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.
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