I remember reading about an art competition where the theme given was "PEACE". The artist who most effectively depicted peace in his artwork would win the competition. The artists gathered their paints, canvases and brushes and started working on creating their masterpiece..

When the time came to judge the artworks, the judges were impressed by the various scenes of tranquility illustrated by the artists. There was a majestic piece capturing the brilliance of the sun setting over lush greenery, one that depicted a serene landscape of monlit hills and another evocative piece that showed a lone man walking leisurely through rustic paddy fields..

Then, the judges came upon a peculiar piece that looked almost horrifying and perhaps even ugly to some. it was the very antithesis of every other piece that the judges had seen.

It was a wild cacophony of violent colors and the aggression with which the artist had lashed his brush against the canvas was obvious.

It depicted a raging storm where the ocean waves were swollen to menaching heights and slamming against the craggy edges of a cliff with thunderous force. Lightning zigzagged across the blackened sky and the branches of the single tree that was perched atop the cliff were all swept to the side by the force of the gale. Now, how could this pictures be the epitome of peace?
Yet, the judges unanimously awarded the first prize to the artist who painted the turbulent storm. While the results initially appeared to be appalling, the judges' decision immediately became clear once you gave the winning canvas a closer look.

Hidden in a crevice in the cliff is a family of eagles snug in their nest. The mother eagle faces the blustering winds, but her young chicks are oblivious to the storm and have dozed off under the shelter of her wing.

Now, that's the kind of peace that Jesus give to you and me! He give us peace, security, covering and protection even in the midst of a storm. The psalmist describes tis beautifully:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow off the Almighty... He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.
-Joseph Prince-

Gal 5: 22-23 berisi ke 9 sifat dari buah roh.. dimana kita tau kalau buah roh itu cuma ada satu, yaitu Roh Kudus itu sendiri.. 
We Jews know that we have no advantage of birth over "non-Jewish sinners." We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it—and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good.

Siapa yang sudah pernah nonton "A Bug's Life"?.. Film lama, tapi aku baru aja nonton.. Gak nonton dari depan juga sih.. Tadinya cuma iseng-iseng aja gonta ganti channel, trus liat judulnya, sepertinya menarik..
nih cuplikan critanya..

Scene pertama (kehidupan belalang)..
Gerombolan belalang yang dipimpin oleh Hopper jumlahnya sangat terbatas dan mereka sempat membicarakan kawanan semut.. Para belalang sebenernya tau, walau semut adalah kawanan yang lebih kecil dari mereka, namun jika semut-semut itu mengerahkan kekuatan, belalang-belalang itu pasti akan kalah..

Scene kedua (kehidupan semut)
Belalang menindas para semut, memaksa para semut mengumpulkan makanan untuk mereka.. dan "mengintimidasi" kaum semut, kalau mereka lebih tak berdaya dari belalang..

***
Singkat cerita.. Hopper marah, karena semut-semut mulai berani menantangnya dan Hopper berkata:
"You piece of dirt. No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant! Let this be a lesson to all you ants: ideas are very dangerous things. You are mindless, soil-shoving losers put on this earth to serve us!"

salah satu warga semut yang bernama Flik memberanikan diri menantang Hopper.. semut itu berkata seperti ini..
"You're wrong, Hopper. Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things, and year after year, they somehow manage to pick enough food for themselves and you. So-so who's the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are. And you know it, don't you?"

Mendengar itu, para kawanan semut jadi sadar akan siapa dirinya.. Mereka sadar bahwa selama ini mereka salah menilai diri mereka sendiri.. mereka pikir diri mereka sangat lemah.. dan akhirnya seluruh kawanan semut yang tadinya kerja rodi atas perintah belalang, jadi berbalik menyerang para belalang.. Dan belalangpun kalah..

***
Simple story.. But.. Berapa banyak dari kita yang seperti semut-semut ini?

Orang-orang disekeliling kita mungkin bilang..
"Hei, kamu mana bisa sih?"..
"Liat aja kegagalan-kegagalanmu.."
"Liat masa lalu kamu.. Ancur begitu.."
"Coba sebutkan dalam hal apa kamu pernah berhasil?"

Kata-kata itu terus saja berputar dipikiran kita sampai kita berada dalam satu keputusan.. "Kalo kita emang seperti yang mereka pikirkan.." Ada berapa juta mimpi-mimpi yang kita tenggelamkan begitu saja hanya karena satu orang bilang seperti itu?

Ketahuilah bahwa ini bukan tentang masa lalu kita dan bukan tentang kegagalan-kegagalan kita..

Tapi satu hal..
Tentang siapa diri kita..

Kita harus tau siapa diri kita.. Seberapa nilai kita..

Hei.. Nilai kita tidak ditentukan dari apa kata orang..
Tidak ada yang tercipta karena suatu kebetulan atau barangkali Tuhan lagi iseng coba-coba menciptakan kita.., kalau berhasil ya syukur, kalau gagal, ya udah lah..

No..
Tuhan menciptakan kita dengan begitu detail.. , bahkan Dia tau sewaktu kita masih "bakal anak".. (Belom jadi anak).. Pasti kita uda pernah belajar, bagaimana perjuangan jutaan sperma yang berusaha menembus lapisan pelindung sel telur.. Dan pemenangnya cuma satu.. Ya, diri kita..

Untuk itu..
Tanyakan pertanyaan ini sekali lagi..

"Siapa diri kita?".. Apakah diri kita "apa kata orang".. Atau "apa kata Tuhan"..

Apa yang ada ditanganmu? Tuhan tidak pernah bertanya: "Apa yang tidak kamu miliki?"
tapi.. "apa yang ada ditanganmu.." Talentamu, bakatmu, impian-impianmu.. Lakukan itu.. Dan kamu bakal tercenggang akan apa yang sudah Ia rencanakan untuk masa depanmu..