clearly that break of dawn, as the sun rises over the mountain and the dark skies turn amber. Like consuming fire. It was there that you asked for my heart. Every broken piece. All of it. “Give me your heart”, you said. 

But I wasn’t ready. Or I don’t want to. I was tearing apart from the inside and was ready to run away from you again, but you were stubborn. I know I've been so cold with you for as long as I can remember; even though I would always claim that I am yours. But you were persistent. I’ve been running away all this time but you never got tired of chasing after me. Ang kulit ba.

So when you backed me up in a corner, and asked me again in a gentle but persistent manner, “My son, give me your heart…”, I laid down my defenses and my pride and came to you like a cry-baby. My life, my self-worth, and my entire person slowly vanished away in light of eternity.

That was a black Saturday on a Lenten season. And I just died to myself.

“So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours”

So at the end of it all is this question: is this love worth giving yourself up to? The answer is yes. This love is even worth giving your life up for.

Loving is bravery

Love is in the air! Or, is it?

It's been a long time since romantic feelings have found its way to my romanticist heart (duh), but luckily, being a romanticist (and sentimentalist) by default means I never ran out of things and ideas and activities and people to fall in love with. 

So I guess, it goes without saying that I'm safe from the debilitating stigma they throw at single people every time Valentines comes around the corner--na unan nalang ang yakapin namin at itulog nalang hanggang dumating ang buwan ng March? I'm always in love, if you know what I mean :)

But the thrill of being in a relationship with another person is of course another matter. And for those who already had such an experience, the reality of waking up in the morning to tell sweet words to that special someone is rather affirming. And for some, a boost in the ego. Haha. 

Well, my own experiences have taught me better things than bitterness. And for all it's worth, they taught me to better appreciate the grandness of human relationships and loving someone; they taught me how to value emotions--the vulnerability that comes with opening yourself up to someone other than yourself and the passion that makes you to be brave for that person.

Yep, I meant that. Loving is always being brave. It is being brave to make someone happy; it is being brave to let that someone know you care; it is being brave to show sincerity and honesty towards that someone.

 But it is also being brave to hold emotions up especially when time is not yet right. It is being brave to examine the motive behind a feeling, the reason behind an emotion, and the purpose behind the pursuit. Even when people tell you that you have to go get it now and go pursue it now but if now isn't the right time for you and you say I'd rather wait--that is bravery! There's more bravery in being Mr. Right, compared with being Mr. Right Now. 

Man, there's so much bravery in waiting than we care to think. 

So, to sum up this rather random romanticisms, I'd like to share this article by Bianca Sparacino that I happen to find in Thought Catalog. While I desist on some of her notions by virtue of some subjective standards, I like the way she string her words and ideas the romanticist's way.

So here it is:

You ruin your life by choosing the wrong person. What is it with our need to fast-track relationships? Why are we so enamored with the idea of first becoming somebody’s rather than somebodies? Trust me when I say that a love bred out of convenience, a love that blossoms from the need to sleep beside someone, a love that caters to our need for attention rather than passion, is a love that will not inspire you at 6 am when you roll over and embrace it. Strive to discover foundational love, the kind of relationship that motivates you to be a better man or woman, the kind of intimacy that is rare rather than right there.

In the midst of this you will learn about yourself. You will grow, you will figure out what inspires you, you will curate your own dreams, your own beliefs, your own stunning clarity, and when you do meet the person who makes your cells dance, you will be sure of it, because you are sure of yourself. Wait for it. Please, I urge you to wait for it, to fight for it, to make an effort for it if you have already found it, because it is the most beautiful thing your heart will experience.

You ruin your life by desensitizing yourself. We are all afraid to say too much, to feel too deeply, to let people know what they mean to us. Caring is not synonymous with crazy. Expressing to someone how special they are to you will make you vulnerable. There is no denying that. However, that is nothing to be ashamed of. There is something breathtakingly beautiful in the moments of smaller magic that occur when you strip down and are honest with those who are important to you. Let that girl know that she inspires you. Tell your mother you love her in front of your friends. Express, express, express. Open yourself up, do not harden yourself to the world, and be bold in who, and how, you love. There is courage in that.

Let love take flight. In its most perfect time, it will soar relentlessly, fearlessly. 
Be brave.

*******

You may read the entire article here: http://thoughtcatalog.com/bianca-sparacino/2014/11/how-to-ruin-your-life-without-even-noticing-that-you-are/

Love Revolution now!

Today, the terms LOVE and RELATIONSHIP are two of the most commonly misunderstood concepts in human interactions. Popular culture exerts pressure on what should relationship look like, and how should love be interpreted or demonstrated. And due to heavy influences of the mass media and social media in our society today, sometimes even the negative interpretations of love get in the mindset of people, especially the youth.

So how should love be demonstrated? What should relationship be about? In this world of many conflicting narratives about love and relationship, where can we find a common ground? Does true and unconditional love still exist?

This four-week series titled “Love Revolution” will give students and youth a deeper understanding and appreciation of human relationships, in view of God’s truth. It will focus on other more important dimensions of love that we often take for granted: sacrifice, honor and dignity. 

We believe that today, the Christian and biblical version of love has a lot to offer to the seemingly distorted concepts that our culture has perpetrated in young minds. But we have to know it in order to appreciate it—and eventually, to demonstrate it to the world. 

Let the revolution begin.