Best Christmas ever.
No doubt about that, best Christmas ever. Not just because of the presents and seemingly endless supply of awesome munchies, this year's greatest gift will withstand the test of time into eternity. Technically, it's not my present, but I still derive the pleasure from it. It is the ultimate demonstration of how forces beyond our control work to form the pieces in the larger picture. Beyond our control it may be, but we still have a role to play. Like anything worth the effort, the process towards achieving the goal is arduous as best, but at the end of the day, the finished product should make any pain suffered throughout worth it.
Yet, can we ever say we have attained the 'finished product'? There never seems to be an end as we strive towards perfection, albeit in the knowledge that perfection is not possible through human hands and human effort. In this case, it can be simplified into 'doing the right thing'. Alas, the 'right thing' is often the hardest to do. (Screw all the KI shit about 'what is right', that's beside the point.) It seems the only way to do the right thing, in order to prevent others from stumbling, is to deny yourself. It's not merely a self-preservation kinda thing, it's to preserve and protect the others around you as well.
'... set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.' - 1 Timothy 4:12b
Even though every move you make is judged by the world, neither their appraisals nor condemnations shoud mean anything. Ultimately, it's between you and God. Can you stand before Him on Judgment Day and know for certain that you have a place in heaven? Embracing rebellious tendencies and the like now may seem nothing more than tough talk, but eternal suffering is not a joking matter. Death isn't the end, it's only the cue for eternity to begin. What is the seemingly trying process of denying yourself 'pleasures' on earth now pales in worth when compared to the final reward which is eternal relief from pain.
And I know, there'll be no more tears in heaven.
Yet, can we ever say we have attained the 'finished product'? There never seems to be an end as we strive towards perfection, albeit in the knowledge that perfection is not possible through human hands and human effort. In this case, it can be simplified into 'doing the right thing'. Alas, the 'right thing' is often the hardest to do. (Screw all the KI shit about 'what is right', that's beside the point.) It seems the only way to do the right thing, in order to prevent others from stumbling, is to deny yourself. It's not merely a self-preservation kinda thing, it's to preserve and protect the others around you as well.
'... set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.' - 1 Timothy 4:12b
Even though every move you make is judged by the world, neither their appraisals nor condemnations shoud mean anything. Ultimately, it's between you and God. Can you stand before Him on Judgment Day and know for certain that you have a place in heaven? Embracing rebellious tendencies and the like now may seem nothing more than tough talk, but eternal suffering is not a joking matter. Death isn't the end, it's only the cue for eternity to begin. What is the seemingly trying process of denying yourself 'pleasures' on earth now pales in worth when compared to the final reward which is eternal relief from pain.
And I know, there'll be no more tears in heaven.