A Changed Life Through Death

I just finished watching an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where Agent Coulson was talking about how he feels different from the way he was before the big 'Battle of New York'. Agent May reminded Coulson of his scar (obtained before the Battle, allegedly killing him) saying that he had already died and death changes a person.

I definitely agree with what she said. Death does changes a person. Recently, I watched a trailer of Heaven is For Real. A three year old boy experiences heaven and everything in his life changed, impacting his family and his surroundings. The same could be said with everyone who experienced death and came back to life. I have watched interviews where near-death experiences became life-changing events. No one is ever the same again.

Death affects everyone surrounding the victim as it does the victim himself/herself. It's only been a couple of years since the passing of my two high school friends, Abraham and Olivia. I was away from home when these tragic news reached me. When I came back home in the summer, everything feels different. Their classmates behave in a different way than I remembered them the year before. I do believe that the death of a person is a wake-up call.

I've heard some actually say they would probably need to experience a near-death experience to change their lives. I say this is ignorance. I Corinthians 15:31 says, "I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!" Paul goes on to say in verse 34: "Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame." We die to our flesh everyday. In fact, if we know what Christ did for us, we should know that we did have a near-death experience.

As we pass Good Friday and approach Easter, I just want us all to remember that the "ultimate death" of Christ on the cross should be the most life-changing occurrence in our lives. He died for us so that we could have eternal life. We face eternal damnation, but Jesus took away the burden and brought it on Himself when He died on Calvary. His death has changed our lives forever.

Catching Up...

It's been a while!

2014...

I realized I haven't written in quite a while... I have no excuses whatsoever. I can say that I have more time, now that it's already summer for me!

Wow, third year has just passed... I can't believe I have been in Canada for three years already and that I only have a year left in my undergraduate studies. In reality, it feels like I've been here forever (not that it's a bad thing). It's been really eventful here in Canada. I have learned a lot and made a lot of new friends in the process. Check my Facebook! That's proof...

God has truly been faithful throughout these years. He has taken me through journeys that helped my growth. I cannot begin to describe His goodness in the past three years of my life.

What has changed?

Other than my growing physically (both in height and weight...), I feel a lot more mature in my spiritual walk. Of course, I would be the first to admit that I have yet a lot to learn, but I am definitely much more knowledgable than my 17 year old self. In a few days, I would be turning 20. Goodbye, teenage life! I am definitely better in my English. And surprisingly, I am getting better in my Mandarin... I do feel a lot more confident around people now. My parents used to say that I'm the most conservative child in the family. Yes, it was true. Until now, I do believe my introverted personality has something to do with that. I love meeting new people, but I just need that common interest to click.

That's another thing: common interest. I figured that if I want to connect with people in my campus, I would have to pick up an area of interest that is popular. This is where I decided to focus a LOT on sports, particularly football. No, not American football. The REAL football: soccer. I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of Canadians are interested in European football. I met most of my friends on campus through this interest. One close friend of mine is a Chelsea fan like I am. The way we began talking to each other was pretty funny. I had him in my first year COMN class. Towards the end of the semester, I saw him wearing a Chelsea jersey, so I approached him at the end of the class. "Nice jersey." "Thanks, I saw you wearing it last time too." And the rest is history...

Yes, football. Avid Chelsea fan here. I got the chance to see them live in New York's Yankee Stadium last summer. It was quite an experience! I brought my camera there to capture the moments.

 

(currently my favorite player: Oscar the no. 11)

 Spring is here (FINALLY! Well, it snowed yesterday but it's officially spring). I can't wait to see what the rest of 2014 has in store. One thing is for sure: God is faithful. I look forward to see His plans unfold in the weeks to come.






Always Faithful
Justin