One of these days I will be able to have a companion for more than one transfer. ahah Sis. Fleming was the only one of my companions that I've had for 2. So, I am being transferred to Ijmuiden and will be in the Haarlem ward. My new companion is sister kimmons and when everyone was calling me last night they all said that we are gonna rock because we're both really funny. Oh, and I was also called to be the new Sister Training Leader of the Den Haag Zone...so that's going to be interesting.
It's kind of funny, I always told people that I never wanted to be a STL because I just like working in my city with my own companion, just doin' our thing. But it will be good. And actually, no was really really surprised. Some of them even told me, "Yeah, I was waiting until they were going to call you." So I was really the only one that was shocked.
But anyways, on to my thoughts for the past few weeks. I've been thinking a lot about repentance and the laws of righteousness. We come across a lot people that tell us that God doesn't exist because of war and because of the bad things that happen to us in our lives. And for a few days I was trying to figure out at what point in history did mankind get the idea that war equals the non-existence of God or that experiencing hard and difficult times equaled the non-existence of God.
At what point did we get it in our minds that we had the power to determine if God exists or not? Honestly, I do get frustrated sometimes and wish that the human race would just get over itself already. Get over the fact there is opposition in the world and get over that fact of the universal truth we all, eventually suffer in our lives.
Why was I thinking about repentance, you ask? Well because I've actually found myself talking about that subject with a lot of people lately and I've come more and more to appreciate the gift of repentance. In regards to the laws of righteousness, to which I was connecting with repentance, another universal truth: we all sin. And sin keeps us away; it puts this wall against the blessings of God. Newton's 3rd law: every action has a reaction. Every choose we make has a consequence.
Repentance, when I teach it I explain it as the action of opening the door to receiving God's blessings. But taking that first step is always the hardest. Now many people react and say, "Well, if God really loved me then He would take it away. If God really did exist then I would not be in this situation suffering." Eerlijk gezegd, 9 times out of 10 the situation people are in is because of their own choices and actions and reactions. And it is prideful to think that we are too good to learn from our consequences and believe that God should just deliver us. He is not going to do that and He will never do that unless we repent.
For example, you are a student in French 101. If you don't do the work that is required of you to learn how to speak, read, and write French then you fail. But by our reasoning, the natural man reasoning, the teacher should just let us advance despite us not learning the lessons that we needed to learn. So, we are now in 102, and we have no idea what is happening; we are uncomfortable among the other students who were obedient, humbled themselves and asked for help when they didn't understand. We will not want to stay.
The purpose of repentance is not there to make us feel shamed in front of people or in front of God. Repentance is there for us to be able to learn how to be comfortable in the presence of God. Obedience and humility is the outward expression of our love for Him. And then you have some who say, "well, why do I have to show God my love when I haven't seen His?"
And I think that's were we make the mistake. That's where the misunderstanding comes in about repentance and humbling ourselves. He already showed us He loves us. He sent His son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die for us; to take upon himself all that we are, everything; so that both He and Jesus Christ can help us to come back to Him. The scriptures say that no unclean thing can dwell with God. We cannot, by the laws of righteousness, dwell and be with God if you do not repent. We cannot have God in our daily lives unless we repent. Unless we use the gift of the atonement to enable us to become better.
And that is the purpose of missionary work. It is not to collect people or numbers. But to bring that knowledge to those who are searching for the truth; to tell people that God did not just set us here on this earth and said, "Well, here you are, try your best to get back me. Good luck." God is an unchangeable God and He has set the way for us through and with the help of Jesus Christ and the organization of His gospel. Pak zijn hand vast en Hij zal je helpen.
Love, Jen
(Picture link: https://www.zephyradventures.com/trip-photos// )
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