Hoe werk tweede kanse...?
Lessons from the Jonah
series...
§
We saw that God is tolerant and patient with Jonah
§ God grants Jonah
chance after chance, even though he is disobedient and stubborn
§ God wil ons gebruik om die wêreld ‘n beter
plek te maak – elkeen van ons, sonder uitsondering! En God sal ons weer en weer
uitdaag met opdragte...
§ Maar God wil ook hê
ons moet verstaan, groei en volwasse raak. God doen baie moeite aan die einde
van die boek om Jona te help om te verstaan en om die waardevolle les te leer.
§ It’s a relief to
realise that God will always give us another opportunity! But what must we
expect of our ‘second chances’? Dis waaroor vanoggend gaan...
Laat ek begin met ‘n gelykenis...
THE PAPABLE OF THE FLOOD
Daar was eenkeer ‘n
woeste storm, met massas water wat uit die hemel val...
Die watervlak het
vinnig begin styg – en ‘n sekere man het besef hy het probleme!
Hy het ernstig begin
bid dat God hom sal red... En hy
het ‘n visie gekry van God wat hom wonderbaarlik
uit die hemel oplig en na veiligheid neem...! Toe hy klaar gebid het, het hy
sommer beter gevoel en op sy stoep gaan staan.
Sy buurman was nét
besig om met sy SUV daar verby te ry: “Kom!
Ry saam! Jy kan nie hier bly nie”, het sy buurman geskree. “Nee, dankie.
God gaan wonderwerk doen,” het die man geantwoord. Sy buurman
het sy kop geskud en weg gery, na veiligheid..
The water kept
rising, but the man had faith!
Iemand kom toe in
‘n roeiboot daar verby. “Klim in! Ek het
nog plek! Jy kan nie hier bly nie!”, skree die persoon. “It’s okay! Go
and save someone else! God is going to save me!” het die man geskree. En so
het die roeiboot verder gegaan...
Soon the water rose
so high that man had to sit on roof, but his faith prevailed...!
Reddingswerkers kom
toe daar verby in ‘n reddingsboot. Hulle het tot langs die man gery en gesê: “Meneer, klim in sodat ons jou na veiligeheid
kan neem!” Maar die man het geantwoord: “No, it’s not necessary! Go
rescue someone else! God save me!” So the lifeboat continued
onwards...
The situation
became desperate and the man became scared! He prayed with all his might,
believing that, at the last minute, God will save him!
He heard the sound
of a helicopter approaching. Over a loudspeaker someone shouted: “We are going to lower a rope. Fasten
yourself with the device and we will pull you to safety!” But the man shook
his head and shouted: “Save others! God will save me!” They shook heads
& flew off...
Then the flood
waters swept over roof and swept the man away... The poor man drowned!
When he reached heaven,
he stood before God and asked: “God, why
did you not save me? I believed in you with all my heart! Why did you let me
drown?”
To which God replied: “I sent you an SUV, a rowboat, a lifeboat and a helicopter - and you refused all of them! What else could
I have possibly have done for you?”
It’s
like Saint Augustine said: Pray as though everything depended on God.
Work as though everything depended on you...
Ek het al baie oor lesse gepraat, en ek sal waarskynlik nog baie daaroor
praat, maar ons moet ons koppe om “lesse” kry!
Lessons
1.
We
must all learn certain lessons to “make a success” of life. As ons nie hierdie
lesse leer nie, sukkel ons om ons finansies te bestuur, sukkel ons met ons
werk, sukkel ons met ons verhoudings, sukkel ons om gelukkig te wees... Ons
móét almal hierdie lesse leer! Lesse oor geduld, grense, balans, tevredenheid,
vergifnis en baie meer...
2.
There
are no mistakes, really; only lessons. Dit wat ons “foute” noem is maar net lesse
wat ons nog nie geleer het nie...
3.
Lessons
repeat until they are learnt. Dis goeie nuus, en Jona het dit vir ons bevestig!
As ons die les nie die eerste keer leer nie, hoef ons nie bekommerd te wees
nie. Ons sal weer ‘n kans kry. En weer, en weer, en weer...! Hierdie
lewenslesse hou aan om te herhaal tót ons hulle leer. Helaas...!
4.
Lessons
become more difficult as they repeat. Dis hier waar die probleem lê, want hoe
langer dit ons neem om ‘n les te leer, hoe meer pynlik raak dit. Die beste is
om ‘n les so vinnig as moontlik te leer, voor die pyn, frustrasie en bagasie te
veel raak... Lesse kan soms so moeilik raak dat hulle onmoontlik voel! Maar
hulle is nie onmoontlik nie! LEER hulle – and get it over with! Because they
are not going to go away...! Dis by verre die beste om lesse vinnig te leer en
dit agter die rug te kry!
5.
You
know you’ve learnt a lesson when your behaviour changes. As jy jouself in
dieselfde omstandighede as die verlede bevind, maar anders optree, weet jy jy
het die les geleer...
-
As jy
byvoorbeeld altyd bang was om openbare vervoer te gebruik en dit vermy het
(soos busse of die trein), en jy gebruik openbare vervoer, het jy die
les geleer...
-
Of as jy
altyd jou humeur verloor het in verkeer, en jy bly kalm, dan het jy die
les geleer...
-
As jy
verslaaf is aan iets (drank, koffie, sjokolade, dwelms, pornografie of
sigarette) en dit regkry om “nee” te sê waar jy voorheen “ja” gesê
het, het jy daardie les geleer...
So why do we struggle to learn?
Ek dink daar is
baie redes, maar hier is ‘n paar van die belangrikstes:
§ We like our comfort zones – rather the devil
you know than the devil you don’t...
§
We
prefer quick fixes to hard work – we tend to be a little bit lazy and
comfortable...
§ We battle with the discomfort of change and
uncertainly – it’s difficult! But difficult is ONLY difficult! Difficult is not
BAD...!
James helps us in our journeys
In The Message each book has a
short introduction, providing background to the book. This extract comes from
the introduction to the book of James:
“Christian churches are not, as a rule, model
communities of good behaviour. They are,
rather, places where human misbehaviour is brought out in the open, faced and
dealt with.
In the letter of James, deep and living wisdom is on
display. Wisdom is not primarily knowing the truth, although it certainly
includes that; it is skill in living. For, what good is a truth if we don’t
know how to live it? What good is an
intention if we can’t sustain it?”
Dis goeie nuus om
te besef dat ons nie veronderstel om dit alles “together” te hê nie... Die
gemeente, ons vriendskappe en ons kleingroepe is juis plekke waar ons kan
eerlik wees oor die lesse waarmee ons sukkel! But it is important for us to
become “skilled in living”. When we learn
the life lessons we move beyond good intentions.
James 1: 2 – 4
Consider (lead your
thoughts to a conclusion) it a sheer gift (complete delight),
friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that
under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its
true colours (TESTED: the process of finding what is real and genuine,
which is then approved).
So don’t try to
get out of anything prematurely (learn to “stay under” and learn).
Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed (completely
whole), not deficient in any way (not left wanting more).
Khalil Gibran put it like this: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that
encloses your understanding...
Conclusions
God will, again and again, give us new opportunities to correct our
mistakes of the past and live a good life... These new chances are challenging
for us!
§ We have to learn difficult lessons
§ We have to face change and uncertainty
§ We have to give up old comfort zones
§ We have to face our weaknesses
It would have been so much
easier if God just performed a miracle and did the work for us!
But it doesn’t work that way - and it doesn’t have to work that way!
God made us strong, able and resilient! We
can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13)!
The challenges of new opportunities are gifts! God uses them to coach
us, equip us, train us, develop us and make us whole! Resisting the challenges means resisting joy! Learning the lessons
leads to satisfying life! So, don’t be afraid of difficult times, uncertainty,
challenges and change! Don’t be afraid of facing your fears and learning the
lessons!
And if you are afraid and don’t learn, don’t worry! You will get
another opportunity to learn the lesson. And another... And another... J
But beware: it’s much easier to learn the lessons and experience the
resulting joy than to repeat the lesson and experience the resulting pain
James 1: 2 – 4
Dit mag ‘n
bitter pil wees om te sluk, maar dis die moeite werd!
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests
and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your
faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So don’t try to
get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and
well-developed, not deficient in any way.
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