Thursday, April 28, 2011

Just want to share one of my favorite articles I've ever read. It is written by a lay missionary named Bo Sanchez. Lately, I was so impressed by the way he delivers messages of God.

Marami akong natutunan sa article na 'toh at kahit paulit-ulit ko sigurong basahin 'toh, hindi ako magsasawa..
It's for you to find out why..

Mind you, sa lahat ng hayop sa mundong ibabaw (syempre bukod sa mga wild animals) takot ako sa uod..yes..uod..worms! Sounds funny, isn't it? But totoo..whew! I remembered my closest friend in High School (ahe! my crush, i must admit..ayiih!) when he made fun of me during our "gardening subject". Alam nyang takot ako sa mga uod kaya yun..imagine nilagyan nya 'yung likod ko ng uod? "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" I scream so loud that even to the principal's office it reached. Gosh! Know what? Buong taon kog hindi pinansin 'yung supposed to be.. (hmp! wag nalang!) Ayon..dahil lang 'yun sa uod..ganun ako katakot NOON (or so i thought) sa uod. Haaaay! Well, so much for that..but this article is far different from that though it has something to do with "yuckness" I felt when it comes to worms.

Here it is..


A Worm Named Sylvester (by Bo Sanchez)

It was a worm. A wriggling, blackish, slimy, slippery, ugly worm. I was praying one day in our backyard, feeling very sad - for I had just committed a sin against God. (You know, one of those sins of that age: robbing a bank; burning a school; torturing my sister...) I even feared that perhaps I wouldn't be able to enter heaven because of my sins... How could I?

That was when I say this yucky thing slither up a green leaf. And then, I felt God whisper into my heart, "Bo, do you want to become a worm?"

Wha...? I was petrified. "Lord, did I sin that bad?"

"Bo, give that worm a name," He asked me.

Quickly, I thought of one that was farthest from mine. "Uh... would Sylvester do?"

"That will be fine. Let's say that Sylvester has a soul, and that he is a bad worm. I would therefore need someone to tell him that he has to change, or else, he won't go to heaven..."

"You want Sylvester to go to heaven?" I inquired.

"Of course. Let us say that I love him..."

I made a face. "Double yuck. Triple even." We are talking about a real live ugly worm here! And a bad worm at that.

"Sshhh. Let me continue. Now, in order for Sylvester to understand Me, My messenger has to be a worm as well. A human will not be able to speak his language."

"So that's why You want me to be a worm! To save him? But why me?"

"Only for a few days, Bo. Want to volunteer?"

"Lord!" I vehemently cried in disbelief. "Even if Sylvester was the most handsome worm in this universe - I still wouldn't do it! You're kidding me, right?"

"At one point in history, I wasn't kidding. I did ask a similar request of someone else, and He said yes."

I gasped. "Poor guy... you zapped Him into a worm?"

"On that very Christmas Day, My only Son became a human being, a helpless infant - so that He could save you..."

"But Lord, that's different! It's okay to be human..."

"That's because you don't know what it means to be God. Before that day, My Son was glorious, powerful, eternal..."

That was the last line I heard that day. And I thought the conversation was over.

But a few days later, when I went to a church for Christmas Eve - at the altar I saw the Babe in the manger.

And everything about it screamed to me, "I love you, Bo."

Yes, my God has become Sylvester. For me.

I smiled and quietly shed a tear.

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