Growing up as a normal kid in society, I learnt of values and principals through our parents; through the way education groomed me; but at the same time there were many values that I've picked up through the frictions of life unconsciously. And that brings us to the story today:
It's a Saturday. I got up in the morning and did something very unusual, hand-wash my clothes. I'll be having a performance in two days time and I wanted to wear this self-designed shirt which was left in the laundry. So i got up, took the laundry bucket and ran water with detergent over that T-shirt, along with the other few pieces in the bucket, white first then the blacks.
After rinsing them separately, I hooked them on hangers and went to the balcony where the sun was shining through. That place is usually packed out with clothes from everyone else from the same floor as we share only one balcony for the laundry of all the 40 residence. I shifted some hangers not belonging to me aside to find some space for my clothes to be dried.
As I was hanging my clothes, white first then black, I moved them a number of times hoping to get equal portions of the sun rays on all of my clothes so that they can dry evenly. While shifting them here and turning their angles there, I realized a beautiful truth.
The sun was and will always be there, generously pouring out its heat on all of the damp clothes. I wasn't actually making much sense by trying to help make sure the sun shines evenly. Growing up in the world, we are always thought to strive our best, to get good grades and prove ourselves more worthy. We are thought that we can be rank based on our grades, and we get different treatment and care if we are in the first class compared to the last. When we grow out of school, the society thought us to be out-spoken, and to get success means to out-perform others, then comes the reward and favor.
The sun thought me a valuable lesson. Regardless of the color of the clothes, its dampness, its quality of material or how much I like the one more than the other, all of them when placed under the sun would get the same amount of sun-rays. No more no less. It hit me that God is exactly like that too. There is nothing that we need to do to earned more of His love and glory. There is nothing we should do to try and use what society teaches us to get more of God. His love is like the sun, whether we try hard enough, or just lay restfully on the ground, the sun would inevitably shine gently and generously on everyone. The same intensity, the same warmth, the same love.
'There are many values that we picked up through the frictions of life unconsciously', and these values that we hang on to may not always be true. It may be defiant to some that receiving without earning hard enough is a joke. But hey, what's the definition of receiving in the first place? It may be hard to comprehend that God loves everyone the same, irrespective of our efforts and deeds, the murderers as much as the pastors, but that's how amazing He is. And that's exactly how it was meant to be.
I thank God, that all I have to do to know more of Him; to receive more of His blessings; and to grow more in Him, is just to let His love shine on me. No competition, no hard works, no striving.
Sometimes, we just have to let the Sun shine.