This summer, I was obliged to enroll on two subjects that are usually being voted as the top boring classes. I have to enroll those subjects or else I wouldn’t be able to graduate. By their mere description, Filipino Christian Living or FCL as we call it, you would know how things go during those hours of classes. I have been enrolled in two of those subjects! Being a student of a catholic school, i really have no choice but to study their doctrines. I thought I was hearing mysthical words the first time I attended the class.
After the class we were told to pass a paper for next week’s meeting. Choose a word that would best describe you as a christian and as a perpetualite. We call call ourselves perpetualites because our school was named after Mother of Perpetual Help.
For the first time, I thanked God for I can finally do something interesting with this subject. I love writing!:) After I finished my paper, I was filled with awe all the more. I am so thankful for my life coaches for all the lessons I have learned from them and how they have changed my outlook in life.
Here’s what i have written on my paper:
Enthusiastic, this is definitely the word that I would want to be associated with. From its lexical definition, it means being full of enthusiasm or zeal. It could also mean having keen interest onto something. From layman’s term, it’s simply being masigla or masigasig. On the other hand, being enthusiastic entails a far more profound meaning than these. It came from the greek word, “ entheos”, meaning in God or with God. It basically means, “having God within”.
The characteristics of being masigla or masigasig merely becomes the manifestation of the relationship of an enthusiastic person with God. There is this sense of joy that becomes overflowing and it becomes evident through that person’s behavior and attitudes. Having enthusiasm could enable him to smile and remain calm even in the midst of difficult situations. It is because of that out-springing optimism from God’s faithfulness to His promises.
An enthusiastic person is usually the one having sanguine personality. However, enthusiasm is far more than being cheerful, jumpy, hopeful and all that. For you to be qualified to be called enthusiastic, you have to be excellent in whatever you do. It is having the “ Imago Dei” in you. The image and likeness of God should be reflected not just on your outside appearance but on your work as well. Man is cut-out for greatness. Our God is so great and He has that image and likeness in us.
As I have learned from history, great men had changed the world because of the greatness of God in their lives. In the field of music, Johann Sebastian Bach’s composition still live up to this day because of the excellence he achieved out of his desire to glorify God through his music. On arts, Rembrandt Van Rijn, the greatest of the Dutch artists included himself in his famous painting of the crucifixion scene because Christ’s death was personal to Him. While the Father of Modern Science, Isaac Newton, also excelled because of his intimate relationship with God. He tried to understand the nature of things through the light of God’s word. Out of this keen devotion to God and interest on Natural philosophy, Principia and Optiks were written that had led to the development of modern physics. The long list of men who excelled because of the greatness of God in their lives could go on. We have Robert Boyle as the Father of Chemistry, Andreas Versalius as the Father of anatomy, John Ray who’s a puritan clergyman who pioneered the science of taxonomy and Carolus Linnaeus being a devout Christian who expanded the modern system of biological classification. Many thanks to Martin Luther as well for it is because of him that Reformation period came. Following reformation, schools had been built for the public and popular education emerged.
All these men, they excelled on their work and changed the course of history of mankind because of their dedication to God and His word. As Colossians
3:23 says,
“ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord.”
As a Christian, I do believe I am bound to be enthusiastic as well. I do honor God’s commands as much as I value my relationship with Him. As a result, I am being blessed with so many wonderful relationships with the people around my world. Mirth is the usual ambience of my environment. Because I always strive to be rightly in-tuned with Him, everything seems to fall in their proper places. Difficult circumstances are indeed inevitable and they come every now and then, yet I suppose I am still able to have that grace under pressure aura. For I know, God is in control and everything is working together for good no matter what.
As a Perpetualite, I do believe I have my “Imago Dei” in me though I might not be the No. 1 student of PHCM. What matters most is that I always tend to do my best on whatever work is do. Be it on studying my lessons or doing my duties as a student nurse… I am doing everything for the glory of God. He deserves the best from me.
