In the past months, three of our friends passed away. Right now, we have two friends who are battling with a terminal disease. Several old friends of mine are suffering from broken vows. These things are a bit too much to handle. One thing that we can see here is that pain, whether we are religious or not, are present in our lives. We can’t avoid them by joining religious groups, having positive thinking and pursuing happiness. As long as we are here in this broken world, we will experience hurts, pains, diseases, and aloneness. In fact, we already have our own share of these things in one way or another.

Since we cannot escape these things in our lives, the question that we need to ask is to whom do we turn to and why?

Most of us, our default is to turn to the person that we trust most. They could be our family, close friends, or even express our feelings to social networking sights. Those things are not bad. It could help us. However, humans have limitations. Though they want to be with us in times of crisis, there would be times that they could not be with us to sit and chat. That does not mean that their bad. It only means that they are not available. The point here is that people do fall short of our expectation. People disappoint us. Sometimes we can rely on them. But there are also times that we cannot rely on them. They may be our reason for being happy. Yet they can also be the reason why we are living a miserable life.

Now, I know of a man who once walked on this planet. For three years, his life was like a circus. There were times that people flocked around him and adored him. Yet there were those moments that people can’t help but to spread bad gossips about him. There were even moments that some people wanted to kill him. In his time of need, he pleaded with his friends to stick by his side but they couldn’t. One of his closest friends stabbed him in the back. When time came that he was about to leave this world, when he was about to breathe his last breath, he felt like he was abandoned by his dad. He felt alone on his death bed. You knew this guy. His name was Jesus…

Jesus experienced the things that we are experiencing here on earth. Rejection, aloneness, abandonment, and betrayal are not foreign to Him. He experienced it, He felt it and He endure it. The funny thing is that he doesn’t have to experience these things first hand. He is strong and mighty. Yet He became weak and fragile without sinning. He became a human. Why? For you, for me and for all of us. He wanted to tell us “hey, I experienced what you are going through right now. And you know what? I overcome the world (John 16:33). So come to me and let me help you go through that pain, lean on me and let us walk together in this world, I know how your life should be like (Matt 11:28-30). I can fix whatever that is broken in your life (Rom 8:28).

Heb 4:14-16 (MSG)
14 Now that we know what we have — Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God — let’s not let it slip through our fingers. 15 We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all — all but the sin. 16 So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The LORD brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” -Judg 6:11-16

Everybody loves a hero. A hero always gets the job done. Though he has weaknesses yet he prevails and saves the day at the end of the story. Heroes are all over the bible. These are ordinary men chosen by God and made a difference in their generation. One of them is Gideon.

When Gideon was called by God through His angel he responded “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?” This guy was so typical emo type of a guy. He was just called a hero by a mighty angel and he gave a whining answer. Why should he not? They were hiding in caves and mountains in their own country because of their enemies. He has all the rights to rant. He has all the reason for whining. He’s so much like you and me, complaining in a messy situation.

Every hero in a comic book was born in a messy situation, a place where hope was almost gone. Gideon was no exception. He was in a place where everybody was confused. He was in an environment where fear gripped their hearts. Yet given the situation, he chose to step up and rise above the situation. And that’s what made him a hero. When everybody was complaining, when everybody doesn’t want to do anything about the situation, when everybody was just going along with the flow of fear and doubts, when everybody was pointing finger of who’s to blame, GIDEON CHOSE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

In a place where everything seems to be out of place, we complain, blame one another, compare others, and voice out our own opinions. Guess what, everybody can do that. Everyone is a talker in this post-modern world. Talking will not do any good in any situation. It will only make it worst. People who talks a lot but actually don’t do anything is a ZERO; they are nothing. What we need right now is a HERO. People who grumble like Gideon yet choose to rise above the situation by doing something about it. Even if the challenge is great, even if the task is overwhelming, even if the risk is high, heroes always rise up and do something about the situation. They will not save their faces but sacrifice themselves. That’s what it takes to be a hero.

So the choice is yours, are you gonna be just a talker? Then you are a ZERO. Just like the rest of the world. Or will you rise up and do something that would make a difference? Then you are a HERO.

Ayan February 14 na naman. Balita ko ang trapik na agad sa EDSA. I overheard someone saying “valentines kasi kaya trapik.” Ang daming mga tao ngayon na may dalang bulaklak. Monday pa lang ang dami ng status sa FB about love. At sa buwan talaga ng February nag-lalabasan ang mga hopeless romantic people. Para bang requirement na pag valentines day ay dapat may ka-date ka. Well sa totoo lang madami tayong dapat matutunan sa mga lolo at lola natin pag-dating sa love. Paano ko nasabi yun? Sige! let me tell you about today’s generation when it comes to love.  

Unahin natin ang karamihan ng mga guys ngayon. Maraming guys kasi na ayaw manligaw at ayaw mag pursue ng girl ng matagalan or seryosohan. Gagawin nila pipilitin nila maging close ang girl sa kanila simply because they “want to test the waters” muna using “friendship” and get an idea kung type sila ng girl or if may chance ba sila kung manliligaw nga sila. Now if they sense na may chance sila then they will go ahead. Or chances are, they may not even go through the courtship stage. MU na lang sila. Ano ba ang MU? Well pag magkasama sila they do the things ng mga couples minus the committment. So ang saya di ba? Sweet sa isat-isa without commitmments.    

Let’s face it. Madaming mga guys ngayon na ganun ang gawain. Well hindi lang naman mga guys, may mga girls din na ganun ang gawain. Papaasahin nila ang mga guys kahit from the very start wala silang plans to have a relationship with the guy. Papaikutin nila ang guy simply because they want the feeling of being wanted ng maraming guys. That feeling becomes their sense of worth. Guys became their trophies and they feel important as an individual.  

So as a result, madaming broken hearted. Nasaktan si girl kasi umasa. Nasaktan si guy kasi umasa. Madaming single mom na teeners kasi MU lang at walang committment sa isa’t-isa. Or to simply put it we love the warm fuzzy feeling of being in-love. Hinahabol-habol natin yung “kilig factor” that comes with the relationship. It’s not a bad thing naman. Pero kung yun lang ang habol natin we will find ourselves jumping from one relationship to another. Kaya nga madaming couples na nag hihiwalay kasi ang reason nila “the feeling is not the same anymore” or “they don’t have feelings anymore toward their partner.”    

Well I’m not gonna be popular sa mga sasabihin ko sa inyo. In fact you guys will even hate me for saying this. Pero alam niyo, when you get married, yung warm fuzzy feeling na hinahanap-hanap natin, yung “kilig factor” na sobrang gusto natin, it just comes and goes. Yun ang pinag-kaiba ng mga lolo at lola natin sa atin. Tayo ang definition natin ng being in-love ay yung kinikilig tayo at lambingan. Kapag nawala na yung kilig sa isat-isa hiwalay na and hahanap na ulit ng ibang ka-relationship. Yung mga lolo at lola natin, ang definition ng love sa kanila COMMITMMENT. Sure dumaan din sila sa kilig factor. Sure hinabol din nila ang kinikilig sila sa courtship stage. Pero when the feelings are gone, they stick together. When the feelings are gone they don’t look for another person just to experience the “kilig” thing. They stayed true to their partner regardless of their feelings toward each other. “They love their partner” and not the “feeling of being in-love.” Kaya nga ang generation ng mga lolo at lola natin umaabot ng 30 years, 50 years and even 60 years ang marriage nila. Sadly nowadays mataas ang rate ng hiwalayan at nag papa-annul.    

So let’s ask ourselves, ano ba ang hanap ko, to “commit” myself to a “life time partner?” Or  ”I just want the feeling of being in-love?” Sabi nga ng matatanda, “ang pag-aasawa ay hindi parang kaning mainit na kapag isinubo mo at napaso ka ay puwede mong iluwa.” At sabi nga ng pastor namin mas mahal ang mag pa-annul kaysa pag-aasawa.