A discourse on Abraham's faith

It was by his faith that Abraham could leave the land of his fathers to become a stranger in the land of promise. He left behind one thing behind, took another with him. He left behind his worldly understanding and took with him his faith. Otherwise he would surely not have gone; certainly it wuold have been senseless to do so.

It was faith that made Abraham accept the promise that all nations of the earth should be blessed in his seed. Time went by, the possibility was still there, and Abraham has faith; time went by, it became unlikely, and Abraham has faith. There was once another who held out an expectation. Time went by, the evening drew near, he was not so pitiful as to forget his expectation; therefore he too should not be forgotten. Then he sorrowed, and the sorrow did not deceive him as life had done; it did all it could for him and in the sweetness of sorrow he possessed his dsappointed expectation. It is human to sorrow with the sorrower, but greater to have faith and more blessed to behold the believer. From Abraham we have no song of sorrow. As time went by he did not mournifully count the days, he did not cast suspicious glances at Sarah, fearing she was growing old; he did not stay the march of the sun so that Sarah should not grow old and with her his expectation; he did not soothingly sing to Sarah his mournful lay. Abraham became old and Sarah was mocked in the land, and still he was God's chosen and heir to the promise that in his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed. Would it not be better, then, were he not God's chosen? What is it to be God's chosen? Is it to be denied in youth one's youthful desire in order to have it fulfilled in great travail old age? But Abraham beleived and held firm to the promise.

Have Abraham wavered he would have renounced it. He would have said to God:'So perhaps after all it is not your will that it should happen; then I will give up my desire, it was my only desire, my blessed joy. My soul is upright, I bear no secret grudge because you refused it.'He would not have been forgotten, he would have saved many by his example, yet he would not have become the father of faith; for it is great to give up one's desire, but greater to stick to it after having given it up; it is great to grasp hold of the eternal but greater to stick to the temporal after having given it up.

Had Abraham not have faith, then Sarah would surely have died of sorrow, and Abraham, dull with grief, instead of understanding the fulfillment, would have smiled at it as at a youthful dream. But Abraham believed, and therefore he was young; for he who always hope for the best becomes old, deceived by life, and he who is always prepared for the worst becomes old prematurely; but he who has faith, retains eternal youth.

Outwardly the wonder of faith is in Abraham and Sarah's being young enough for it to happen according to their expectations; in a deeper sense the wonder of faith lies in Abraham and Sarah's being young enough to wish, and in faith's having preserved their wish and through it their youthfulness. He accepted the fulfilment of the promise, he accepted it in faith, and it happened according to the expectation and according to faith; for Moses struck the rock with his rod but he did not believe.

In Fear and Trembling - by Soren Kierkegaard

On Christ's Secret Speech with the Faithful Soul

On Christ Secret Speech with the Faithful soul(The imitation of Christ, Book 3, Ch.1)

1. 'I will hearken to what the Lord says within me.'
Blessed the soul which hears the Lord speaking within, and receives the word of consolation from his lips.
Blessed are the ears which pick up the rills of God's whisper, and pay no attention to the whisperings of this world.
Blessed are the ears whcih listen, not to the voice which sounds abroad, but the one which teaches truth within.
Blessed are the eyes closed to the things without, but fixed on those within.
Blessed are they who go deep within, and work hard to prepare themselves more and more by daily exercises to receive the secrets of heaven.
Blessed are they who are eager to have leisure for God, and shake themselves free from every hinderance of the world.
Give your attention to this my soul, and close the doors of your carnal nature, that you may be able to hear what the Lord your God says within you.

2. These things says your beloved:'I am your salvation, your peace and your life. Keep by me and you will find peace.' Dismiss all passing things and seek those which are eternal. What are all temporal things, but seductions? And what avail all things created if you will be deserted by the Creator? Therefore, with all else put away, give back yourself, acceptable and faithful, to your Creator, that you may be able to grasp true blessedness.

Turn not only our eyes, but our ears also, upon Jesus.

The Imitation of Christ

Which book will you pick if you can only bring one book along in your journey(apart from the bible)? For me, I will pick 'The Imitation of Christ' written by Thomas Kempis. This is a devotional book that will let you sleep in peace after a day of unrest work, a book that will moisturize your dry and weary heart, and a book that will give you profound insight about life and bring you back to follow Jesus.
This is a book to chew, but not for skim reading; a book that is placed beside your pillow, but not on you shelf; a book that give you counsel and advice for spiritual living and inner life, but not the 7-step or 101 self-help book to succeed in the world.

Below are some quoted passage.

On the Fewness of Those who Love the Cross of Christ (Book 2, Chapter 17)
1.
Jesus has now many who love his heavenly kingdom, but few who carry his cross.
He has many who desire consolation, but few who desire tribulation.
He finds more to share his table, few his fasting.
All wish to rejoice with him, few want to bear anything for him.
Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to drinking the cup of suffering.
Many revere his mircales, few follow the shame of his corss.
Many love Jesus so long as adversity does not befall them
Many praise and bless him, so long as they receive some consolations from him.
But if Jesus hide himself and leave them for a littel while, they fall into complaining and deep dejection.

2.
But those who love for Jesus for Jesus's sake, and not for any consolation of their own, bless him in all tribulation and anguish of heart, just as in the highest consolation. And if it is his will never to give consolation, they should nevertheless always praise him, and always wish to be greatful.

...

5. Let him not give great weight to what might appear so to be, but pronounce himself in truth an unprofitable servant, just as the Truth says:'When you have done all that has been bidden you, say: We are unprofitable servants.' Then truely you will be able to be poor and naked in spirit, and with the Prophet say:'I am poor and needy.' Yet no one is richer than he, no one more potent, no one more free, who knows how to abandon self and reckon himself the lowliest.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The introduction for this book say that this is a book that has spoken to the centuries and all manner of people. Pope John Paul one was reading it when he passed quietly to rest in bed after his thirty-three day in the office in 1978. Of course, we are just an ordinary and normal person that is treasured in God's eye, yet it is the calling of every christian to try our best to imitate Christ and follow Him in our life journey. That's the essence of the book - The Imitation of Christ

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow stranglely dim,
in the light of His Glory and Grace

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God. (Psalm 42-43)

The book 'fear and trembling' written by Soren Kirkegaard explores the question of faith. If someone gives up everything for God and for a great cause, but continue to dwell with the pain of the loss, he is the 'knight of infinite resignation'. But if someone give up everything for God, and trust that he will receive all back even though it is absurb from the human standard, he is the 'knight of faith'. According to the author, infinite resignation is easy, but faith is found on the 'strength of absurb'. When Abraham sacrifice the most dear person for him as an act of religious faith, he believed that God would not let the sacrifice of Issac to happen and will return his son to him. Abraham is absurb from human heart's, but by trusting in God without resignation, Abraham was proclaimed great in God's eye.

The theology is stimulating, but it is a bit dangerous as it may create unnessary misery and false hope, at least to the author himself. Throughout his life, Kirkegaard has devoted his life serving God as a christian writer. Seeming unable to reconcie with the prospect of marriage and his calling from God, he broke off the engagement with his fiance, Regine, even though he loved her. Of course, he regretted, and thoughout his life he struggles and never able to get recovered from his failed relationship for her. He clinged on the hope that if he were to give up the most dear person to serve God, God would return her to him at the last moment even though he has resigned from the failed relationship. He never got married and remain as a single for the rest of his life. However, Regine has never returned to him, as she married to someone else.

Never commit the same mistake as in Kirkegaard. Though his action seems noble, he is absurb(or stupid) and his life is full or irony. Yet, is he lived by faith? I think so, and that's why the story is quite sad, as he is living in a false hope. No matter how zealous and faithful you are, if it is not God's will, you cannot make things to happen. The authority is from God, not from human's effort. Yet, God has rewarded Him after his death in another way. His works was widely quoted and read by both christian and non-christians in the later generation.

Why our soul downcast? one reason maybe because we have a thorn in our flesh (2 Cor 12:7) while we are walking in our journey. To Kirkegaard, maybe the thorn is his failed relationship with Regine. To us, maybe it's the other things: our failure and emotion, our unfulfilled and never fulfilled dreams, our physical health and appearances, our saddness and broken past, our failed relationship with others, or our poverty in material possessions. How to solve it? I don't know. I only know that God has asked us to 'throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with preseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fixed our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews: 12:1-2)'. It is easier to say than to do. Yet I also know that 'His grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in weakness' (2 Cor 12:9). However, that doesn't mean that you have to gives up everything for God but continue to dwell with the pain of the loss. For if it is God's will, one will have no regret.

My thoughts seem to be not well organised this time and there is lots of contradition. Yet, when we turn our eyes upon Jesus, the joy, sorrow or regret we are experiencing in our life journey will look strangely dim, compared to the light of His glory and strength.

Just want to write down something. It seems that my life in the past 2 or 3 months is normal and routine that He caught me by surprise now, thinking that I am ready to go through something in my life at this moment. He is definitely stretching me and over-estimating my abilities. Yet I trust that His will be done, as I have already saw His hand in the midst of the process. Maybe not as dramatic as the case of Abraham, but He is the one who take care for those who have a simple faith to love Him and to follow His ways.


Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow stranglely dim,
in the light of His Glory and Grace

A discourse on 'boring'

Yesterday afternoon I was ‘bored’ by my study that I spend my whole afternoon reading a book that is totally unrelated to my subject. Yet, there is a very interesting claim in the book ‘Either/Or, A Fragment of life’ written by Soren Kierkegaard. I don’t fully understand his work, yet it is quite though-provoking. The proposition in one of his article is as follows.

“Boredom is the root of all evil”

From every generation, human always want to try to amuse themselves in every means. In the bible, maybe human are boring, that they want to become God and building the Tower of Babel that displeases God. In history, the Roman citizens amuse themselves by torturing the others, and they called it ‘games’ or public entertainment. In modern day, social and economic life seems to founder on boredom, which is most fatal at all. Something called ‘consumerism’ that the desire for people to satisfy people their want and their propensity for spend has created demand and lead to economic and technical progress. Entertainment, of course is to entertain the consumer. Sadly, culture that is rich in entertaining people is corrupted, as proved by history. So often the means to amuse people are corrupted. Yet for the desire to get rid of our boredom, we yield to this mean intentionally or unintentionally. Because of boredom, human can do anything to get rid of it, even disobeying God.

So what is ‘boring’? Some may claim that the life in the town is boring, yet isn’t it true that the lifestyle and culture in the city are ‘boring’ in some eyes? Some may say that reading bible is boring, yet isn’t it true that many gossip or so-called trendy magazines are ‘boring’ in some eyes? Some may claim that a simple family life is ‘boring’, yet, isn’t it true that a person who put pursuing amusement as their life motto ‘boring’ also in some eyes? A quiet person is boring, yet isn’t true that a talkative person with meaningless word is boring also in some eyes? Routine and normal works are boring, yet isn’t it true that staying idle without working are boring in some eyes?

Though people’s feeling are subjective, it seems that we all understanding what is boring. If we have already experience all the goodness in the place where we are, and we can’t find any external or internal stimulation when we repeat our way of life, we are bored.

Maybe human life without God is intrinsically boring. Life is not boring, unless one can discover the calling of God in our life and holding on the hope to look forward to the eternity that God has promised to us. When we are following God, we know that the best is yet to come in heaven and we know we will taste His goodness however good or bad situation we are in. Living by faith everyday to trust, to obey and to follow Him is not boring, as the goodness of the Lord will never cease and our life is yearning for it.

Well, some can challenge that being a faithful Christians is boring too, but then I can response by saying that putting God aside in your life to pursue satisfaction is boring too, not even boring, but is meaningless, and will lead to corruption of human and society.

According to the author of the book that I have read, the secret of dealing with boredom is the arbitrariness in our life. Maybe it is when we have decided to obey God to live a boring life, that our life will no longer become boring, as life is full of ‘surprise’. We can’t intentionally manipulate the ‘surprise’ in our life (If you manipulating something, then it is not surprise and it is boring). The surprise in our life solely comes from His grace when we are following Him.

Father

Tonight I just have a chat with my father, not the heavenly one but the earthly one.
I still remember the 2 piece of Chinese literature that I have studied during my secondary school. They protray the father-son relation. One is 'the back shadow' by Zhu Chi Tsing. Another is the 'looking back' by Pak Sin Yung (the translation of the title and the name of the author are not correct). As life move on, people have to leave their parents to pursue their own dreams and career. and you will suddenly find that when time fly past, and your parents, once you are so familiar with, are getting older and older. Physically and emotionally they are getting weaker and weaker. Yet we can't do anything to stop the trend apart from praying.

Munich

Tonight I have watched the film 'Munich'. I was attracted by the historical background of this movie regarding the Israeli-Palestiniane conflict. Yet in the end, I feel a bit disappointed, as it seems to me that this was just another movie about spy-game and assasination plot. I have already expected that the main actor will face struggle and dilemna in his heart when trying to finish his assasination. The story line that a secret agent was being used and manupulated by the their boss to achieve some 'unjust' aims for the country benefit was so common in many movies. That's why the movie didn't give me much surprising element that make it special. Maybe the original intention doesn't aim to give us the answer to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. It only look from the side of Israeli without exploring much into the Palestinian perspectives.

Yet certain message from the movie will let you think. One question posed is 'what is home?' and why people has to fight for their homeland. For those who are wandering and being an exile, they are longing for their homeland, and they will spend their whole life to fight for and to secure it. For those who have already settle, they will try their best and use every means to protect their home. That's why the Palestinian are fighting for their land, the Isareli are protecting their land from the attack of the Palestinian, and a man will try to build their family and to protect them. That is human life.

The home of a christian in heaven, yet we also thank God that in nowadays most of us have our home. Even though some of us are still searching for a place where we belongs, comparing to the christian in the early centuries, to the Jews before 1948, to the Palestine nowadays, or even to some of our grandparent or great grandparents in the early 20th century in China, we are in a far more comfortable situation than them. At least we can have a choice to choose, and at least it is not about life-dead issue.

Don't retailiate and love your enemy. This is another message from the movie.