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
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
posted by justanotherbrotherinchrist | 6:06 pm
1 Comments:
a kind of understand your comments and questions on 'be content' BS. It is hard to be feeling 'satisfied' while we are experiencing any kind of loss.
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