Our Spiritual Path Begins Here

My path begins with Buddhism and ends with Christianity.

There were many foreign missionaries who tried to convert my parents to become Christians by teaching them the Bible, but none succeeded. One day a couple of SDA missionaries from Holland came to my parents' home, stayed overnight and helped take care of her sick children, clean the house and cook, and stayed with my mother while my father was away on business trips. They were there next to my mother when she needed help. They took care of my mother when she had the malaria fever. They were her 24-hour companions. And all during that time they have never preached to her anything about their religion, not once and not a word. Three months later both my father and my mother became committed Christians. They and their caring missionaries are friends forever.

I was born in a Buddhist home when my parents were still believers in the Buddhist faith. My father unexpectedly disappeared, during the Indonesian independence revolution from the Japanese and the Dutch rules and occupation in Indonesia, when I was a child. My Dad was reportedly kidnapped and killed.

My mother raised her 7 children all by herself. She had never remarried. As a child I was not interested in the Bible. After I quit from work as a healthcare provider, I began to read the Bible again. I was surprised  and shocked to learn from the Christians around me that they don't really believe in Jesus. They believe in Paul. They believe in what they want to believe, and nothing more. They want to do for Jesus what is most convenient and easy for them to do, and nothing much more. In short, they do not believe in total obedience to God like Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Daniel, and the other prophets. They believe that faith in Jesus is their only way to salvation.

But is faith only sufficient? James 2:17 says, "Even so faith if it hath not works, is dead." Experience tells me that faith alone without work achieves little. Kneel down and pray with faith but without work also produces little or no result.                                             

 52. Everyone was crying and feeling sad because the girl was dead. But Jesus said, “Don’t cry. She is not dead. She is only sleeping. And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead." Luke 8:52-53 

Jesus said that the dead are not dead, but asleep. Do I believe Him? Yes, I do! I have faith in Jesus, regardless of what He said. Do I doubt His words? No, I do not!

Do all Christians believe what Jesus said that the dead are not dead but are sleeping? No! Why? Because they have no faith in Jesus. They do not believe in Jesus 100%. They have not seen with their eyes the dead arise from their sleep. So why would they believe His words, they argued?

Their faith in Jesus is unlike the faith of Abraham. Their faith in God is unlike the faith of Daniel. Abraham did not question Yahweh. Daniel did not doubt God. Abraham and Daniel believe in God without a doubt in their heart.

Christians, on the other hand, believe in Jesus as a means to an end. As such, they screen their faith based on what they want to believe and what they can benefit from, and not because Jesus had said so. When Jesus said that the dead are not dead, they don't believe Him.

That is a form of metaphor, they argued.

Metaphor? When the prophet Moses holds out his staff and the Red Sea is parted, is that a metaphor? 

When the Israelites walked on the dry ground and crossed the sea, followed by the Egyptian army, is that a metaphor?

No, that is faith the size of a mustard seed!

In Matthew 17:19 Jesus' disciples asked Him why they could not drive the demons out from the boy, and Jesus replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20 This shows that without strong faith, even His disciples can do NOTHING! And we are more privileged than His "disciples." Why?

Because we are His children - faithful children who are obedient to Him without any reservation or context.

This means that we can make the blind see, cast out the demons, and raise the dead from sleep. 

Just because we do not have faith the size of a mustard seed does not mean that what He said was not true - that the dead are not dead, but asleep.

Jesus said,"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give." Matthew 10:8

There is no condition attached to His promise other than faith the size of a mustard seed.

NOTHING will be impossible for us if we have faith the size of a mustard seed. It has nothing to do with context or metaphor! It has everything to do with strong faith! Even faith as small as the size of a mustard seed.

Do we now believe Him when He said that the dead are not dead, but asleep?

Or do we still doubt His words?

I suspect that most Christians still don't believe what Jesus said. If they hear something that the Scripture says that they don't like, or that makes sense, they always present the "context" argument as an excuse. 

God's message is for everyone! His

messages are for the world, Gentiles and non-Gentiles alike. Then and now.

If He says do not commit adultery that applies to everyone, male, female, young, old, skinny, obese, tall or short. What has "context" to do with adultery? In other words, under what "context" is adultery allowed? Under what context is stealing, lying, and worshiping idols permissible? The answer is none! 

Under no "context" is violation of the Ten Commandments permissible! None whatsoever! They are intended to guide our behavior, and they have nothing to do with the death of Jesus.