Balance

i have heard many pple say that Christian walk is not a sprint but a marathon so at some point, i felt that to live a truly sustainable Christian life, balance is terribly important.

Balance meant using the wisdom and intelligence which we were given to match all the resources (time, money, energy) that we have against all the responsibilities we have (employee, son/daughter, sibling, shepherd, etc), bearing in mind the very important fact that when we bite off more than we can chew, we will burn out. The natural conclusion is that we must always keep some reserve for ourselves becos this is the best way to ensure that we will be able to walk with God in the long run.

The other day, Huaqiang showed me something amazing in the bible. In John 6, the bible talks about how a great multitude of pple was following Jesus and at some point they were hungry but couldn't get anything to eat. Then Andrew brought out this boy who had 5 loaves of barley bread and 2 fishes and eventually Jesus used these things to feed the five thousand plus people.

It is not something which i've not read before. However, whenever we read this, we'd see the point of the story as "God can do amazing things which humans don't expect" or "God can multiply talents/gifts/things". Huaqiang pointed out something which i never realised:

Like the rest, the little boy was there becos he was following Jesus, which is a great thing. Although the rest of the people are hungry, he easily had enough food to last himself an additional day or two. Going with the concept of 'balance', the optimal way of doing things is to keep the food for himself so that he can continue to follow Jesus for a few more days. This is a perfectly logical and sensible way of thinking with the aim of seeking God. However, if he had done so, God would not have been able to show his power!

i've learnt that as we seek to love God and serve God, we should also trust him to provide us with not just things but also the ability to continue loving Him and serving Him.

i hope i remember this. amen.