Being a true Christian is hard. But I think you know this al¬ready, or possibly, only too well. It may be a familiar cliche but I still want to harp on it. Isn’t it all too common when we pray for some¬thing, and the answers (if there is any) turns out no better, if not more confusing than before we asked God for help? Most of the time, we aren’t even sure whether God answers. When we suffer, we are expected to be patient and to remain faithful no matter what happens. On the occasions when we are persecuted, we are taught to persevere. God demands of us to be intently and unfailingly loyal to Him. There is no other way. Now, it doesn’t make much sense when an omnipotent God re¬quires us to submit in blind faith. Is it possible that God can be that in¬secure?

When we see non-believers and wayward Christians enjoying world¬ly pleasures, fame and fortune, sometimes even at the expense of Christians, we are told not to cherish earthly treasures. Our treasures are in heaven. So, if we are impoverished, powerless and vulnerable on this earth, that’s okay. Honestly, here again, I find this notion difficult to accept.

Worst of all, we are told that God works in mysterious ways. We are told that God works in mysterious ways. We are also brought up to believe that no one can understand Him, and He does not respond to us in ways that humans want or think. A true Christian, therefore, is to subscribe unquestioningly blind faith. To me, any¬one who testify to true belief in God is either pretending or living in denial. In all honesty, I sometimes think God is playing a bad joke on us. He made us the imperfect beings that we are, and expect us to withstand all the uncertainties and complexities of the universe He created. Am I right to think in this way?

Christians serving in various minis¬tries are told not to expect earthly re¬wards or compensation, that the joy of serving in itself is the true reward. Let’s see, if we believe in God here, we get salvation. That’s fair enough. But then, that’s it! The bucks stop there. Anything else we do for God is because of our commitment to serve Him – a sort of a transformation pro¬cess where we are devoted to pleas¬ing God.

The correct Christian theology is that eternal life is gained by faith and not by works. And faith is dead if it is not accompanied by or manifest¬ed in deeds. Deeds in servanthood and obedience are not to be used in exchange for more divine blessings and provisions. Divine providence is totally at the discretion of God, regardless of any human deeds, ser¬vice and loyalty.

God has already given us His one and only Son – who died for our sins in order that anyone who believe in Him will not die eternally, that’s the reward for everything. God need not answer any more of our prayer re¬quests or reimburse us for anything we do for Him. All is already paid for in Christ and by Christ. Isn’t this fact so straightforward and simple to understand? Why didn’t I think of this before? All this while, I keep asking God for this and that, and I served expecting to be rewarded. Now I understand how frustrated God is with me. What more need He do for me? His Son has died on the cross for me! He has given me eternal life. Is that not enough? What else do I want? What more can I ask for?

If He wished to, the Almighty Jesus Christ, as Son of God, can make the whole world believe Him in the blink of an eye, or a flick of His fingers. However, He doesn’t want to do it all by Himself. He is giving us a chance to share in this great commission. Aren’t we being ungrateful in asking rewards for this? The opportunity to be part of His salvation plan is al¬ready a great privilege.

Let’s do some accounting here. God’s Son died for our sins. He gives us eternal life. He lets us have the chance to be part of His grand plan. This is a lot of giving on His side. We shouldn’t be asking for more, especially earthly gains. In fact, we shouldn’t be doing any more asking. We should be giving thanks to Him all the time.

However, we don’t know how to do that, do we? When we serve, we of¬ten follow up by asking for favours in return. We learnt this from young, and it has become second nature to ask for compensation or reward. What has happened to our theology here?

To add to the confusion, we are taught in the Bible to ask of God. Matthew 7:7 (NIV) says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Reflecting on this, we are tricked by our own interpretation of “asking of God”. We think that asking means requesting for wealth, health, peace, and other human needs. The true meaning of Matthew 7:7 is that if we ask for our sins to be forgiven, God will grant us forgiveness without penalty. When we seek salvation from Him, we will find eternal life. Finally, when we knock on His door, God will never refuse us but will welcome us into His house any time.

Now, things are beginning to be clearer. I know now that we are meant to suffer on Earth, because this is not our permanent home. We do not expect to have a good life on Earth all the time, for the better life is in heaven and to be with God. We cannot expect to find absolute peace on Earth because this world is not a place of solace. If we think otherwise, we will be utterly disap-pointed with life. There is no need to want or request more, for all has already been given when Christ paid the penalty for our sins. Finally, we serve the Lord because of our grati¬tude and devotion to Him, and not in exchange for any earthly gains. This is what I think. What do you think?

Edmund Sim,
Faith Methodist Church, Kuching