希望 Hope

「信就是所望之事的實底，是未見之事的確據。」（來11:1)

甚麼才是信心？甚麼才是希望？尤其是基督徒常掛在咀邊的信與望又是甚麼？我曾聽過一個比喻，所謂所望之事的實底，就好像當你凝望放在你面前的一隻柸，你未必望到柸的底部是甚麼，但你卻確確實實知道這柸是有底部。信心就是明明未發生，不知道事件的發展如何，但心中仍然平靜，深信無問題，放心得下。

正好與人常常傳誦的思想恰恰相反，我很喜歡李清照的一首詞《一剪梅》：

「花自飄零水自流，一種相思，兩處閑愁。

     此情無計可消除，才下眉頭，却上心頭。」

世俗告訴我們的是未見之事，思念之人或事，無法可以消除，才剛剛想放下，卻又擁到心中。若我們未放手將所有故念的事向神擺上，也許我們會好像詩人般，就是放不下。但神就在聖經中不斷提醒我們要學習信心，倚靠，就是又放下眉頭，又不放在心頭，全然將自己所思所念向神擺上，等待神的答案。這就是信心。

想想我們對神的認識有多少？沒有深切認識也不緊要，只要認定一事：神很愛你！就夠。既然大家都不會知道未來是怎樣，而只有全知全能的神知道你的過去，現在，未來，加上你認定神很愛你，那麼何不把所有你未來的事，未知的事交託祂？祂既然愛你，亦應許「能照著在我們心裡運行的大能大力，充充足足的成就一切，超過我們所求所想」（弗3:20) 就必將最好的給你。所以，大家可以用一個期待聖誕老人派禮物方式般期待神為你預備的禮物吧。你雖然不知道何時會收到如此的一份大禮，你亦不知道禮物會是甚麼，但你們在主裡合乎心意地求，愛你的神又怎會不把最適合你的東西賜給你呢？想著想著，有一份神秘禮物正在為你準備中，怎能叫人不興奮，不期待？

只要所想所求的是合乎神的心意，無論自己在禱告中擺上了多久，請不要灰心，仍然要懷著信心，去等待這位充滿心思，最了解你，又最有創意的神為你預備的神秘禮物吧。

Top of the World - Can we stay longer in our moments of joy?

Have you ever got any experience of being at the top of the world? For example, winning a championship of a prestigious award,  attending an autograph of your newly-published book,  receiving the award of your hard work, being praised by a respectable person in front of the crowd, appearing on the cover of a magazine or newspaper, seeing a world idol on the road when you least expected? How would you  maximize the glory and joy of that moment? Video-taping it? Taking millions of pictures? Inviting friends and press to share the moments? Framing your awards and stick them on the wall?

If only could there be a pause button in the remote control of our life, our happiness could stay longer and our life would be much more beautiful. It is in our human nature that we want to prolong the moment of joy and amplify our glory as much as possible.  It is completely the same in the apostles at the time of Jesus Christ. Can we stay longer in our moment of joy?

In Luke Chapter 9:28-36, Jesus brought Peter, John and James with him to pray on a mountain but the three disciples were heavy with sleep. They became fully awake when they saw Jesus’s transfiguration and the two men, Moses and Elijah, stood with Jesus.  Imagine one day you accidentally ran into your favorite idol whom you have secretly worship for years. How would you react? In front of Peter are the two holy role models – Moses and Elijah, he had never met before. How would he react? If Peter had a camera in front of him, I believe that he would shot thousands of pictures of his two idols and maybe request for autographs, taping the whole process, etc. This glorious moment was too valuable, so Peter wanted the time to stand still.  Not knowing what he said, Peter suggested making three tents for these three holy figures because it is so good to be there.

In our life, we have lots of “good” moments that captivated our mind, stopped our steps in a way that we just want to indulge ourselves in this sort of happiness as long as we can.  We carefully protect this dream bubble and glance at it every now and then.  Is it a problem? I know that we should not be preoccupied by worldly success, but what about spiritual good moments? Like a spiritual revival camp, a speech by an experienced Gospel teacher, a testimonial by a strong faith Christian?  Is it sinful to extend the joy of these moments?  I think the Bible here is especially describing these spiritual moments.

Jesus didn't silence Peter this time. He didn't burst Peter’s dream bubble. “[A] cloud came and overshadowed them… and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” … then Jesus was found alone” (Luke 9:34-36) God appeared at this moment, readjusting the focus of the disciples. It is not Moses, not Elijah, not the glorious moment that they should focus on. It is merely Jesus and his words. 

We could have spiritual uplifting moments and totally enjoy them as much as we do, but in the end, we need to go back to the basic, God’s words, which are the ultimate source of joy, the ultimate principles of our life and the ultimate voice we should listen to .

Caleb – the one wholly followed the Lord

When I thought of the name Caleb, I could only remember him as a spy sent together with Joshua, young and strong, to probe the land of Canaan.  The two of them were the only two who reported good news and had determination in conquering the Canaanites after spying out the land of milk and honey.

Is that all about Caleb?

After reading Joshua Chapter 14, I learned one description of Caleb – the one wholly followed the Lord.  This description appeared three times within ten verses. (verses 6-15)

Out of twelve spies, Caleb dared to stand out against the majority even though what he had seen were exactly the same as other people. What actually did they see? All the spies saw “the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large” (Number 13:28).

The ten spies drew a conclusion that “the land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours, its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height… we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (Number 13:32-33).

But why Caleb could come to a different conclusion? Is it because he is stronger than other people and he likes to fight? No. The Bible tells us a different story. The conclusion Caleb made was “in [his] heart” as he “wholly followed the Lord [his] God.” He just spoke as what his heart told him which reveals his strong faith and connection with God.  He noticed the gigantic size of the enemies, but more importantly, he saw the great miracles that God had done in saving the Israelite in different occasions.

In Joshua, Chapter 14, Caleb was now eighty-five years old and he requested Joshua for his inheritance, declaring that “Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said” (Joshua 14:12).  After forty-five years of waiting, Caleb’s faith in God has not diminished a bit but it has kept growing despite all the changes in his tribe.  Driven by his faith, not only did Caleb wait for the glorious day to come, he also trained himself so hard to stop his physical deterioration for preparing the war he had declared forty-five years ago. He said "I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength then, for war and for going and coming” (Joshua 14:11).

How long are we willing to wait for what God has granted us?  One year, two years, five years? When the future seems gloomy, it’s very difficult for us to keep our faith in God.  The waiting is already torturing, yet, Caleb didn't just stand still and wait. He equipped himself as he strongly believed that God would not forfeit his words. Today, we should learn from Caleb who had seen what other people saw but was willing to wait for the fulfillment of God’s words because he put God’s vision on top and wholly followed the Lord.