About Christianity

2 days ago, on 14 july 2008, i celebrated my 21st birthday. as many of us know, the 21st birthday is usually celebrated with quite a bit of noise. people invite others to parties and have fun. why? it is a step for us as we move from teenage to adulthood. finally, we are adults.

this is how i spent my 21st birthday. in the morning, i dragged myself out of bed as i go to work. nobody in the office knew it was my birthday, because i did not tell them. i don't really have a habit of telling people my birthday unless they specifically ask for it. after work, in the evening, i went home with my friends, 2 of them. 1 of them gave me a present when we were alone. she knew my birthday. well, we were quite close at one point of time, so i told her about it a few years back. she could still remember it though. others would have forgotten it. no, she did not depend on friendster or all the nonsense to know it was my birthday.

at home, my family celebrated for it. it was a simple affair. my sisters bought a cake, sang a birthday song, while my dad took a picture. after that we ate the cake and that was the end. of course, throughout the day, my friends sent me messages (sms) to wish me a happy 21st birthday.

some of you might think, like one of my sisters, that it is quite sad or pathetic to celebrate my birthday like that, especially since it is the 21st birthday. not much of a celebration, and still went to work. do you think so too? somehow or another, i don't really think it is sad. because, at least i have friends who wished me a happy birthday, a family who celebrated for me.

there were many others who never had a chance to celebrate their birthdays. some of them did not know their age, or when they were born. some of them do not have friends. some of them do not have a family. some of them are starving. some of them are met with disasters. there are many others out there suffering. actually, to be able to pass through my birthday like a normal day, it may too, be considered a blessing.

some time back, i learnt to appreciate the things i have, and to treasure more the things i have. we may not have everything. we may not have what others have. we may wished to be like them, or not. but as we think, we should also count our blessings. because there are many others out there, who would give up a lot of things, just to be like you.

treasure what you have.

if you have lived for a certain number of years, you will have things that you regret. generally regret is separated into 2 categories, regret that you did something, or regret you did not do anything. a regret, i would take it as something which had already happened and that which cannot be turned back. example, hurting a person, not studying hard, commit a crime, did not appreciate someone.

me too, have my own regrets. i have already told myself that i will not do things that will make me regret. of course that is a near impossible achievement. well maybe at least i can try. what regrets do i have? quite a few. i made stupid mistakes, and did stupid things. well things a usual teenager would do. i was an idiot last time. i guess everybody is at one point of time or another.

luckily, many of our regrets are quite 'little'. as in, nobody really died, there are no long-term effects that will result in a dramatic turnover of our life for most of us. yes, it did affect us, maybe for a short while, maybe for a long while, maybe forever. maybe it is a big impact. but most of it, well i take it as decisions made up to the point of age 21, since i am 21 this year, most of it do not have that big of an impact to completely change us. meaning? life goes on, maybe with a few hurts here and there. no big deal. i dealt with it, at the expense of many sleepless nights and many moody days.

so i can say our regrets up to age 21 for most of us do not significantly affect us once a few years passed by. maybe we became more mellow, more cheerful, more able to hide and handle pain, whatever. everyone got changed, a little i guess. but there is another kind of regret that will happen to many of us, a regret that will affect us forever, one that we can never get over with, and that will happen when we die, or after we die. i'm sure you guessed it. this is a christian blog, you should know what to expect.

yes, if we end up in hell, there will be regret forever. reason 1, eternal pain and suffering. not 1 year, 10 years, 100 years, 1000 years. forever. no end to time. no limit. imagine being burn by fire forever. no rest, no peace, no relief. regret forever. what can we do then? nothing. you are dead, and you are gone, if you end up in hell. i dont know if you believe in the concept of hell. i do not have proof. but religion is about faith. i have not seen hell, not felt it, not heard it. but i believe it. i believe it exist and believe that i am not insane enough to want to go there.

i dont want to regret. do you? if you dont, be a good christian. as in, follow the way of Christ Jesus. do what He tell you to. repent of your sins, every single one of them. if you are not a christian, be a christian. i know it is weird to just join any religion. try to talk to your christian friends about it. dont regret forever because of the few years you spend here. instead, celebrate forever because of the life you spend here. it is only a short while. dont regret.