HOPE ni GUILLER VALENCIA 

SABI nila, life begins at forty.

Pero sa Bible, very interesting ang number 40. Si Moises ay nanatili sa Mt. Sinai for 40 days bago bumaba ng bundok na bitbit ang tableta na may Sampung Utos.

Forty years naman sa wilderness ang mga Israelitas bago nakapasok sa Land of Promise. Si prophet Elijah ay nasa wilderness for 40 days without food in the Mountain of God. Ang pag-eespiya ng Israelitas sa Canaan ay 40 days din. Si Noah ay 40 days and nights ding nasa arko dahil sa pag-ulan.

Goliath mocked and tormented King Saul bago dumating sa eksena si David. Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days without food and was tempted. Gayundin, 40 days between resurrection and ascension.

Sa tradisyon ng mga Hudyo, ang edad 40 is considered the age of wisdom. The man was finally qualified to study the most mystical powerful text of Kabbalah. Kapag below 40 years old, it is understood that a person lacks maturity and is not ready for God’s work.

Ayon kay C.S. Lewis, an English Christian, “In God’s time line, 40 represent testing, preparation and transformation.”

Jesus was tested before his ministry started. Joshua served, observed Moses and prepared himself before he replaced Moses. While Dr. David Jeremiah in his writings said, “Maybe in God’s perspective the number, how long it takes for us to get the message he’s trying to get into our heart.”

It takes time sometime bago tayo mag-respond to serve God and seriously do the tasks that God wants us to do. Sabi nga, age doesn’t matter. Sa Panginoon, hindi tinitingnan ang ating edad kahit more or less than 40 years old na tayo.

In God’s Kingdom, timing isn’t about age, it’s about readiness. Noah built the ark when he was 500 years old. Abraham started the journey at the age of 75. Moses led Israelites at the age of 80 in exodus. (giv777@myyahoo.com)