Dear Cell, we had a sucker-punched night last Friday. You guys sucked up and withheld your best until late in the session when you guys just let it all out like a burst dam. The discussion was centered on sin, grace and disgrace. And it was a rather enraptured and energized discussion. James, Zenn, Angela(s) and Mark were firebrands. Anna was equally enthused and Kwan Hong and Jasmine had their say too. You all contributed your views on the definition of sin. Most of you say that sin is wrongdoings in general. It is disobedience and rebellion. Mark added that sin is "not doing right" when your conscience pricks you. Generally, the seven sins were stripped of its fanciful nomenclature and were called forth by name: pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, greed and fear.
Sin can be sins of commission or sins of omission. Committing a wrongful act stands in equal stead with omitting to act. In fact, they are different sides of the same coin. Basically, disobedience has two sides: disobeying by acting in contrary to God's words and disobeying by failing to do what is expected of us as Christians. Before Jesus left this world, he promised us a helper, that is, the Holy Spirit, for this expressed purpose, "If you love me, you keep my commandments...He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will live in him and manifest myself in him." (read John 14:15-24). Ultimately, the commandments of God have to be obeyed. There is no shortcut to authentic growth. Grace without obedience is disgrace or cheap grace. But it is not by our strength or wisdom that we obey, it is by the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. For didn't Jesus say that it is by keeping His words that He is made manifest in us and He lives in us?
Another definition of sin starts with asking this simple question: Who is your god apart from God? Seen in this light, sin is violating the first commandment which says that we are to love our God with all that is within us. Sin is therefore self-glorification. Or, as James put it, it is self-centeredness. One author defines it this way, "sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from God." Oswald Chambers adds another twist to the definition, "Sin is an incurable suspicion of God." In other words, sin is suspecting that God is not good, that He is not all-powerful, that He is not all loving as he claimed. This suspicion is the springboard to self-glorification.
When we suspect God, we disown Him. When we disown Him. we dethrone Him. The mercy seat now becomes our desire seat and we do as we please. We act in rebellion and rule our spirit with the tight rein of our fleshly desires. From there, it is all downhill. Without true repentance, the redeemed can fall wayward and be lost for eternity. So, in my humblest view, your salvation is only secured to the extent that you walk within the Will of God. When you walk out of it in rebellion, and continue to walk further away from it, you can be lost forever - even if you were once saved by grace through faith. So, always keep watch and pray for it is not only the season of His second coming that we should keep watch and pray for, it is also the season of our testing and temptation!
So, don't think for a second that there is no such thing as the commission of the unpardonable sin as written in Matthew 12:31. I have heard about a preacher's wife who had backslided to such an extent as to renounce her faith. She even went further to set up a cult to worship satan and to publish articles and broadcast messages against her former faith. Barring a genuine repentance, I am afraid she had made her choice and such choice has consequences; however much we wish to avoid the topic altogether.
It was at this time of the discussion that we talked about the raving Grace teachings that have been gaining much gravitas recently. Now, let's be clear about it. There is two kinds of Christian in this world: the moral conformist and the grace-empowered. The former is ruled by regimental compliance of the laws, in particular, the Mosaic laws. The latter is ruled by repentance and gratitude. The former draws strength from strict obedience. The latter draws strength from complete abandonment or surrender. The former relies on continual works of self-effort and the latter relies on the finished work of the cross. The difference is glaring because one tries to be righteous by personal strive and the other is declared righteous by personal faith.
The best example I can give of the distinction is the parable of the prodigal son. In fact, Pastor Timothy Keller, in his book, the Prodigal God, prefers to rename the parable as the parable of the Lost Sons (in the plural). Or, the parable of the lost and the found. The parable highlights the return of the wayward son but left the readers to figure out what they can learn from the attitude and fate of the elder brother - the one who remained in the father's house, serving dutifully, taking care of the flock, maintaining his father's estate and servant, and following all the rules and laws of the household to a tee.
When the Prodigal son came home, his father met him half way. I can picture the scene. The father must be waiting at the edge of his estate every single day for his son to return. His heart must have skipped a beat whenever he saw a shadow from a distance. On the day his younger son came back, after squandering his share of the inheritance, the father rushed to embrace him and told his servants to bring the finest robe for him. Usually, the finest robe would be the father's. The father also gave the Prodigal son a ring to show that he is completely restored and sandals to buttress his sore feet. In celebration, the father ordered his servants to sacrifice the fattest calf. This was to be a feast fit for royalty. The father held nothing back for his wayward son who was once lost but now found. The son knew that he had sinned and was totally unworthy to be his son. He even planned to be employed as one of his father's servants and to live in the servants' quarters. But his father gave him no opportunity to set his plan in motion. His father's reconciliation was immediate. His father's love undiminished. His father accepted him back wholeheartedly. Beloved, this is grace - unmerited favor, unreserved mercy and unconditional love.
Then, a few passage later, in the midst of the celebration, we read about the elder son. He was seething, very unhappy, very envious. He felt shortchanged. He felt great injustice. Instead of celebrating the event and rejoicing with his brother, he confronted the father when his father came out of the celebration to meet him. He told his father how he had served him all these years and had never disobeyed his commandments. And yet, he questioned his father for throwing such a lavish feast for his disobedient brother who had wasted all his share of the inheritance. I guess the elder son was also mad that he now has a smaller pie of the father's inheritance since he has to share it with his younger brother. The father then replied, "Son, you're always with me and whatever I have is yours."
Apparently, the son was so consumed by jealousy, hatred and greed that he had forgotten that he had inverted the order of priority by placing what was least important first and what was most important last. Beloved, this is a moral-conformist by all counts. In the end, the highlight of the parable should be on the elder son and not so much on the younger one. I dread to think of the fate of the elder son. He had spent his wasted years complying with every rule and law and yet not one of them could save him or transform his heart. In contrast, the younger son had broken every rule conceiveable and yet by just one act of repentance, he was transformed. In the end, I guess one would die bitter and the other saved. And the one saved was saved by grace.
Grace is, without a doubt, the crown jewel of the new covenant. We can come and stand boldly before God in the holy of holies because Jesus has done it all. His death frees us from legalism. We can celebrate the new covenant based on faith and grace and forget about relying on our own strength and wisdom to attain the standard set for us by the law. Note that I say that we can "forget about relying on our own strength and wisdom"- that's legalism. I did not say that we can forget about the law altogether because that would contradict what Jesus said earlier in John 14:15. Grace has empowered us to live a life worthy of Christ because we have come to the realization that we are saved unconditionally and are counted as righteous before God. It is therefore with gratitude, faith and hope that we live our Christian life. A grace-empowered life does not make us infallible; but it gives us a God-inspired conscience to repent from our failings (bearing the consequences that follows, of course) and to claim our future victory unencumbered by guilt, shame or fear. A Christian walk empowered by grace is therefore one that moves from one victory to another. So, at this juncture, let me reiterate that the enemy of grace is not the law (commandments), it is legalism or humanism.
Let me end with this parable narrated by an author whose name now escapes me. It is a story of Peter and Jesus. This is not found in the Bible but it carries an important message. It is said that Peter and the other disciples were travelling with Jesus when Jesus stopped his disciples halfway and asked them to find a rock and carry it along the journey. As the others went to look for their rock, Peter found a pebble and happily kept it by his side. He must be thinking that this makes sense since the journey was going to be a long one and it would be too physically exhausting to carry a rock heavier than a pebble. After travelling for a while, Jesus stopped his disciples and asked them to place their rock before him. Jesus then turned all the rock into bread. As Peter's rock was just a pebble, he had bun for lunch instead of a hearty loaf. After lunch, Jesus again instructed his disciples to look for a rock. This time, Peter was wiser and he chose a rock many times heavier and bigger than a pebble. He was looking forward to a feast at the end of the day. When night drew near, Jesus again stopped his disciples and asked them to cast their rock into a nearby stream. Puzzled, they did as told - including Peter, who reluctantly threw his huge rock into the stream. When Jesus beckoned his disciples to follow him, Peter hesitated, he was a little disappointed. Jesus then turned to him and said, "Who were you carrying the rock for?"
Beloved, there is a very important message in this story. Sometimes, we need to examine our hearts. We need to know why we believe what we believe. Are we believing for our own sake? Are we doing it for self-benefit or self-profit? Are we carrying the cross so that we can be rich, recognized, adorned, or celebrated? Are we attending church for companionship or to make someone we love happy? Are we being religious for religion's sake? Are we obeying to please our pastors and not God? Are we looking for something in return for becoming a Christian? Peter had carried the rock so that he could have a hearty meal but, on the two occasions, his plans for self-profit was thwarted. He did not carry it for Jesus; he basically did it for himself. Now with no disrespect to Peter because this is just a make-up story to prove a point, we have to ask ourselves the same question because our motive ultimately determines our growth. So, it is time we look into St James' mirror and reflect on this: Who are we carrying the rock for? Jesus or ourself?
Have a weekend of rewarding reflection.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday's Recap (200209)
Last Friday, we tore down our own tower of babel. We surrendered to God. We submitted our human understanding to God. We trusted in His magisterial plan and the blessed assurance of a savior making all things right in the end. All sorrow accounted for. All pain lifted. All suffering recompense fully, completely. It was a time of corporate empowerment. And I sincerely thank you guys and gals for holding steadfast to your portion of faith amidst many things that you do not understand or even apprehend. But still, the discussion took several unnerving twists and turn that at times seemed unsettling and uneasy.
We talked about tragedies most perplexing and challenging to our faith. I told you about parents who lost their sons to horrifying accidents. I told you about a tipper truck running over a 9-year old, severing his body into two. A Camry smashing into a 16-year old, throwing his limp body meters away from the impact. All these unspeakable accidents resulted in immediate death; most heart wrenching, to say the least. One is tempted to ask, in his own flustered way, "where is God?"
I have also heard of a Rwanda mother whose big family of 40 were captured by savage rebels and held hostage for days on ends. She then witnessed the worst of human evil ever committed. Her family and relatives were hacked to death before her eyes. She was repeatedly gang raped. Her husband was forced by the sickening mob to rape his own sister. He naturally refused but paid a bitter price for it: his limbs were severed. He then bled to death. The cruelty did not end there. She was forced to hang her infant child from a tree using makeshift ropes. And in the most trying circumstances of humanity, she strangled her own flesh and blood to death. Completely naked, and repeatedly abused, she trekked with the rebels for weeks before she escaped and went to a nearby village for help. The tragically "happy" ending was that she was nursed back to health and was reunited with two of her children who had also escaped from the callous mob. "Where is God?" is the tempting refrain.
Another incident happened to a devout Christian and her lovely children. This inspiring story is taken from The Scalpel and the Soul by Dr Allan J Hamilton. Candy was a beautiful lady in her thirties. She was full of life, bubbly and intelligent. She was also a compassionate nurse, going the extra mile to help her patients. Despite being abused and battered by her husband, she mustered the courage to divorce him and remained strong for her two teenaged children, Sean and Taylor. Her children were her inspiration and source of hope. Candy also met a special man after the divorce, Tim. He was a construction worker and he was completely devoted to her. Soon, their relationship blossomed. To add to the blessed mix, her children were doing well in school. Sean was a gifted basketball player and had won a scholarship for the sport. Taylor, Candy's daughter, was, like her mother, beautiful in appearance with flowing golden locks. She was also a gifted acrobatic cheerleader. But all was not meant to be when the first bad news struck.
Candy's son, Sean, met with an accident. His car was hit by a trailer which came loose from a truck which was towing it. Sean suffered severe head trauma with multiple contusion to the brain. Although he recovered, he was never the same again. The injuries had robbed him of his basketball skills and scholarship. Sean frequently fell into angry fits of temper and proved to be emotionally trying for Candy and Taylor. The 2nd bad news was in the pipeline and this time, lightning did strike twice.
Taylor also met with an auto accident. She was brought to the ER. But it was not the minor injuries from the accident that scared Taylor. At first, the usual suspicion was drug or alcohol. Taylor must be under the influence when she met with the unfortunate accident. But brain scans showed that she had actually suffered a ministroke. When the hospital dug deeper into the cause of the stroke, they realised that Taylor had a huge tumor lodged in her right thalamus. And this tumor had an ominous medical name, anaplastic astrocytoma. It was quite a mouthful to describe what is known as a high grade malignant brain cancer.
Immediately Taylor was put on a high-radiation therapeutic regimen. And Taylor's beautiful physical appearance was her first casualty. She lost her golden locks. The treatment had caused her to go bald, bloated and acne-ridden. Her entire left side was badly affected and she lost her senses in her leg. She was so weak that she had to give up being a cheerleader. Even her smile was crooked. Over the course of the treatment, Taylor became almost unrecognizable - from a princess of 18 years old with a bright future ahead, she had morphed into a physical sneer, losing her hair, confidence and control over the left side of her body. In her depression, Taylor mourned these words that no mother should ever hear from her own daughter, "It's too bad I didn't know about this tumor earlier. I wouldn't have been so reluctant to give up my virginity. Now I'm probably going to die a virgin, looking the way I do." Taylor died less than two months later. All the prayers in the world could not prevent this tragedy from happening to a family that served God faithfully.
Now come the last and final tragedy. A few months later, still grieving from the death of her daughter, Candy telephoned Dr Allan and told him that when she was having a shower earlier, she could not feel the right side of her body. Dr Allan then did an MRI scan on Candy's brain and confirmed his worst fear. Candy had a brain tumor in exactly the same place as her daughter! Life had stamped an early expiry date on Candy. She lived for another two and a half year. But her living years was an inspiration to every doctor, nurse and patient who crossed her path. She continued teaching Sunday school and shared about God's love and kindness until the day she was too ill for Tim to carry her to church. Her faith was logic-defying and Dr Allan even challenged her when he asked her why would God allow all these to happen to her and her family. Candy's reply was unforgettable, Dr Allan recalled. She cocked a finger at him, shook it and said, "Don't you dare blame God for this! Maybe this had to happen so you'd be more motivated to help find a cure! Or maybe this was meant to test my love for Tim and Tim's love for me. But God's not to blame here!"
We talked about tragedies most perplexing and challenging to our faith. I told you about parents who lost their sons to horrifying accidents. I told you about a tipper truck running over a 9-year old, severing his body into two. A Camry smashing into a 16-year old, throwing his limp body meters away from the impact. All these unspeakable accidents resulted in immediate death; most heart wrenching, to say the least. One is tempted to ask, in his own flustered way, "where is God?"
I have also heard of a Rwanda mother whose big family of 40 were captured by savage rebels and held hostage for days on ends. She then witnessed the worst of human evil ever committed. Her family and relatives were hacked to death before her eyes. She was repeatedly gang raped. Her husband was forced by the sickening mob to rape his own sister. He naturally refused but paid a bitter price for it: his limbs were severed. He then bled to death. The cruelty did not end there. She was forced to hang her infant child from a tree using makeshift ropes. And in the most trying circumstances of humanity, she strangled her own flesh and blood to death. Completely naked, and repeatedly abused, she trekked with the rebels for weeks before she escaped and went to a nearby village for help. The tragically "happy" ending was that she was nursed back to health and was reunited with two of her children who had also escaped from the callous mob. "Where is God?" is the tempting refrain.
Another incident happened to a devout Christian and her lovely children. This inspiring story is taken from The Scalpel and the Soul by Dr Allan J Hamilton. Candy was a beautiful lady in her thirties. She was full of life, bubbly and intelligent. She was also a compassionate nurse, going the extra mile to help her patients. Despite being abused and battered by her husband, she mustered the courage to divorce him and remained strong for her two teenaged children, Sean and Taylor. Her children were her inspiration and source of hope. Candy also met a special man after the divorce, Tim. He was a construction worker and he was completely devoted to her. Soon, their relationship blossomed. To add to the blessed mix, her children were doing well in school. Sean was a gifted basketball player and had won a scholarship for the sport. Taylor, Candy's daughter, was, like her mother, beautiful in appearance with flowing golden locks. She was also a gifted acrobatic cheerleader. But all was not meant to be when the first bad news struck.
Candy's son, Sean, met with an accident. His car was hit by a trailer which came loose from a truck which was towing it. Sean suffered severe head trauma with multiple contusion to the brain. Although he recovered, he was never the same again. The injuries had robbed him of his basketball skills and scholarship. Sean frequently fell into angry fits of temper and proved to be emotionally trying for Candy and Taylor. The 2nd bad news was in the pipeline and this time, lightning did strike twice.
Taylor also met with an auto accident. She was brought to the ER. But it was not the minor injuries from the accident that scared Taylor. At first, the usual suspicion was drug or alcohol. Taylor must be under the influence when she met with the unfortunate accident. But brain scans showed that she had actually suffered a ministroke. When the hospital dug deeper into the cause of the stroke, they realised that Taylor had a huge tumor lodged in her right thalamus. And this tumor had an ominous medical name, anaplastic astrocytoma. It was quite a mouthful to describe what is known as a high grade malignant brain cancer.
Immediately Taylor was put on a high-radiation therapeutic regimen. And Taylor's beautiful physical appearance was her first casualty. She lost her golden locks. The treatment had caused her to go bald, bloated and acne-ridden. Her entire left side was badly affected and she lost her senses in her leg. She was so weak that she had to give up being a cheerleader. Even her smile was crooked. Over the course of the treatment, Taylor became almost unrecognizable - from a princess of 18 years old with a bright future ahead, she had morphed into a physical sneer, losing her hair, confidence and control over the left side of her body. In her depression, Taylor mourned these words that no mother should ever hear from her own daughter, "It's too bad I didn't know about this tumor earlier. I wouldn't have been so reluctant to give up my virginity. Now I'm probably going to die a virgin, looking the way I do." Taylor died less than two months later. All the prayers in the world could not prevent this tragedy from happening to a family that served God faithfully.
Now come the last and final tragedy. A few months later, still grieving from the death of her daughter, Candy telephoned Dr Allan and told him that when she was having a shower earlier, she could not feel the right side of her body. Dr Allan then did an MRI scan on Candy's brain and confirmed his worst fear. Candy had a brain tumor in exactly the same place as her daughter! Life had stamped an early expiry date on Candy. She lived for another two and a half year. But her living years was an inspiration to every doctor, nurse and patient who crossed her path. She continued teaching Sunday school and shared about God's love and kindness until the day she was too ill for Tim to carry her to church. Her faith was logic-defying and Dr Allan even challenged her when he asked her why would God allow all these to happen to her and her family. Candy's reply was unforgettable, Dr Allan recalled. She cocked a finger at him, shook it and said, "Don't you dare blame God for this! Maybe this had to happen so you'd be more motivated to help find a cure! Or maybe this was meant to test my love for Tim and Tim's love for me. But God's not to blame here!"
What was left of Candy's immediate family was Tim and Sean. Tim stayed friends with Dr Allan for many years. He confessed that he was never interested in another woman and said that Candy was the perfect woman for him. He also admitted that not a single day went by after he buried Candy that he didn't wake up and weep till he was almost too weak to stand. Tim also wanted to take his own life but he remembered his promise to Candy that he would live to take care of Sean. He has kept that promise ever since
Beloved, when bad things happen to good christians, it is only natural to question, "Why, God?" In fact, it is by not questioning God that one has to doubt whether the sufferer or victim is sincere about his or her faith. It is natural to question God because we have certain expectations of Him. We expect God to heal us or our love ones when we pray. We expect God to deliver us from evil that comes in the form of a natural or man-made disaster. We expect God to spare our loved ones from a speeding tipper truck driven by a drunk driver. We expect God to protect our children from life-threatening diseases or savage men who only has evil in their minds and blood in their hands. As finite being with finite understanding, these expectations are expected of us. And mind you, these expectations are not about making us materially rich or granting us longevity. It is about keeping us safe, sheltered and secured. Surely, these expectations are not too unreasonable for God, who is all-powerful and all-loving, to fulfill or realise.
The problem of evil in this world is the problem of faith. There are some things that happened to us or our loved ones that we cannot, try as we might, wrap our mind around it. We cannot understand why tragedy happened the way it did, right under the nose of the divine oversight. It is therefore second-nature to praise God for blessings like news that one is pregnant. But when one's baby dies stillborn, it is tempting to point the finger at God and cry out, "WHY?"
When the aggrieved and the inconsolable blame God, the reason is humanly obvious and, at times, understandable. Pre-mature death, diseases and tragedies are largely preventable. Some of these are man-made or as a result of the perversion of free-will like evil men ravaging a city and raping and killing whoever stands in their way. So, to prevent from being their victims, we stay away from them. We migrate to a safer country. We instruct our children to self-defence. We escort them from point A to point B, ensuring their safety. We rally the help of a community to fight against mindless crime. We pay taxes to good, efficient and uncorrupt government to keep us safe. On a whole, crimes committed by evil men that results in death can be prevented if we are vigilant and careful.
Then, there are natural disasters like earthquake, tsunamis and twisters. When we have forewarning of them, we can get out of their way. Although we may suffer property lost, we can thank God that we still have our lives to keep.
But how about earthquakes not foreseen? How about the 2006 tsunamis that ravaged the south pacific basin and killed untold numbers of innocent people? How about Hurricane Katrina? There are some tragedies that no amount of human vigilance can prevent. Even man-made ones cannot be prevented if a character like Hitler takes over and starts committing genocide. Or a figure like Pol Pot or Saddam Hussein runs a coup and rules a country with malicious zeal and merciless paranoia.
But are these atrocities really unpreventable? The Bible extols God's omnipotence and omnipresence. It also sing praises of God's unfailing, universal love. If we put them altogether, we get a God who can prevent anything, both man-made or natural disasters. So, seen in this light, pre-mature deaths, diseases and tragedies are largely preventable, that is, by divine fiat. God can stop time and teleport a little girl from being ravaged by a mob of lusting men. He can point his finger, like a laser beam, at an anomaly gene and zap it to smithereen to prevent it from mutating into a full-blown deformity. He can also snap his fingers and turn misfortune into blessings, sickness to health and pre-mature death to life. In theory, God can. In practice, God could. In real-life, God should. So, what is God waiting for?
At this juncture, I invite the atheists and skeptic to take a front row seat. God had already taken the initiative way before we could point a finger at Him and complete the sentence, "Why, God?" The story of Jesus is the story of this omnipotent, omnipresent and all-loving God. God coming down to man, to live with them and to die for them is the greatest love story ever told. Many other religions talk about deities sacrificing for mankind. But Jesus did it. His death and resurrection are the reason why we have cause to live on and fight the good fight. Because living without God is the worst of all tragedies and suffering, Christians must constantly remind themselves that living for God means that the worst has passed. We can overcome anything that this world throws at us because having Jesus in our heart is having everything we would ever need in this life and the life to come. That is why Psalm 46 proclaims, "God is our hiding place; He is our power. Providing in trouble, He's there every hour. And fear will not find us, though earth be in motion, and mountains fall into the heart of the ocean, or tidal waves roar and the flood waters pour; no, mountains themselves cannot shake His devotion."
Note that God is our hiding place. Note also that in this world, trouble avails, mountains fall, tidal waves roar and flood waters pour. Our lives are not immune from trouble. Tragedies do not pass us by just because we flash a "we are God's property" badge at it. You can easily imagine a world without trouble. Just imagine a world without growth. There is magic in pain and suffering. It is the magic of growth. We mature when our faith muscles are stretched by trials. We endure better when our minds are focused on Jesus' ultimate earthly victory rather than infinitely wallowing in the bleak choruses of Why-me and How-come. When Jesus was crying for relieve from God to deliver him from the cross, God's hands were restraint. I believe the entire universe stood still in anticipation of God's next move. But God moved not. He did nothing. He allowed his creation to slaughter His only son, to subject him to extreme humiliation and to murder the one who was sent to save the murderers.
God's restraint was deliberate, calculated, purposeful. He did nothing because doing nothing is the only way something could be done. That something was the gift of universal salvation. Jesus' death was a victory to us. It is also a reminder that bad things happen for a reason. And God's hands are restraint for a reason. God has a purpose for our life, individually. The trials that we are going through, whether it is caused by us or otherwise, contain a manual for our christian growth. The manual is a step-by-step guide to overcome our circumstances and by overcoming, we take a step closer to discovering God's purpose in our life. Ultimately, even in death, we know that a life lived for God is not in vain. In fact, for true believers who are going through life's most depressing circumstances, it is always a booster to our faith to remember that all is only temporary and the best is yet to come. Let these words comfort those who are in their own valley of shadows and pending death, "While we walk the pilgrim pathway, clouds will overspread the sky. But when trav'ling days are over, not a shadow, not a sigh. Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving ev'ry day. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay."
Have a victorious week ahead.
Ps: Beloved, it is said that hope is listening to the melody of the future and faith is to dance to it. What is your music when crisis hit? What songs are played in your spirit when trouble beckons? Robert Benson once said, "There has to be a song - to make our burdens bearable, to make our hopes believable, to transform our successes into praise, to release the chains of past defeats. Somewhere - down deep in a forgotten corner of each man's heart - there has to be a song." Do you hear the singing of God's choir in your spirit when you are mired in a situation that is beyond you? The Bible is full of crisis singers. Joshua led in victory chant that fell jericho wall while Nehemiah worshipped God to restore the wall around Jerusalem. King David sang his heart out when he was down and out. King Soloman had his very own self-titled chapter called Songs of Soloman. Paul crooned in prison and convicted the hearts of the prison guard and his family.
Sometimes, when bad times prevail, we would be wise to tune into God's calming melody. There is a song for everyone. A song to bring us into God's presence. A song to weather even the worst of time. A song to bring peace into our hearts. Here's a song that your faith can dance to whatever your circumstances, whatever your grief:-
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL...
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like a sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say...
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday's Recap (130209)
Last Friday we talked about knowing God. Can we ever know God? Is God knowable? Does God reveal Himself to us in a way that we can confidently say that we know Him and know everything about Him? I think the answer is obvious. The discussion was unanimous about the answer. We cannot know everything about God. Acknowledging this ignorance is acknowledging our limitation.
We are created in God's image, in His likeness. We are created being. Our coming into existence was planned to the minutest details. It was a labor of unconditional love. God conceived us in his divine mind. A mind so vast, so intricate and so deep that we, as His created gem, can never even start to comprehend. Acknowledging our limitation is acknowledging God's sovereignty over our lives.
One definition of sin that I fully endorse is usurpation. The tower of babel is the ultimate symbol of this usurpation. This proposed secular architecture represents all of humanity's strength and none of God's. It represents all of our effort and none of God's. It represents our ultimate independence from a love so compelling that it will not let us go. It is a coup of heaven, a dethronement of God's rightful place in our heart. Genesis 11:4 spelt out the intention of the babelian's hearts as they chant these words, "Come let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." As man reaches up to dethrone his maker, God reaches down to enthrone his creation.
The tower of babel had to be destroyed not because God was afraid of being overthrown. God cannot be overthrown. He is the foundation for which we stand and taking away the foundation destroys us completely. For man to usurp God's role in this universe is as extreme a thought as a man singlehandedly tearing out his beating heart from his rib cage and shouting out in defiance, "I don't need you to live my life!" We cannot live apart from our Creator as all substance and sustenance of life are held together by His hands. It is not only the hills, mountains and the seas that sing out His praises; the universe(s) and all its forces also join in the cosmic chorus as a tribute to His divine handiwork.
So, the first sin of humanity is not murder. Neither is it lust. Nor greed. It is eviction. We evict God from His residence in our heart and live our life as if He did not exist and never existed. This is, I believe, the birth of pain and suffering in this fallen world. I know it appears naive to attribute all our sorrow to one ancient act of pride and rebellion. It even appears as a cop out, trying to avoid hard answers for easy ones. But, after witnessing so much pain and suffering in this world, I know of no other cause that best explain our lamentable state of affair than our willful act of severing all ties with the one and only source of life in this universe. When the ultimate source of life is evicted, what remains is lifeless chaos and pointless randomness.
Natural disaster becomes a blind toss of a dice. Without God, tragedy has only one rule: being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Without God, man's evil becomes unmitigated. With the reckless power of an unsubmitted will, man takes upon himself to be responsible for his own happiness, even at the expense of his spouse, children and friends. He divorces when his marriage becomes inconvenient and stifling. He abuses for self-profit. He lies for self-adulation. He covets for self-elevation. He lives for self-pleasure. He becomes a true babelian, building his own tower to usurp God's rightful place in his heart and life.
When a man lives in defiance and denial of God's love and soverignty, he lives for Himself. Although he still does what is right in his own eyes, and although he still considers himself moral and upright as a byproduct of his upbringing, his self-taught knowledge of right and wrong, and his instinctual bias for mutual reciprocity (that is, the golden rule: Do not do unto others what you do not want them to do unto you), man lives in a dark existential cave - cut off from the source of light and life. He lives for the here and now and the soon-passing thereafter. His sight is always secular and myopic, always focusing on earthly things of transient, superficial value. He derives pleasure from possessing, striving and achieving; but, alas, he is never fulfilled, never satisfied. His appetites are never sated because his carnal metabolism never rest and can never find rest.
That is why the greatest invitation of all are these words of Jesus, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) The greatest comfort is this, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) And the greatest love is this, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons and daughters of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)
When man returns to God, acknowledges his sovereignty, experiences his love and trusts in His faithfulness, man comes full circle. He becomes complete because he is fully restored, not lacking in anything. Neither deprived of anything. His injurious heart is made whole. His quest fulfilled. His purpose aligned. And his hope revived. There is therefore an emptiness more empty than emptiness itself. It is the emptiness of living without God. But this emptiness is not hard to live with because it is numbed by the pleasure of material wealth, distracted by everyday busyness and suppressed by a sense of self-deluded purpose that comes with living a carnal life.
Beloved, let's wake up from our slumber. Let's see through our busyness. Let's pull the materialistic wool from our eyes. Let's put away half-hearted commitment. Stop playing religion. Cease acting the Christian role and never living it fully. Let's practise, what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called, "Religionless Christianity". Bonhoeffer, who became a martyr for Christ during the reign of the 3rd reich, once rallied the Christian world to separate Christianity from religion. There is of course nothing wrong with religion. It is a systematic, organized way of worship. But this is as far as the definition goes. It is only an organized form of worship with all its attendant rules and compliance measures. It is not the essence of worship. When the emphasis is inverted or perverted, we become Christians who worship the form and not the essence. We become rule-driven, legalistic and hypocritical. We become indistinguishable from the pharisees of Jesus' day who practised and engaged in what I called "showroom worship" rather than the true heart of worship.
In this modern world, we have a new god at our altar. It is the god of instant self-gratification. Our needs come first. We seek our own material satisfaction even in things spiritual. In our hyperconsumeristic society, even religion is not spared. Religion has undergone many facelifts, cosmetic makeovers and new repackaging. It is no longer chic or hip to just follow simple biblical principles of fasting, praying and worshipping. To attract the crowd, to make churches more appealing to the senses, we have to excite with special programs, to stimulate with sensational sermons, and to electrify with flashy stage band and dancers.
I am not against all this, of course. I am in fact part of a band that I am proud of. What I am against is the possible distraction such large set up brings for the thrill-seekers, the self-servers and the restless believers always craving for that next religious high before they commit to serve. We are always looking to be self-gratiated that we forget that Jesus did not come so that we can practise "jacuzzi Christianity" - soaking ourselves idly in bubbling warm waters, doing nothing, sacrificing nothing and achieving nothing. The one hallmark of a Christian who worships self-gratification more than the true and living God is that he or she treats God as a cosmic butler, snapping his fingers so that God could realise his unquenchable desires. Without a deep and rewarding relationship with God, we will never know God the way he ought to be known and loved.
So, I believe there is a way to know God, to apprehend Him in a way He wants us to apprehend Him. God wants to be known to us. Our God is not a secret double agent whose identity is always hidden, cryptic or disguised. He reveals as much as He can without compromising or endangering the fragile shell of our humanity. Be it in a burning bush, a roaring wind or a soft whisper in our hearts, God speaks and listens. He is never a stone's throw away. He is the stone in your hand, waiting to hear you and eager to reply. The initiative is all ours. What do we want out of our faith? Do we want to remain along the fringe, too afraid to run into the embracing arms of God, too scared of the price to be paid for a reward that no price listing is worthy of its tag? Or are we too bored with Christianity? Are we numbed by the years of hearing the same sermons over and over again like a broken record player churning out the same old sickening songs? At our crossroad of faith, what we truly need is not more committing but more surrendering. What we need is not more doing but once-and-for-all transformation. What we need is not serving and giving but receiving when we quietly sit under the feet of Jesus to renew our faith.
Let me end with the wise words of Pastor Edmund Chan taken from his book Growing Deep in God. Read and reread these words because they are powerful to change your perspectives of life and your belief. It basically distinguishes commitment from surrendering and the truth it releases in your spirit once you understand it fully is thermonuclearic
"There is a great difference between a surrendered life and a committed life. The committed life centres on our doing; a surrendered life centres on our being.
The committed life emphasises what we must do for Christ; the surrendered life realises that we can do nothing apart from Christ.
The committed life exalts competence; the surrendered life exalts character. The committed life emphasises the outward; the surrendered life emphasises the inward.
The committed life centres on operations; the surrendered life centres on obedience."
Pastor Chan concludes with these words, "We have substituted commitment for surrender. A man may be outwardly committed to Christ's work, but may not be inwardly surrendered to the will of Christ! A surrendered life is the consecrated key to intimacy with God. The more we are ushered into the depths of intimacy with God, the more unbearable our unsurrenderedness becomes, and the sweeter our oasis of surrender. For in surrender, we become rested in our spirit and not restless. Surrender leads us to rest. A rest that empowers and emboldens our prayers."
Have a blessed, empowered week ahead! Don't forget to show your beloved your romantic, cassanova side.
Postscript: Kwan Hong, Zenn, James, Faith...we miss you at our last cell discussion. Really hope to see you guys at our next cell this coming Friday. Every discussion ignites the heart and inspires the spirit and the ignition is far greater with all your presence and uplifting contributions. See you soon, take good care.
We are created in God's image, in His likeness. We are created being. Our coming into existence was planned to the minutest details. It was a labor of unconditional love. God conceived us in his divine mind. A mind so vast, so intricate and so deep that we, as His created gem, can never even start to comprehend. Acknowledging our limitation is acknowledging God's sovereignty over our lives.
One definition of sin that I fully endorse is usurpation. The tower of babel is the ultimate symbol of this usurpation. This proposed secular architecture represents all of humanity's strength and none of God's. It represents all of our effort and none of God's. It represents our ultimate independence from a love so compelling that it will not let us go. It is a coup of heaven, a dethronement of God's rightful place in our heart. Genesis 11:4 spelt out the intention of the babelian's hearts as they chant these words, "Come let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." As man reaches up to dethrone his maker, God reaches down to enthrone his creation.
The tower of babel had to be destroyed not because God was afraid of being overthrown. God cannot be overthrown. He is the foundation for which we stand and taking away the foundation destroys us completely. For man to usurp God's role in this universe is as extreme a thought as a man singlehandedly tearing out his beating heart from his rib cage and shouting out in defiance, "I don't need you to live my life!" We cannot live apart from our Creator as all substance and sustenance of life are held together by His hands. It is not only the hills, mountains and the seas that sing out His praises; the universe(s) and all its forces also join in the cosmic chorus as a tribute to His divine handiwork.
So, the first sin of humanity is not murder. Neither is it lust. Nor greed. It is eviction. We evict God from His residence in our heart and live our life as if He did not exist and never existed. This is, I believe, the birth of pain and suffering in this fallen world. I know it appears naive to attribute all our sorrow to one ancient act of pride and rebellion. It even appears as a cop out, trying to avoid hard answers for easy ones. But, after witnessing so much pain and suffering in this world, I know of no other cause that best explain our lamentable state of affair than our willful act of severing all ties with the one and only source of life in this universe. When the ultimate source of life is evicted, what remains is lifeless chaos and pointless randomness.
Natural disaster becomes a blind toss of a dice. Without God, tragedy has only one rule: being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Without God, man's evil becomes unmitigated. With the reckless power of an unsubmitted will, man takes upon himself to be responsible for his own happiness, even at the expense of his spouse, children and friends. He divorces when his marriage becomes inconvenient and stifling. He abuses for self-profit. He lies for self-adulation. He covets for self-elevation. He lives for self-pleasure. He becomes a true babelian, building his own tower to usurp God's rightful place in his heart and life.
When a man lives in defiance and denial of God's love and soverignty, he lives for Himself. Although he still does what is right in his own eyes, and although he still considers himself moral and upright as a byproduct of his upbringing, his self-taught knowledge of right and wrong, and his instinctual bias for mutual reciprocity (that is, the golden rule: Do not do unto others what you do not want them to do unto you), man lives in a dark existential cave - cut off from the source of light and life. He lives for the here and now and the soon-passing thereafter. His sight is always secular and myopic, always focusing on earthly things of transient, superficial value. He derives pleasure from possessing, striving and achieving; but, alas, he is never fulfilled, never satisfied. His appetites are never sated because his carnal metabolism never rest and can never find rest.
That is why the greatest invitation of all are these words of Jesus, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) The greatest comfort is this, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) And the greatest love is this, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons and daughters of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)
When man returns to God, acknowledges his sovereignty, experiences his love and trusts in His faithfulness, man comes full circle. He becomes complete because he is fully restored, not lacking in anything. Neither deprived of anything. His injurious heart is made whole. His quest fulfilled. His purpose aligned. And his hope revived. There is therefore an emptiness more empty than emptiness itself. It is the emptiness of living without God. But this emptiness is not hard to live with because it is numbed by the pleasure of material wealth, distracted by everyday busyness and suppressed by a sense of self-deluded purpose that comes with living a carnal life.
Beloved, let's wake up from our slumber. Let's see through our busyness. Let's pull the materialistic wool from our eyes. Let's put away half-hearted commitment. Stop playing religion. Cease acting the Christian role and never living it fully. Let's practise, what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called, "Religionless Christianity". Bonhoeffer, who became a martyr for Christ during the reign of the 3rd reich, once rallied the Christian world to separate Christianity from religion. There is of course nothing wrong with religion. It is a systematic, organized way of worship. But this is as far as the definition goes. It is only an organized form of worship with all its attendant rules and compliance measures. It is not the essence of worship. When the emphasis is inverted or perverted, we become Christians who worship the form and not the essence. We become rule-driven, legalistic and hypocritical. We become indistinguishable from the pharisees of Jesus' day who practised and engaged in what I called "showroom worship" rather than the true heart of worship.
In this modern world, we have a new god at our altar. It is the god of instant self-gratification. Our needs come first. We seek our own material satisfaction even in things spiritual. In our hyperconsumeristic society, even religion is not spared. Religion has undergone many facelifts, cosmetic makeovers and new repackaging. It is no longer chic or hip to just follow simple biblical principles of fasting, praying and worshipping. To attract the crowd, to make churches more appealing to the senses, we have to excite with special programs, to stimulate with sensational sermons, and to electrify with flashy stage band and dancers.
I am not against all this, of course. I am in fact part of a band that I am proud of. What I am against is the possible distraction such large set up brings for the thrill-seekers, the self-servers and the restless believers always craving for that next religious high before they commit to serve. We are always looking to be self-gratiated that we forget that Jesus did not come so that we can practise "jacuzzi Christianity" - soaking ourselves idly in bubbling warm waters, doing nothing, sacrificing nothing and achieving nothing. The one hallmark of a Christian who worships self-gratification more than the true and living God is that he or she treats God as a cosmic butler, snapping his fingers so that God could realise his unquenchable desires. Without a deep and rewarding relationship with God, we will never know God the way he ought to be known and loved.
So, I believe there is a way to know God, to apprehend Him in a way He wants us to apprehend Him. God wants to be known to us. Our God is not a secret double agent whose identity is always hidden, cryptic or disguised. He reveals as much as He can without compromising or endangering the fragile shell of our humanity. Be it in a burning bush, a roaring wind or a soft whisper in our hearts, God speaks and listens. He is never a stone's throw away. He is the stone in your hand, waiting to hear you and eager to reply. The initiative is all ours. What do we want out of our faith? Do we want to remain along the fringe, too afraid to run into the embracing arms of God, too scared of the price to be paid for a reward that no price listing is worthy of its tag? Or are we too bored with Christianity? Are we numbed by the years of hearing the same sermons over and over again like a broken record player churning out the same old sickening songs? At our crossroad of faith, what we truly need is not more committing but more surrendering. What we need is not more doing but once-and-for-all transformation. What we need is not serving and giving but receiving when we quietly sit under the feet of Jesus to renew our faith.
Let me end with the wise words of Pastor Edmund Chan taken from his book Growing Deep in God. Read and reread these words because they are powerful to change your perspectives of life and your belief. It basically distinguishes commitment from surrendering and the truth it releases in your spirit once you understand it fully is thermonuclearic
"There is a great difference between a surrendered life and a committed life. The committed life centres on our doing; a surrendered life centres on our being.
The committed life emphasises what we must do for Christ; the surrendered life realises that we can do nothing apart from Christ.
The committed life exalts competence; the surrendered life exalts character. The committed life emphasises the outward; the surrendered life emphasises the inward.
The committed life centres on operations; the surrendered life centres on obedience."
Pastor Chan concludes with these words, "We have substituted commitment for surrender. A man may be outwardly committed to Christ's work, but may not be inwardly surrendered to the will of Christ! A surrendered life is the consecrated key to intimacy with God. The more we are ushered into the depths of intimacy with God, the more unbearable our unsurrenderedness becomes, and the sweeter our oasis of surrender. For in surrender, we become rested in our spirit and not restless. Surrender leads us to rest. A rest that empowers and emboldens our prayers."
Have a blessed, empowered week ahead! Don't forget to show your beloved your romantic, cassanova side.
Postscript: Kwan Hong, Zenn, James, Faith...we miss you at our last cell discussion. Really hope to see you guys at our next cell this coming Friday. Every discussion ignites the heart and inspires the spirit and the ignition is far greater with all your presence and uplifting contributions. See you soon, take good care.
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