THE BEAUTIFUL PARADOX

๐›๐ฒ ๐‹๐ฒ๐ซ๐š ๐‹๐ข๐ฆ-๐ˆ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐จ๐ซ๐จ

I am sitting in a coffee shop as I write this. Right in front of me is a beautiful sight: a group of single men sharing in their Light Group, two ladies going through our ๐˜“๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜›๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ discipleship program, and a leader having a one-to-one conversation with a fellow servantโ€”all happening at the same time.

Itโ€™s a Saturday afternoon. Earlier today, we finished our Light Group with the leaders of Wednesday Feast Alabang at this same venue. Later, our Singles Ministry will also have a meeting here. Itโ€™s amazing to see the cafรฉ so alive with discipleship activities happening simultaneously.

As I watch them, a question comes to mind: ๐‘Šโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘š ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘–๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘’๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘‘๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ? They could easily be resting at home or watching Netflix. Yet they chose to be here.

The words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24 come to mind: โ€œ๐‘พ๐’‰๐’๐’†๐’—๐’†๐’“ ๐’˜๐’‚๐’๐’•๐’” ๐’•๐’ ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐’Ž๐’š ๐’…๐’Š๐’”๐’„๐’Š๐’‘๐’๐’† ๐’Ž๐’–๐’”๐’• ๐’…๐’†๐’๐’š ๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’Ž๐’”๐’†๐’๐’—๐’†๐’” ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’•๐’‚๐’Œ๐’† ๐’–๐’‘ ๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’Š๐’“ ๐’„๐’“๐’๐’”๐’” ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐’‡๐’๐’๐’๐’๐’˜ ๐’Ž๐’†.โ€

Sometimes we feel like we โ€œloseโ€ time when we serve in ministry. But in truth, we gain far more. As the following verse reminds us, โ€œ๐‘พ๐’‰๐’๐’†๐’—๐’†๐’“ ๐’•๐’“๐’Š๐’†๐’” ๐’•๐’ ๐’”๐’‚๐’—๐’† ๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’Š๐’“ ๐’๐’Š๐’‡๐’† ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’๐’๐’”๐’† ๐’Š๐’•, ๐’ƒ๐’–๐’• ๐’˜๐’‰๐’๐’†๐’—๐’†๐’“ ๐’๐’๐’”๐’†๐’” ๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’Š๐’“ ๐’๐’Š๐’‡๐’† ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐‘ณ๐’๐’“๐’…โ€™๐’” ๐’”๐’‚๐’Œ๐’† ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’‡๐’Š๐’๐’… ๐’Š๐’•.โ€ (Matthew 16:25)

I admit that there are moments when I feel tired or unmotivated before doing ministry work. Still, I choose to show upโ€”and Iโ€™m always grateful that I do. There is an unexplainable sense of fulfillment after serving God. Itโ€™s a beautiful paradox: arriving with little energy, yet leaving fully recharged, because โ€œ๐’‰๐’† ๐’˜๐’‰๐’ ๐’“๐’†๐’‡๐’“๐’†๐’”๐’‰๐’†๐’” ๐’๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’“๐’” ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’‰๐’Š๐’Ž๐’”๐’†๐’๐’‡ ๐’ƒ๐’† ๐’“๐’†๐’‡๐’“๐’†๐’”๐’‰๐’†๐’….โ€ (Proverbs 11:25)

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