THE BOOK OF LIFE: The first and only edition
Two friends of mine have been recently immortalized by their inclusion in the 2018 CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts which blew my mind. It is a first for me to know people who are who's who on a personal level. Casting aside my insane jealousy, I asked them if anybody who has made it will ever be removed in future editions. They both said no unless politics get in the way. One was referring to her political affiliation while the other cited personal pettiness. This made me reflect on our entries in the Book of Life.
Luke 10:20 exhorts us to "rejoice that (our) names are written in heaven" and in Revelations 3:5, Jesus gives us a greater reason to rejoice by promising that our names will never be blotted out. But the way some of us go about, we feel that our names were written in pencil or with a disappearing ink which shows that:
- we know ourselves fully well
- we don’t fully know God’s character
Because we know ourselves fully well, we feel like hypocrites making us wonder if God had already unfriended us or hit the delete button once again. This thinking exposes our weakness in fully appreciating God’s faithfulness for if we really knew Him, we would never waver in our belief in the promise regardless of how we behave.
Unlike my two friends whose confidence is a bit chipped because of the remote possibility of being removed from future editions, God has only one edition of the Book of Life. We need to be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in (us) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6, NIV) The great antidote to spiritual anxiety disorder is to focus on who God is, not on who we are; on His plans for us, not on our failed expectations of ourselves.
Now before we start thinking that we can then do whatever we want just because God is faithful, think again. No person whose name is indelibly written in the Book of Life would ever want to function willfully this way and remain unrepentant. Never. Instead, s/he would want to get up again and again, “striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won (us) to himself.” (Phil. 3:12, GNT)
Two friends of mine have been recently immortalized by their inclusion in the 2018 CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts which blew my mind. It is a first for me to know people who are who's who on a personal level. Casting aside my insane jealousy, I asked them if anybody who has made it will ever be removed in future editions. They both said no unless politics get in the way. One was referring to her political affiliation while the other cited personal pettiness. This made me reflect on our entries in the Book of Life.
Luke 10:20 exhorts us to "rejoice that (our) names are written in heaven" and in Revelations 3:5, Jesus gives us a greater reason to rejoice by promising that our names will never be blotted out. But the way some of us go about, we feel that our names were written in pencil or with a disappearing ink which shows that:
- we know ourselves fully well
- we don’t fully know God’s character
Because we know ourselves fully well, we feel like hypocrites making us wonder if God had already unfriended us or hit the delete button once again. This thinking exposes our weakness in fully appreciating God’s faithfulness for if we really knew Him, we would never waver in our belief in the promise regardless of how we behave.
Unlike my two friends whose confidence is a bit chipped because of the remote possibility of being removed from future editions, God has only one edition of the Book of Life. We need to be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in (us) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6, NIV) The great antidote to spiritual anxiety disorder is to focus on who God is, not on who we are; on His plans for us, not on our failed expectations of ourselves.
Now before we start thinking that we can then do whatever we want just because God is faithful, think again. No person whose name is indelibly written in the Book of Life would ever want to function willfully this way and remain unrepentant. Never. Instead, s/he would want to get up again and again, “striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won (us) to himself.” (Phil. 3:12, GNT)