My Reflection on the “Seven Last Words"

First Word:

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Do not do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you – this is the golden rule, a very popular mantra which all of us know, yet few of us actually follow. How do we relate to others? Do we treat them with kindness and sincerity? Do we treat others as slaves? Do we relate to others for the sake of our self-vested interests? Are we using other people to serve our best and not theirs? Are we giving them what they are worth of?

If we come to reflect at how we treat people, we may have different considerations. Having many friends does not assure us that we are being good to others. In my perspective, how sincere we are to others and how we are making others become a better person is a concrete way of being a good social being. Yet, it is not enough. Ultimately, we should bring other people closer to God by how we relate to them. I may not have done this perfectly yet but I hope I have made a positive impact to other people through who I am and how I relate to them.

Second Word:

“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

PARADISE. This is something that everyone dreams of, everyone aims to go to, and everyone strives to discover. What is a paradise? Is it something of extravagant lights? Is it something of fresh air and good scenery? Is it something of fun people and gleeful environment? Is it the feeling of being meritorious? Is it the feeling of self gratification or self realization?

Paradise is in our hearts. Paradise is relatively different for each of us depending on how we tried to discover it and how we accept it. Nevertheless, one thing God has promised us. We will be in paradise once we believe in Him. Believing in him means surrendering our lives to God. When we submit our lives to him, everything we experience and everything we see …is paradise.

Third Word:

“Dear woman, here is your son.”

I really like listening to the Tagalog version of this “Ina, narito ang iyong anak; Anak, narito ang iyong ina”. I am a woman, yet I’m not yet a mother. However, I know how a mother sacrifices for her kids. I know how proud a mother is when her child accomplishes something. I know how grateful a mother is when she sees her child growing to be a daughter/son of God. Most of all, I know how painful for a mother it is to see her daughter/son suffering from pain. This is all because “I am a daughter” and I’m thankful of how my mother has brought me up.

As a child, I may not have experienced the lures in life that other kids may have experienced, I may not have the best things in life, I may not have much when I was young, I may not have a perfect family but I AM SO PROUD that God has given me a wonderful family who perfectly taught me values and endlessly take care of me.

To my parents, Mom and Dad, I am so grateful that you two are my parents. We may not have a perfect family but I guess it was meant to teach me to be strong, to be good, to be excellent, and to be a better person. To my siblings, my sis and bro, I am so thankful that God gave such wonderful people who can perfectly blend well with me. We may have fights, arguments, and disagreements, but we are always tied to each other simply because we are of the same blood and we are all children of God.

Fourth Word:

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Each of us walk different paths in life, some may have a bit easy one and others may complain that it is too much. But one thing I’m sure is that each of us are given different types of struggles in life. Each of us is given different kinds of strength and stamina to go through and overcome such trials. However, there are times in our lives that we could somehow think that God has forsaken us, that life is unfair, that our sufferings are too much, that we can’t surpass it anymore, that our resources are not enough, and that God is not helping us at all.

Despite of all those doubts, all those questions, and all the skepticism, surely God will deliver an angel to make us realize that whatever stumbling block we are thrown at, there is a blessing in disguise.

As the well-known saying goes, there’s a rainbow after the rain. This happens if we continue to trust and believe in the power of His love. God never leaves us!

Fifth Word:

“I am thirsty.”

This word which came out from Jesus is also the same word that many of us are saying nowadays. It is summer season and we just couldn’t endure the scorching heat. We thirst and we want it to be quenched through any form of liquid that could ease this kind of uncomfortable feeling.

Same goes true with our lives, we have different kinds of thirsts, we “thirst” for recognition, promotion, wealth, success, good life, self-gratification, and the list could extend to as long as you can imagine. Yet, have we thought whether these thirsts are worthy to be quenched? Is it really worthy to ask for these?

Sixth Word:

“It is finished!”

This word which was uttered by Jesus before he died simply signifies that he has done the ultimate act of saving mankind. This means he has done his part; he has done what has been entrusted to him by God, the Father. It is finished! We are officially saved!

BUT, is that all? Are we really saved? Have we done our part? In salvation, God can do His part but we should also do our part. For us to be truly saved, we should abide to the rules of God. We can’t be perfect, we commit mistakes, but “have we asked for forgiveness?”

Personally, I can say that I commit mistakes and there are those I commit repeatedly. Of course, I want to be saved but I am not sure yet if I have done enough to be worthy of His salvation. Nevertheless, I truly believe that God is a forgiving God. So, I can claim that I will be saved.

Seventh Word:

“Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” 

For mankind, I could say that this is the concrete act of following God. Entrusting everything to Him is the greatest thing a person could do. Why? Because when you entrust yourself and your life to God, you will accept everything that goes with it, easy or challenging, good or bad. In entrusting everything to Him, we forget our own desires, our personal interests, and our selfish motives.

This could be an ultimate act of being a good follower of God but this is not an easy thing. This is one of the most difficult to do. For us, humans, it’s not easy to give up our own desires. We oftentimes plan and schedule everything for the achievement of our goals, and objectives in life and we forget to follow what God has planned for us.

These SEVEN LAST WORDS have really made me realize that I should do my part to be worthy of His sacrifice. 

PHOTO CREDITS:

Google Images

www.jesuswalk.com (first picture)

en-gb.facebook.com (1^st word)

en-gb.facebook.com (2^nd  word)

wanderingmedic.wordpress.com (3^rd word)

capfrans.blogspot.com (4^th word)

www.nwcrc.ca (5^th word)

www.becomingastrongwomanofgod.com (6^th word)

en-gb.facebook.com  (7^th word)