We understand other people so little. Way too often we look at others through our own lens, perceiving that their struggles are minor as we would easily overcome them. And when it comes upon to us our struggles that we find hard to scale, we look outward and wonder why others cannot emphatise with our hardships. Oftentimes it takes a lot of cold hard reflection to truly appreciate what it means to scale past our personal mountains and conquer our own struggles. This brings me to a few learning points which I want to pen down today:

Gentleness is a particular trait I still lack. I remember telling myself more than a year ago to always remember to be gentler to others and to myself, and yet the harsh attitude I have sometimes still remains. At the heart of this personal issue is ego. I am harsh because I expect more, and I expect things to go my way. The self is magnified here; contrary to what Jesus teaches us. This time round I shall refrain from lambasting myself in this post, as I usually do to make myself feel better through being overly-critical to myself. I shall remember that my righteousness is up there in heaven at God's right hand, continually interceding and praying for me, for my faith, for my personal development, for my sins. I shall look up and be grateful to His love for me, when He bore my sins to Calvary and died for me. And I shall rest rejuvenated by His love that I know it is through His love that I can change for the better.

My ego manifests itself in many ways; in my desire still for prestige, money, and recognition. I still chase a prestigious job, I still chase after more money, I still seek recognition from others in places high and low. Once again I shall not berate myself to make myself feel better. I shall look upon the Lord for help and look upon Him to understand His transformative love that has been given to me.

And what about empathy? How do I build myself up to naturally think from the perspective of others? It just seems so strenuous trying to think from another person's point of view. How am I going to understand what might be a hill to me is a mountain for someone else trying to change himself? In these learning points I find the life of Jesus so extraordinary. He was able to do all these non-ceasingly, and yet He is 100% man. Once again I shall go back to Him and His love for me. It is love that forgives, mends, and heals. It is love that makes one a better person. Perhaps to be a better person, we must first truly love what Jesus did for us, then only can we begin to love others. O Lord, how do I better understand Your love for me? || posted by Kuan Hui