which is translated to 'Berserah' in Bahasa.
It has been years since the first time I submit my life to my Dad's hand.
But shockingly to myself, I understand the point of submission today.
Once I have given an illustration to submit.
It is like you are giving your homework book to someone, but you are not letting your hand off the book. How can that person do your homework then if you dont let him have a COMPLETE CONTROL of your book?
... of your problems.
Being submissive deals with 100%, not 50%, not 99.9%, but it is absolute submission.
Another illustration, imagine you are buying ingredients for your chef friend.
You hand the ingredients to him so that he can cook his best food from your ingredients.
That means you submit your help-i-am-starving problem to your chef friend.
That's submission.
Little do preachers speak about the advantages of being submissive.
One of them is mentioned above already, which is so that the Person is able to control, develop your things (mainly problems if not all) to the best shape.. the best solution.
Another thing is that somehow I started to realize that there is nothing to lose if I am with Him.
Why?
By being submissive, several things that I cannot even imagine nor dream has been added to the parts of my life.. and that's not even because of me asking Him. Remember Matthew 6:33. He just gives me one. No conditions apply.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Now that I have it for free, what if I lose it? It is possible, right?
Hey, if I get it for free, why should I worry about it?
Besides, He is the prima causa.. the cause of everything.
I get my good mark because of Him giving me.
I get my job because of Him giving me.
I get my friends because of Him giving me.
He is free to give, He is also free to take.
However, I am just holding to the promise of Matthew 6:33.
If He takes what He gave, then I believe that means He is going to give something better.. far better.
That's the power of submission
Cool, huh?
Apabila membaca judul di atas, terasa ada sesuatu yang harus dibanggakan sehingga siapa pun yang meng-klaim bahwa dirinya adalah sosok yang ‘so special’ setidaknya mempunyai alasan-alasan tertentu mengapa orang tersebut mengategorikan dirinya sendiri sebagai sosok yang ‘so special’, lepas dari apa yang disebut ‘narsis’, ‘PD abis’ atau sejenisnya.
Ambil contoh saja, misalnya si Penulis sendiri (jadi biar diomongin ‘narsis’ juga tidak apa-apa daripada orang lain yang terkena getahnya).
Di Lingkungan Keluarga
“Do you love Ibu?”, demikian sebuah pertanyaan yang sering kutujukan kepada si Bungsu. Jawabannya selalu “YES” sambil kadang pakai malu-malu kucing mengekspresikannya atau terkadang disertai pelukan erat darinya. Duh, senang rasanya hati ini. Sambil kuelus-elus rambutnya, aku kembali berkata kepadanya, “Thank you, I love you too”.
Kakak-kakaknya pun tidak ketinggalan pula, mereka bahkan setiap kali menutup pembicaraan melalui telepon dan mengakhiri email-emailnya dengan mengatakan, “I love you” kepadaku.
Sedangkan Bapaknya sendiri (suamiku) juga tak kalah dalam mengekspresikan cintanya kepada sang istri. Masih hangat dalam ingatanku, sewaktu masih masa-masa bertunangan, HP-ku berdering setiap hari, dan bahkan sampai 3-4 kali sehari seperti jadwal minum obat saja. Hingga aku pernah menasehatinya untuk mengurangi frekuensi menelepon agar sedikit menghemat. “Tetapi itu lah pengorbanan”, katanya. Sampai-sampai seorang Dokter di salah satu RS Internasional di Surabaya yang menangani proses medical-ku untuk urusan persyaratan visa dan pernah bertemu juga dengan calon suamiku itu berkata, “Ntar kalau sudah married, pasti berbeda deh, khan setiap hari ketemu. Jadi mau ngomongin apa lagi”. Tetapi buktinya, … ternyata tidaklah demikian. Malahan suamiku hampir setiap hari menelepon dari tempat kerjanya hanya mungkin untuk mengatakan, “Hi Honey, how are you, ...” dan juga diakhiri dengan kalimat, "I love you!" kalau dia tidak benar-benar sibuk.
Di Lingkungan Pekerjaan
Umumnya teman-teman pada segan denganku karena aku termasuk orang yang tidak banyak omong dan tekun serta cepat dalam melakukan suatu pekerjaan meskipun sebenarnya aku tidak termasuk orang bertipe pendiam, malahan sebaliknya, ramah dan bersahabat.
Di Urusan Pertemanan
Karena aku termasuk seseorang yang bersahabat, maka tidak heranlah apabila aku masih mempunyai pertalian persahabatan sampai dengan sekarang ini dengan beberapa orang teman dari tiap-tiap level pendidikkan yang pernah aku lalui, yaitu dari SD, SMP, SMA dan Perguruan Tinggi, juga beberapa orang lainnya dari beberapa tempat di mana aku pernah/sedang bekerja saat ini.
Salah satu yang membuatku menjadi sangat terharu adalah salah seorang ex- anak bimbingan lesku yang dulu pernah kubimbing sewaktu aku masih di Indonesia, sudah menganggapku sebagai kakak sendiri sampai-sampai dia jauh lebih terbuka kepadaku daripada kedua orangtuanya atau kakaknya sendiri. Nasehat-nasehat dan saran-saranku selalu ditunggunya di setiap email yang aku kirimkan.
Di Urusan Organisasi dan Aktifitas-aktifitas lainnya
Sebenarnya aku termasuk orang yang kurang suka dengan urusan keorganisasian, tetapi entah mengapa namaku terus terpilih untuk menduduki salah satu jabatan dalam keorganisasian semenjak dari SMP hingga Perguruan Tinggi, meskipun aku sudah menghindar terus, tetapi semakin menghindar, semakin dikejar (ha,ha…!!!). Namun begitu, aku termasuk orang yang ‘menghasilkan’ pula dalam keorganisasian itu. Kalau tidak, ya mengapa pula mereka terus menerus memilih aku untuk mengisi jabatan ini dan itu (jadi GR nih ya, he,he…).
Untuk aktifitas-aktifitas yang lainnya pun banyak yang tidak aku lewatkan dari bidang Olah Raga, kesenian menari, menyanyi, menggambar, teater, pecinta alam, tulis menulis, kursus Bahasa asing (Inggris dan Perancis), Broadcasting, Public Relations, Komputer, memberi les-les private dari yang free sampai dengan yg dibayar tanpa aku pasang harga, serta kegemaranku untuk memasak, kerajinan tangan, tanam menanam (gardening) dan landscaping, semuanya tidak luput dari perhatianku. Sampai-sampai salah satu tanteku pernah menyebutku ‘Bunglon’ karena aku hampir bisa melakukan ini dan itu dari mulai pekerjaan rumah yang modelnya sekasar apa pun hingga aktifitas-aktifitas lainnya yang ‘bonafide’ (Nggak apa-apa lah, asal jangan ‘Bunglon’ beneran, he,he..!!).
Tetapi teman, ….. apa yang sudah aku sebutkan di atas tidaklah berarti apa-apa kalau aku tidak diselamatkan oleh yang di Atas sana.
“Oleh karena kasih-Nya kepada kita, maka dikaruniakannya anak-Nya yang tunggal kepada kita, sehingga barang siapa yang percaya kepadaNya, tidak akan binasa melainkan akan beroleh keselamatan dan hidup yang kekal”. Bahkan Dia yang tak berdosa itu, rela disiksa dan mati tergantung disalibkan, hanya karena ingin menebus dosa-dosaku. Betapa special-nya aku, sehingga Dia mau berkorban mati untuk aku.
Maka lengkaplah sudah aku menyandang gelar “I AM SO SPECIAL”oleh karena DIA yang telah menyempurnakannya. Terus terang, …..aku tidak bisa membayar segalanya yang free itu sebagai timbal balik kasih-Nya kepadaku, apalagi kalau dibandingkan dengan perngorbanannya yang luar biasa itu karena aku takut disiksa dan mati seperti DIA tergantung di kayu salib. Sungguh!!! Untuk itu aku hanya bisa memohon kepada-Nya agar aku boleh menjadi berkat untuk sesama demi kemuliaan nama-Nya serta menjadi sebuah lilin yang boleh menerangi dimana kegelapan itu ada. AMIN !!!
I finally found a glimpse of answer as I read the second book of Samuel chapter nineteen:
But in private Joab rebuked the king: "Now you’ve done it—knocked the wind out of your loyal servants who have just saved your life, to say nothing of the lives of your sons and daughters, wives and concubines. What is this—loving those who hate you and hating those who love you? Your actions give a clear message: officers and soldiers mean nothing to you. You know that if Absalom were alive right now, we’d all be dead—would that make you happy?
God is love and God loves everybody. He loves both saints and sinners because it is His nature to love. When God ceases to love, it means that God ceases to be Himself. God can’t ‘can’t love’ because He himself is love. The Bible says that Abba loves and gives to everyone, regardless how good and evil they are. God’s love to us is unconditional. He loves us when we keep his word and when we don’t keep his word. God is always consistent in his nature. There is no evil in Abba.
The sad fact is that not everybody wants to accept Abba’s love. They would prefer to make walls around themselves so that they are not loved by the Lamb and Lion of Judah. This is very clear in the story of the prodigal son. The eldest child always lives with his father and tries so hard to please the father, but he never comes to the heartbeat of his father. He is close physically, but emotionally he is more distant to the father than the youngest son. He is the prototype of people who lives a selfish life and refuses to love even his father. His motive is to get rid of the father and get the whole inheritance, but he’s doing it trickily. The younger brother also has the same motive but he is doing it without hypocrisy. He is what he is, a rebellious son. The father can see the beloved in both of his son because he is a loving father, but only one of them can accept the fact that he is the beloved, while the other one complains why he has never been loved.
David can see the beloved in everyone he meets, friends or enemies. He loves them all. But the so-called friend like Joab and his brothers are not actually real friends. They did everything for themselves, covered their motives, and never really listened to what David has said. That’s why David replaced his army commander from Joab to Amasa after the Absalom’s incident. Joab, just like the eldest child in the parable, complained why he has never been loved by David. He refused to be the beloved.
Jesus can also see the beloved inside the prostitutes and the tax collectors. He can even see it inside the Pharisees and the Sadducees, but they refused to be recognized as the beloved. They believe that by their own efforts, they have attained the right standing with God. They reject the idea of Abba’s grace because they knew it will make all their religious activities to be unnoticed. They will be in the same banquet with the people whom they regarded as spiritual nobodies if they accept the invitation from the Son of Man. It is their pride in outward part of the cup that make them unfit for the kingdom of God. The eldest son can never fathom the mystery of Abba’s grace to the prodigal son, whom his father considers as the beloved.
In order to be the beloved, all we have to do is to have faith in God’s love. Paul Tillich said that faith is the courage to accept acceptance. We must let Abba loves us in our brokenness. After we accept our identity as Abba’s beloved, we will naturally show our gratitude by loving God and people around us. When we love God, we will naturally keep his word and live in love. We will be able to see other people as the beloved and started to love our enemies. We become the beloved when ‘be Jesus’ and not ‘play Jesus’ to other people around us.
The above verses are taken from the book of Isaiah chapter 5 (New Living Translation) and they tell us about somebody who has made every efforts in order to get the best wine from his vineyard. First, it is told that the vineyard was built on a rich and fertile land which he has plowed and cleared from stones. It means that the owner has chosen the best possible place for his vineyard. Second, it is told that the owner has planted it with the best vines. It means that the owner has provided the vineyard with the best possible vine, which is in Hebrew called as ‘Sorek’. It is the grapes that had scarcely perceptible seeds. Third, it is told that the owner has built a watchtower in the middle of the vineyard. It means that the vineyard is well protected, provided with guards to watch the vineyard against the depredations of man or beast. Fourth, it is told that the owner has carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. It means that the owner has provided the vineyard with the facilities to produce the best wine. Based on what the owner has done to his vineyard, it is very understandable why he looked forward for a harvest of sweet grapes. But it is told in the end that the grapes were bitter instead of the fact the owner has done everything he could possibly do to get the best out of his vineyard.
Every businessman who started any business would likely to expect to get profit from his business. Every parent who raised children would likely to expect to have obedient children. Every farmer who planted his field would likely to expect to have plentiful harvest. Can you feel the heartache of the vineyard owner after knowing that the vineyard produced bitter grapes? This is how he felt:
Can you feel him when he said what more could he have done for his vineyard that he had not already done? What would he do next? Here is the answer:
What a sad ending to the vineyard that was truly loved by its owner. Moreover, it is told that the owner of the vineyard is The Lord himself:
The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the LORD of Heaven's Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression.He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.
Around 700 years after the words of The Lord were spoken by the prophet Isaiah, God-incarnated Jesus repeats almost a similar story. He spoke to the groups of religious leaders of Israel in Matthew Gospel chapter 21 (NLT). This is what he said:
"Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same. "Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, `Surely they will respect my son.' "But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, `Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him. "When the owner of the vineyard returns," Jesus asked, "what do you think he will do to those farmers?" The religious leaders replied, "He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest."Then Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures? `The stone that the builders rejected has now become the corner stone. This is the LORD's doing, and it is wonderful to see.' I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on." When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers."
In Exodus 19, God has provided a destiny for the nation of Israel. He wanted them to be his own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to him. And they will be his kingdom of priests, his holy nation (verses 5-6, NLT). This destiny was never fulfilled by Israel. That’s why God is designing a new chosen nation, that is the church. Apostle Peter said that God calls the church to be a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, they can show others the goodness of God, for he called them out of the darkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet 2:9, NLT).
`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.'
Brennan Manning was right when he said that “Christianity is not primarily a moral code, or an ethic, or a philosophy of life,” He adds. “It’s a love affair. Jesus takes us to the father, and they pour out the Holy Spirit upon us — not to be nicer people with better morals, but brand new creations, prophets, lovers, human torches ignited with the flaming Spirit of the living God.”
What God is looking for all these times are none other than the human hearts. It is the real home that God is longing to have. He is not pleased with the majestic temple made by King Solomon, but he is interested in dwelling among his people. Listen to the heartbeat of God when he said firstly to the people of Israel this love song:
For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. "The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the LORD rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. (Deuteronomy 7, NLT)
"All who love me will do what I say.
My Father will love them,
and we will come
and make our home with each of them.”
(John 14:23, NLT)
During these 2 days,
Several things have happened .. strangely indeed.
1. This white-guy called me and asked me to join his team to be the programmer.. perhaps even the head programmer if I can solve things they cant solve. Hehe.. This is about a company, which is based on my calculation is a promising company which has a big.. no.. huge perspective to go international. Wait a minute! This company is already go-international.
Anyway, thanks Dad!
2. My friend.. silly friend who has no capabilities except bravery (blabbering about things he can do, yet he can't.. sad) asked me to join his company to be (yet another) head programmer to develop websites. Which then could lead to tons of websites as I have been told that the clients are not just medium-sized companies, but also high-levels.. even those related closely to governments. Wooohhh!! Thanks again, Pop!
3. Not about company, just my writing about pirates have been selected to win the competition. Might not be that HIGH-lighted as the competitors are about 5-6. But still.. this is the first time I have won something in writing.. English writing. Sadly, it is just about a game. So instead of winning moneys, I won game items. :( Anyway, at least my writing quality has been classified highly. Hurrah!
Here goes the link:
http://www.voyagecenturyonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15169
These bring back old memories.. :)
Back then, during high school, I am submitting everything to my Dad about my daily life, while I am doing things to make my Dad smiling at me.
As the result.. although I got 6 or 7 or 8 at my exam marks, surprisingly my score hits the top-rank in my class. And that was even the best result I have achieved ever, compared to my previous nerdy studying-freak guy one year before (which only achieved 2-rank)
At this time, starting from that submission.. I have learnt many things about doing things that is beyond, what people call, DREAMS.
1. Back to some years ago, during the Babylon Tower tragedy.. God's promise is that everythings that human plans will happen accordingly.
2. God also says that, we as His princes and princesses, shall not be tails, yet heads. To lead, not to follow.
3. Last but not least is the famous sentence among Christians, is this:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you"
So what can you learn from my stories?
Here goes nothing:
NEVER BE AFRAID OF DOING SOMETHING BEYOND YOUR DREAMS!!
Strive for the best.
And if all seems to go wrong, dont fall behind.
Things will be better and better.. only if you keep moving forward, bros n sis.
God bless you
Kind regard,
me
Bentuklah aku Tuhan
Cobailah aku Tuhan
Selidiki Hatiku dan batinku
Mataku tertuju PadaMu
Begitulah bait pertama suatu nyanyian yang sering dinyanyikan di kelompok-kelompok PD saat aku masih di Indo. Begitu simple tetapi kalau ditelaah mendalam apa ya mereka yang menyanyikan itu benar-benar memohon seperti lagu yang mereka lantunkan???
Apakah mereka sadar dan siap bahwa pembentukan itu sangat sakit??? Belum lagi pencobaan hidup yang datang, apakah mereka benar-benar memintanya??? Malahan kalau aku boleh meminta, mohon Tuhan menjauhkanku dari pencobaan. Benar-benar nggak enak loh hidup dalam pencobaan itu. Yang pengin ngerasa, bolehlah cepat-cepat memohon kepadaNya.
Pembentukan iman itu seperti apa sih?? ....Mungkin bisa diambil contoh dalam pembuatan bejana yang harus diuleni dulu sebagai bahan tanah liat, kemudian dibentuk berkali-kali sedemikian rupa. Setelah mendapatkan bentuk yang sempurna, maka bejana itu siap dibakar untuk memenuhi fungsinya.
Proses itu pun kalau dimanifestasikan dalam kehidupan, duh, betapa beratnya ya. Aku telah melampaui masa-masa seperti itu. Sakitnya bukan kepalang loh. Benar-benar sakit, kalau nggak kuat sudah KO duluan nih!!! Tetapi dalam penderitaan itu, aku beriman 100% bahwa DIA tidak akan menutup mata kepada putriNya yang satu ini yg selalu setia kepadaNya (Ceilehhh!!! GR nih ye). Dan memang benar setelah bertahun-tahun bahkan puluhan tahun berselang, aku boleh merasakan buah dari kesabaranku. Kesabaran yg dikuatkan olehNya. Aku percaya bahwa tanpa DIA, aku sudah terseok-seok beberapa puluh tahun yg lalu.
Sekarang aku boleh melihat maksud Tuhan dibalik semuanya itu, sangat luar biasa tanpa pernah tergores sedikit-pun dalam pikiran ini. Luar biasa karyaNya dalam hidupku. Terima kasih Tuhan, Engkau telah memperkenankan aku melalui saat-saat itu karena kini Engkau telah membuka tingkap-tingkap langit agar aku menjadi salah satu saksiMu untuk menjadi berkat kepada sesama. Amin!!!
Siapkah engkau dibentuk seperti bejana????????
Selamat berjuang teman, Tuhan menyertaimu!!!! DIA tidak akan pernah meninggalkanmu.
