to be loved and to love

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return. " -- Moulin Rouge

One of my friend's twit reminded me of this quote from Moulin Rouge. It took me some effort to visit the original Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris two years ago. I still remember vividly how I alighted in Abesses Metro Station and climbed through its stairs, the station was real deep underground! The next stop was the famous Basilique du Sacré-Cœur at the summit of Montmartre. Satisfied with the fresh view of Paris from the top of the hill and a visit to the basilica, I took my breath and went through hilly roads and finally I sighted the Moulin Rouge. Well, enough about Moulin Rouge and a bit of reminiscence, I'd like to share something about love. Again, about love, a word which has gradually lost its deeper meaning..

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." -- John 15: 9-13

Why do we love others, how could we love others completely? It is because Jesus has first has loved us. Our love for others is built upon this solid rock! It is a blessed assurance, that the source of our love is the unceasing love of Jesus Christ Himself for us.

I once shared this to a best-friend of mine who once faced a problem of love. As a man, we tend to be more ignorant or "phlegmatic" in some way. I mentioned that, we are like a vessel, and the love of Jesus for us fill up this vessel, it fills this vessel until it becomes full, and it doesn't stop there! It fills up this vessel until this vessel cannot store all of it. That love itself overflows from this vessel to other vessels. And that's exactly what happen for us who's already in Him, that His love should be overflowing from us to others as well!

Well said, but it made me thinking, have I really been there?

"Love is the greatest of all because it's the essence of God's character. Love cannot go against the holiness, goodness, and righteousness of God, and love must be accompanied by the fear of the Lord." -- June 2010

on the nature of God and sins

I am writing this in a response to an entry in my friend's blog which can be found here

This is the citation from my friend's writing which I would like to address:

"My point is this language allows wars, killings and the use of force to defend the dignity of the religion if threatened. God (not capitalized because it loses my respect) in both text is described as vengeful and destructive. Holy Bible describes god’s anger when he swept out the whole mankind except Noah. This is not justifiable for whatever grave sins human has committed (it is said that god is forgiveful BIG JOKE). Another example is Sodom and Gomorrah incineration (can be found in Quran text as well). I find this god’s character, if not followed, interpreted extensively by both religions. No wonder, it incites so much vengeful character in both congregations."

First of all, it is about the nature of God. The bible, as Christians accept today, consists of two major parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. I have seen that many people tends to see that the "God" presented in the Old Testament and the "God" of the New Testament to be "two different gods", the basis of this is that, as mentioned in my friend's blog, someone could see the nature of God in the Old Testament to be vengeful, cruel, and so on and so forth. However, in the New Testament, it seems that we can see "a more plausible nature of God in term of His love towards humanities." Is this really the case? Are there really "two gods" in the bible? Of course the answer is no. There's only one true God and from the perspective of the completeness of the bible and of course with an assumption that God exists (note: the discussion the existence of God will be set aside first for now), I would like to present my argument from Christian's point of view.


How could we “reconcile” these two somewhat “contradicting” nature of God? The Bible should not and must not be interpreted parts by parts, rather as a whole. So, what is the whole Bible all about? The whole Bible only tells us one thing, from the beginning in the book of Genesis to the end in the book of Revelation, on the great redemptive plan that God has on humanities and the restoration of the Kingdom of God. The New Testament itself is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the completion of God's great redemptive plan which is manifested through Jesus Christ that came down to earth, became human in order to bear all of our sins and iniquities.


We could start from the Old Testament first. In the Old Testament, the first covenant from God was given to Abraham (Genesis 22:17-18):

"I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

This is the God's covenant to Abraham so that his descendants will be blessed (one of them is mentioned here is take possession of the cities of their enemies). God also made similar covenant with Isaac, and then Jacob which from him the 12 tribes of Israel were born.


In Exodus 19: 4-6, God’s purpose for Israel is mentioned:

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

Israel was chosen to be God’s treasured possession, kingdom of priests, and holy nation. God’s purpose in bringing Israel out of Egypt is that they would worship Him and become a holy nation for Him. Through them, His blessing should reach all the nations of the world. God also wanted to show through them to the other nations (which at that time still worship other gods such as Baal) that He is the one and only God, and no other gods beside Him. God helped Israel in their conquest of Canaan. This is also to fulfill God’s covenant to Abraham: “Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies.”


However, despite that all the greatness that God has shown to the people of Israel, the people of Israel kept turning away from Him and adore other gods. Israel has failed to fulfill the God’s given role: they failed to spread the Word of God to other nations, they failed to stay holy but rather they turned away to other gods.


God’s covenant with Abraham is then fulfilled through Jesus Christ, which is the “offspring [on which through Him] all nations on earth will be blessed." Thus, the final fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan was written inside the New Testament. I will now turn into answering the question on the problem of sins and then conclude the discussion on the nature of God:


Secondly, it is about the question, is it justifiable for God to, for example, swept the whole human kind in the story of Noah's flood? Perhaps we could start the discussion by defining “sin”. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God (Westminster Shorter Catechism). God is holy and His divine holiness sets Him apart from us, it covers all aspects of His transcendent greatness and moral perfection, and is characteristic of all His attributes, pointing to the “Godness” of God at every point. Therefore, the core is that God’s purity cannot tolerate any form of sin. “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). One example on how God could not tolerate sin is shown in Numbers 15:32: “they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day” and the God ordered for that man to be put to death. Even to the chosen people of Israel, God could not tolerate sins. This shows how grave sin is in the eyes of God.


In the case of Noah, God has given the mankind the time of 120 years to repent, but none turned back to God and “that the every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 5: 6). Only Noah and his family found to be righteous in His eyes and thus God flooded the earth and saved only Noah’s family. In order to answer the question on whether it is justifiable or not for God to do this, we need to understand the nature of sin itself which is totally intolerable for God which is holy.


These two points show the justice and love of God. God’s justice is shown by His intolerance against sins. God’s love is shown through His Son Jesus Christ which

“being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2: 6-7).

God’s intolerance against sins, all of His anger, was cast upon Jesus on the cross. Jesus bore all the consequences of our sins so “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Quoting Heidelberg Catechism,

“God is indeed merciful, but also just; therefore his justice requires, that sin which is committed against the most high majesty of God, be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment of body and soul, [and the only mediator is] Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

However, there's still one last question which perhaps remains. Could we understand God fully and thoroughly? Unfortunately for our own state, the answer is no. Why? If we could really understand God (in term of one-hundred-percent-certainty), what kind of God is that? Won't it be just a god that we created thus we can understand it very easily? But our mind is so much limited and could not (and will not in our current state) grasp God's fully. Adding to it, it's also because of all our logic and our mind has been polluted by sins, as Apostle Paul put it in Romans 3:23: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".


Of course this short text would not be able to answer all of your questions, but it will be good if we have the heart to listen and learn from others. I am also learning and seeking for the truth, I am open for discussions and I would like to further hear other’s view on this matter as well :)

to live is Christ

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain --Philippians 1: 21

The believer did not always live for Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Savior making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth, the believer begins to live for Christ. Jesus is to believers the "one pearl of great price" (Matt. 13:46), for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love that it beats alone for Him. To His glory we would live and in defense of His Gospel we would die. He is the pattern of our life and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words mean more than most men think. Many would say that Paul's words imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ, but rather, his life itself was Jesus! In the words of an ancient saint, he did "eat and drink and sleep eternal life." Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this ideal? Can you honestly say that for you "to live is Christ"? Are you doing your work for Christ, or are you working toward self-aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a base reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ. How can he live for another purpose without comitting spiritual adultery? Many carry out this principle in some measure, but who would dare to say that he has lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet this alone is the true life of a Christian -- its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end. It is all gathered up in one word:

Jesus. Lord, accept me. I present myself praying to live only in You and for You. Let me be as the bullock that stands between the plough and the altar. Let my motto be "Ready for work or for sacrifice." -- let this be our prayer

first sermon this year

This morning I went for a New Year’s service in my church. It was a relay from the service led by Rev. Dr. Stephen Tong from Messiah Cathedral, Jakarta. The service started at 8am WIB or 9am SGT. I managed to wake up early today, but a bit sleepy since I arrived back at 2am last night after a new year’s countdown celebration and dinner in Effendi’s place. I would like to share some points which is mentioned by Rev. Tong during the service this morning.

Rev. Tong started the service quoting one of the parables that Jesus mentioned in the Bible. It was from the Gospel of Luke 13: 6-9:

And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Rev. Tong relates this parable of a barren fig tree with Christians. The ground resembles all the blessings and talents that God has given to all of us. Many different interpretations exist for this parable. The Reformation Study Bible that I use, the note for this passage is like this: “A vineyard was fertile soil for a fig tree and ‘three years’ points to an established tree. It was unlikely that it would ever bear fruit, but it was given one more chance. That God does not punish sinners immediately does not mean that He approves of their sin. Rather, His patience shows He is merciful and they should repent while there is time.” A different interpretation that Rev. Tong used in his sermon was maybe because he wanted to relate it to the concept of God’s sovereignty and justice.

Rev. Tong explained that to every human that God has created, God has granted them with different talents. Some of us are given a lot of talents, but some of us maybe only have a few of them. Why? Does this means that God is unjust to His creations? No! The concept of justice that we as human have is totally different. God in His own sovereignty has the right as a Creator to create us according to His will. Rev. Tong gave one analogy related to this. He said, aluminum can be casted into a pot and something else (I forgot what is this something, but definitely something more expensive than a pot. I will just put an airplane here, as it doesn’t really change the meaning). Clearly, an airplane has a much higher value than a pot, but what can the aluminum do? One creator has decided to make the aluminum into a pot, and another one into an airplane. The creator has a so called “his own sovereignty” to decide how he wants to shape the aluminum.

But again, every of us will have the same responsibilities related to the talents that we got from God. As Jesus mentioned in another parable about talents from Matthew 25:14-30, all of those servants that had received the talents from their master should work on the talents they got with a full responsibility. Rev. Tong reminded us that those who had received more talents, more will be demanded from them; and those who had received fewer talents, less will be demanded from them. Have you work on your talents with full responsibility, or do you act like the servant with just one talent which did nothing with the talent he had received? I kept pondering upon this question, and tried to relate it with my own conditions.

Rev. Tong also quoted something from the “Analects” (论语) from Confucius. Confucius mentioned about four qualities that differ a “gentleman” from a “little man.” Those four points are: prudence, fortitude, sense of justice, and self-control. A gentleman must have all of these four qualities, and a little man lack one or more from these four qualities.

I didn’t take any note during the sermon; all that I wrote here is based on my memories. Yeah, I think I should start taking notes during every sermon that I attended so I can re-read them and reflect on them one more time. So, from today’s sermon, the most important message that I think Rev. Tong wanted to deliver is that we should use this new year wisely, to really work on those talents that God has given us with a full responsibility. What are your talents? Have you work on them responsibly? Or do you prefer to act like the servant that received only one talent? Have you thanked God for all things that God has given to you, although they seem to be less than others had received?

year end reflection

In a few hours, the year 2008 will come to an end and a new year will greet us. I have a habit of making self-reflection every end of the year and making a new year’s resolution the day after that. Yeah I hope this doesn’t become something legalistic and a yearly routine which means the reflection and the resolution and I made every year just become something that “I must do every year for the sake of just doing it” but I really want them to shape me to be a Christlike Christian.

I came upon this popular verse from the Bible during my quiet time today. It’s from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. “For everything there’s a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (ESV, v.1). Although I’ve heard this passage for so many times, yet it reminded me again and again that there’s always an appropriate time for everything! I still prefer to “laugh” rather than to “weep”, to “dance” rather than to “mourn”, to speak rather than to silence. All of our times are in God’s hand. In every season that we are currently in, remember to trust God. Trusting Him should be the only thing that knows no seasons. Some questions came as I pondered upon this passage. Do I really letting Him to take control of my whole life, do I really trust Him? Or do I sometimes struggle to take the steer back from His control? Do I have the sensitiveness to hear His calling and His will on me? Or did I ever insist to do this and that even though I knew it clearly that it’s not yet the time for me, just because of my lack of self control and my lack of trust to His plan?

Yeah, I used this day to reflect back on what have I done in this year. Many things have happened in this year. I got a chance to go to Germany for an exchange program for one semester (it was from March to the end of August), able to visit my uncle and aunt there, making new friends, and traveling! I was able to see how many people have turned away from God. And one thing that I regretted so much is that during that exchange time, I was far from Him… During the last month of my stay in Europe, God helped me to rise up again. When I returned back to Singapore, many things have changed. Some of my friends did really change. Think because of the camp last May. Many of them said that it was a life-changing camp. Somehow I regretted going to Europe just wasting money, travelling for nothing. I felt that I should have stayed in Singapore with my friends and join in the camp. When I was in Europe, I hardly contacted them. But one of my friend said, “You have an experience of your own there in Europe.” Simple yet true, I have a chance to see how so many people have become morally degraded, I can feel the time of loneliness and away from Him, and a joyous time when He rebuked me and called me back.

Back to the passage from Ecclesiastes, I found that I am still lacking in my trust on His plan. I worried too much about things that I shouldn’t have worried about, on things that in the end He will provide me. I really want to live according to this verse: “For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (ESV, Matthew 6:32-34).

I haven’t found the path that God has provided me to go, the “good works” that He has provided for me to do. I’m still praying for the possibility to serve Him fully, or to work and then continue my study and serve Him as a tentmaker. My prayer is so that God lead me to understand His will for me, for I have seen and felt His own mercy and goodness in my life.

This year as well, God rebuked me so hard. God showed me everything that I’ve done in the past that is not unsightly in His eyes. He showed me how bad and unworthy I am. I remembered the first time I have given myself for Him in December 2006, and what have I done from that day onwards? Nothing! I didn’t become better, stagnant, or perhaps getting worst. I kept repeating the same mistake again and again, the same sin again and again. I tried to run from that commitment that I’ve taken in the year 2006. I was reprimanded. I had so much regret about those few years back, pondering whether or not I can return back and fix up everything (of course this is just a stupid wish). But how easy it is if people can go back to their past just to fix everything that they felt it isn’t right. God doesn’t want us to be like that, not even me. He wants us to learn from past mistakes that He had showed us, and to closely follow Him in order to change. God has revealed Himself to me and make me believe in Him of course not for nothing. He already gave me one more chance to change myself. And this is it, a time for change. I won’t let this chance go away just like so many previous chances God has given me. There are many things that I need to change and I need to learn…

I also have a communication problem. Did you know why God created men with 2 ears and just 1 mouth? It’s because He wants us to listen two times more than we speak (this is just my own interpretation ha2.) And this is what I lack. I talked too much! Worst is that I rarely talked about how I felt and what’s my feeling about this and that… (Singaporean called it “talking cock”:P). Maybe it is because I never really talked about my own feelings to my family. My mom is the closest person in my family, but I didn’t really tell her my feelings. It will be very awkward for me. With my younger siblings, the same thing also happened. With my dad is worst. One counselor in my university’s Christian fellowship once said this to me, “Although you really like to talk, you are still the most mysterious person I know.” I was surprised. It was 3 years ago, during my first camp in Singapore. From that time onwards, I tried to express my feelings to my friends but I still found it hard, and even on some cases very hard. When I have a conflict with someone, or when I felt a disappointment with someone, I didn’t feel like talking to them. A childish attitude, and indeed that’s what I usually did. Another bad thing related to my mouth is that sometimes I talk before I think what are the consequences of talking about this and that to the other people. This is worst. Many of my friends have become disappointed with me because of this. Being a stumbling block for other people is something that many Christians wanted to avoid of course. That applies to me as well…

God has showed me so many things this year…

I’m going to close this year without anymore regret. And I would like to close this reflection with a psalm from David:

“I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

--Psalm 16: 7-10

surprised

It's been a while since my last post in this blog. Actually, just now, I got a surprised from my friends in ISCF (Indonesian Students' Christian Fellowship). Ci Yenty, Ian, Yusita, Erlin, and Johni came to my room today. Actually, today I had another check-up round in NUH, from 10 am to 4 pm. It was really tiring. I went home and slept for, hmm I think three and a half hours :p. When I woke up, I felt very hungry. To save up money, I decided to cook my favorite instant noodle (Indomie hehe). I asked Johni to accompany me in the kitchen. To my surprise, he brought a bunch of people. I was very surprised! I just woke up, my room (actually Jetan's room, coz I'm now staying in his room until 26 Dec hehe) is very messy.

Actually, they were here to pray for me. I was very touched. Hmm, not was, but I am still very touched. Sometimes, I feel very lonely in this world... But I shouldn't feel lonely anymore. I have Him, My LORD, with me, with His unchanging love and guidance; I have my family who always love me as I am; I have this fellowship, all friends in ISCF who's always supporting each other, who always care and love each other. I am ashamed of myself.. Why do I always keep thinking that I am lonely when so many people do care about me...

Oh ya, continuing my story... The six of us had a dinner together in Jetan's cluster's kitchen. I cooked my favorite Indomie and the rest already bought their foods in PGP's canteen. We talked about a lot of things but mainly I shared about my own condition. At the end of our dinner, they prayed for me...

Everyday, every hours, every minutes,

I can feel God's blessings..
I don't want to be only the 'container' of those blessings,
I want to be the channel of blessings,
for all people around me...

My Eye Condition
Ok, as I've said above, I had a another check-up in NUH yesterday and today. Yesterday, I met with Dr. Caroline Chee. She checked my left eye. There are another doctors with her. The one that I remember is Dr. Fadi. Yesterday, they said that my problem is not a retinal displacement but some sort of inflamation. To find out the cause, I did several laboratory investigations, mainly on blood, and a chest X-Ray.

They took ten tubes of my blood for the laboratory investigations. Right after they took my blood, I felt a headache. Maybe because I haven't had my breakfast. The nurse told me to have my lunch as fast as possible so that I won't be fainted. It was a very tiring day...

Today, most of the laboratory results are out. I need to undergo two more angiography test today. The first is Indocyanine Green Angiography (IGA) . Another test is the Fundus Flourescein Angiography (FFA). I cannot explain about these tests, hmm you can check this website: http://www.vrmny.com/angiography.htm

The procedure for IGA is like this. The nurse injects dye into my body. The dye is yellowish. Oh ya, before the injection, the nurse check whether I have any allergies on the dye. Fortunately, I don't have, so they can continue the procedure. After several minutes after the dye entering my body, my eye ball became yellow. The doctor then took several photos of my eye. The nurse asked me to drink a lot of water after the test so that the dye can be dispensed through my urine. My urine also became very yellow, thanks to the dye hehe.

Dr. Chee told me today that the problem is caused by the Toxoplasmal infection. I think my Toxoplasma IgA test is positive but the Toxoplasma IgM test is negative. This Friday, I will undergo another check-up round to confirm this. I have put everything unto His Hand, because He is my only source of strength:

Psalm 28: 7-9 (NIV)

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy

and I will give thanks to him in song.

The LORD is the strength of his people,

a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Save your people and bless your inheritance;

be their shepherd and carry them forever.

~Because He Lives~
1. God sent His Son - they called Him Jesus,

He came to love, heal and forgive;

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. (Chorus)

2. How sweet to hold a newborn baby

And feel the pride and joy he gives;

But greater still the calm assurance:

This child can face uncertain days because Christ lives. (Chorus)

3. And then one day I'll cross the river,

I'll fight life's final war with pain;

And then, as death gives way to victory,

I'll see the lights of glory - and I'll know He lives. (Chorus)

Chorus:

Because He lives I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

This song reminds me of a lot of things...

I made a wallpaper out of it hehe

what's the true meaning of christmas anyway?

I am not a baby Christian, I was baptised when I was still a baby. But yet, what's is the meaning of Christmas for me?

When I was still a kid, my mom always told me many stories about Christmas, from Jesus who was born in a manger, the three Magi from the East, Santa Claus and his reindeers, she told me everything. However, one thing that attracted me most as a kid is the Santa Claus story. My mom told me that Santa always come on the Christmas night to bring presents for kids. At that time, I really believed in her story, I believe that Santa Claus is exist! I remember one night, I insisted on staying awake to wait for Santa Claus to come, but I could not make it. In the morning, under the Christmas tree, I saw many presents. Woa, I was so happy, but I was also sad because I missed the chance of meeting Santa Claus. The presents were a new cloth and toys. I kept believing that those presents are really from Santa Claus until 5 years later I realised that they were from my mom. My mom wake up very early in the morning to set the presents under the Christmas tree. At that time, I realised that Santa Claus is just a bedtime story from my mom.

Before I went to Singapore, I always spent every Christmas with my entire family, having a christmas dinner, watching a christmas movie, and attending christmas celebration at my local church. I only thought Christmas is a time for us to celebrate, parties are everywhere! Even in Jakarta, many malls set up many Christmas decorations and hold great sales with tempting discount rate. The only thing I know is that Christmas equals party time.

However, is it really Christmas our Lord want us to have?
There are several points to consider: (note: different denominations may have their own different view on some points I mention here)

Christ was born to the world. Yes, but for what purpose?
Every christians should know the answer to this question. Yes, Jesus Christ was born to atone our sins. We learned this since our primary school. Our teachers in the sunday school always stressed this fact again and again. Christ was born to die on the cross as an atonement to our sins.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." (John 3: 16-17, NASB)

If we never received any miracles or good things in our life, we still need to be ever thankful. Why? Because of this greatest grace that the LORD our God has given to us, all who believe in Him, the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Adam has fallen into sin by following Satan's calling. Therefore, all of the descendants of Adam (all men) are born with this sin, the original sin. As the scripture said: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NASB).

Christ came to this sinful world to take all the men's sin with Him on the cross. "Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit" (John 19:30, NASB). What is finished? Jesus had finished His divine task on this world, to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29b).

Now, for whom Jesus died on the Cross?
Indeed Jesus died on the cross for all men, however not all men can receive this atonement. We know this as the doctrine of limited atonement (definite atonement). Only those who are faithful to Him and already received Him as the only saviour can receive this atonement. Thus, LORD our God has already known for sure all "His sheeps".

"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." (John 10:14-15, NASB)

God chose a group of people, who would not and could not choose Him to be saved apart from their works or their cooperation, and those people are compelled by God's irressistable grace to accept the offer of the salvation achieved in the atonement of Christ. Since in this scheme God knows precisely who the elect are, Christ needn't atone for sins other than those of the elect.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14, NASB)

Now, when we know these things, what's our response?
We now understand that we have received the atonement from our sins. We are worthy of this grace only because of Jesus. These all are because of our faith on Him. But now, how's our response? Is christmas is just a time to party? When we know the reason of this celebration, what we need to do is a self-reflection. What we have done in this one year? Do we getting better and better and all things that we do reflect His perfectness? Do we getting closer and closer of being like Christ, or otherwise? We are being dragged away from Him. I left these questions for us to answer...

Song - He's Everything to Me
In the stars His handiwork I see, On the wind He speaks with majesty.
Though he ruleth over land and sea, What is that to me? (Refrain)
I will celebrate Nativity, For it has a place in history.
Sure, He came to set His people free, What is that to me? (Refrain)

Refrain:
Till by faith I met Him face to face, And I felt the wonder of His grace,
Then I knew that He was more than just a God who didn't care
That lived away out there and Now He walks beside me day by day,
Ever watching o'er me lest I stray, Helping me to find that narrow way,
He's everything to me.