Whatever it takes

Motivational speaker Bong Saquing said, “Where Christ is, there is no crisis.” Pretty clever play of words, I thought. But could it be true?

On my way to CCF Eastwood for the Sunday Celebration, I passed by homes tall and beautiful and stalwart, even in the storm. Cars of beautiful make and model zoomed pass the taxi I was on. I tried not to notice the radio that blared oldies-but-goodies hits and the cantankerous engine that threatened to die any moment.

It did. The driver cursed; I didn’t. I glanced at my watch. I’ll be late for church. A child rapped at the window, face and hair wet in the rain. I looked into her eyes. The taxi cab lurched, belched out smoke, and suddenly we were cruising again. There were poor people in the streets. Sometimes I fear I might lose my job and become like them. Families living in karitons, the father pushing his wife and kids and wares. All their property, freshly picked from trash bins, are stashed inside the cart, too. Soon, they’ll be gone. When I get to Eastwood, I won’t see them. In Eastwood there are only tall condos and affluence and stressed yuppies working in contact centers. Just the same, they need Christ. We all do.

Pastor Jess taught us that Jesus is the All-Sufficient God. “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty,’” He once told Abraham. Jesus made a great nation out of a centenarian couple. Is there something He cannot do? When God says something, He will do it. We can plant our faith on the promises of the All-Sufficient God. In His Word our faith can take root, grow, bloom and bear fruit. But to find out if my faith is rooted in Him, God tests me. Only I don’t like tests. Tests reveal my ignorance and imperfections. Can’t God use other means?

“The LORD works outside the box. He is never confined by our expectations,” says Pastor Jess. “The All-Sufficient God does not exempt even us from testing.”

When I am tested, do I dig deep into my own resources? Or do I look up to God? I realize God tests us because He wants us to grow in character. God is for us, not against us. I simply need to ask Him for help. He’ll be glad I asked.

A huge crowd of 5,000 men (not counting women and children) once followed Jesus. The disciples, lacking compassion, wanted to send them away. Jesus wanted to feed them. He tested Philip by asking, “Where can we find food to feed all these people?”

Philip dug deep into his own resources. “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have money to feed them."

Andrew looked around for a solution. “There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

Jesus provided the solution. He took the loaves and fish, and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. Amazing. Jesus, full of love for the people, tested the disciples to teach them to depend on God, thereby making them His channels of blessing and compassion to the people. What’s more, He asked the disciples to gather the leftovers, and there were twelve basketsful—one for each of them—so they would remember that where they lacked compassion, that is, love spurred into action, they could look up to the All-Sufficient God.

What’s in your hand? A pen? A calculator? Your laptop? A basketball? Your wallet? What do your fingers grasp that define your occupation, your assets, your person? See, there was once a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish. Barley is the food of the poor, much like our pandesal and galunggong. But no matter how little he had, he chose to surrender it to the All-Sufficient God and as a result, the multitude was fed. How about you? What is in your hand?

Pastor Bong was right. Where Christ the All-Sufficient God is, there’s no crisis. But there will be testing. There will be moments I’d be asked to surrender what I have. And there will always be compassion to experience and to pass on.

There are so many ways. Volunteer for CCF Eastwood. Commit an hour each day to pray for the nation and the church. Keep some crackers in your bag always, so the next time a child knocks at your car window, you can slide it down and have something to give. But when you do give, look into the child’s eyes. Make her know you know she exists. Jesus loves that child and died for her. Pray this most dangerous of prayers: “All-Sufficient God, whatever it takes, by Your grace, use me.”