01 Feb It’s Not Only About You – Feb 12

by Ebnu Wiyono

The first time I came to Australia, I knew that my life would not be easier here. First, English is not my first language and second, I lived here on my own. I studied even harder so that I could achieve good mark and made my parents proud of me. This kind of thought led me to be a individualist type of person. When it came to exams period, most of my friends tend to study together in the library. I never wanted to study at the library as it was just a waste of time. Why? Because when you study together, you concentrate for 5 minutes (that’s the longest time) then trust me, someone will start to talk unnecessary stuffs such as: I’m hungry, I’m sleepy, I’m bored etc. In the end, you will not get anything out from it, such a waste of time, really.

I kept being like this until I almost lost my friends. They never asked me to study together again, never asked me to go out with them again. Not because they hated me, but because they knew I would reject their invitation. Then I started to think, did I do the wrong thing? I just wanted to use my time wisely so that I could have good marks. Then God reminded me with this verse on Galatians 5:13:

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

We are saved and have been given the freedom not so that we can have the joy for our own satisfaction.  God told us that we should use our freedom to serve one another humbly in love. We can do so many things in life, but if we don’t have love, it would mean nothing in front of God. God gives us talent so that we can use it to help one another. Here’s the question we should ask: Why  a true Christian freedom can only be expressed through love that serves the needs of other people? Because love is motivated by the joy of sharing our fullness. When Christ is our portion and we are truly free then we will serve one another through love.

I then started to study together with my friends. Though my point above was still valid,  I realised that studying together is not a bad idea at all. I was happy that I could teach my friend who did not understand the subjects. The joy was irreplaceable when I knew that we all got good results afterwards.

Are you like me? I hope after reading this simple testimony, you’ll be blessed and start to serve one another in Christ’ love.