| Reflections on the 10 Commandments |
[Apr. 22nd, 2006|12:08 am] |
Just finished preparing a bible study on the 10 commandments. I realised I've never really looked in detail at the 10 commandments before. Taken together, the 10 commandments truly provides the basis on a perfect society. Yet while God's law is perfect, we are not. Instead, we, who believe in Jesus, look forward to the day that Christ will return to establish His heavenly kingdom of righteousness.
Preparation of the Bible study led me to think about right and wrong in our society. Is there a need for the law? And who has the right (pardon the pun) to decide what is the law?
Almost everyone will agree that there is a need for the law. The law restricts evil and negative behaviour. The law also protects. Like warning signs on the road, the law keeps people from hurting themselves. Without the law, chaos will reign. Life in a society without law will be driving on a road without lane markings, traffic lights, stop lines... etc. Absolute freedom means no freedom from anyone.
But while everyone acknowledges the need for the law. Everyone disagrees on who should decide the law. Take the school context for example. The principal has the authority to decide the rules of the school. But everyone from the students, teachers, library staff and canteen operators all want to have a say in the rules. You see, everyone wants to rules defined in our favour. In essence, I want to make my own rules.
I think deciding your own rules is perfectly alright if you were a hermit. But playing by your own rules in a community is ultimately problematic. Think about it. If you want to make your own rules or pretend to be god, and I want to pretend to be god, then when we meet, who IS god? Who decides whose rules to play by?
This leads to either violence (stick approach) or manipulation (carrot approach). Either way, we destroy society and each other with our desire to have our own way.
Our desire to play God is what the Bible calls sin. It is sin because it is rebellion against God who created us and ultimately has the authority to decide what is right and wrong. If we claim to have the authority to decide, we are going against God's authority in our lives and that is what the Bible calls sin.
Let's recognise our rebellion and turn to God in repentance and ask for his forgiveness. |
|
|
| Ants in the House |
[Feb. 28th, 2006|12:54 pm] |
The first time I spotted ants was in Dec last year. They were crawling on the floor, searching for the nearest nibble. Over the past 3 months, they seemed to have re-produced exponentially. Now, the ants are conquering my hall, slowly inching their way into the bedrooms.
We bought some insecticide last night and fired some at the ants. I've never seen them die any faster. It was amazing. One moment they were walking, the next moment, they were dead on the ground. No one heard their cries of agony. No one saw them curl up in pain. No one would miss them. I mopped them up this morning and threw them into the dustbin.
Well, I guess the problem of ants was my fault. The house hasn't been cleaned for a while. Guess the ants prove that I need to sweep, vaccum and mop more often. It keeps me humble and exercising. Heh..
Reflection point: if you leave things alone, they'll either attract ants or become dirty. |
|
|
| Why choose broken cisterns? |
[Jul. 14th, 2005|04:08 pm] |
"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
- Jeremiah 2:13
A cistern is a container for holding water. It is usually built by digging a hole in the ground and covering the ground with plaster. The cistern needs to be waterproof, so that the water will not leak into the ground. Any crack or fissure in the cistern would mean that it would lose all the water it is carrying. Compared to a spring, the cistern is a poor alternative. Water from a spring jets out of the ground. It flows continuously so one doesn't have to worry about the supply.
Ask anyone who lives in an arid region if they could choose between a spring or a cistern. Their answer would be obvious: A spring is much better. But strangely enough, humanity, you and I would rather leave a spring and go and look for a cistern. We would rather leave the sovereign God who richly provides for us, who loves us and cares for us and follow other gods that we fashion with our own hands. Why?
Sin is attractive. Our culture makes sin attractive. True manhood, as defined by our world, is the man who is good in bed and has numerous flings. Our culture preaches relativism: You can do whatever you want, as long as you don't get caught. To place all the blame on our culture is not entirely correct too. We ourselves must take responsibility for our actions. As much as we hate to admit it. We love it when we get our own way. It doesn't matter if I'm right or wrong; what matters is that I need to have my way.
Yet these cisterns that we've chosen are all broken. Our actions will only cause more hurt and pain to the people around us. If you have true manhood and true womanhood, you'll never have true trust between a man and a woman. Possessiveness, suspicion and insecurity will engulf the relationship - "Things will never be the same again." If all we're interested in is having our way, then at an individual level, our behaviour will kill any friendships we have. At a community or national level, the inability to put others first will destroy any real interaction with another community or nation. At it's extreme case, it will result in war, death and destruction.
Why do we still choose broken cisterns? Why don't we return to the true spring of life? |
|
|
| The Most Precious Thing |
[Jun. 23rd, 2005|10:32 am] |
In recent weeks, I've been pre-occupied with wedding preparations and household renovations. From choosing the contractor to choosing the caterer, from going down to see the flat to food tasting, my life revolves around my wedding and my new house. Surely these are only temporary pre-occupations. My wedding will pass and I'll be settling into my married life and in about 2 months time, my house will be done too.
But all this busyness caused me to ponder about what my pre-occupations in life are. What am I obsessed about? What takes up my life? And what should take up my life?
One could say that at different seasons of life different foci come to the front. When I was a student, I was concern about my studies. Now, I'm concerned about work and succeeding there. When I was single, I was concerned about getting a girlfriend. Now, I'm concerned about how marriage life would be like. But throughout every season, is there anything that is the most precious thing? Anything that is constantly through the time and space of my life?
Looking at 2 Timothy, Paul's concern through every season of his life was the gospel. The glorious gospel message that saved him and called him to a holy life. For this message, he gave his life to defend and proclaim. Even at the point of his death bed, he was still making arrangements to ensure that the gospel would continue to the next generation and beyond. The challenge is the same for every age: Be unashamed of the gospel and pass it on.
What about me? Is the gospel the pre-occupation and obsession of my life? Am I giving my life to defend and proclaim it in word and in deed? |
|
|
| Servant or Ruler? |
[Jun. 11th, 2005|04:07 pm] |
Just came back from a wedding and the speaker said something worth blogging about. He reminded the bridegroom to be like Jesus, a servant leader, someone who comes to serve and not to rule. Jesus came to serve and not to rule? His comment is worthy of a moment of reflection.
There is no doubt that Jesus came to serve. Mark 10:45 tells us that "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." For a fallen humanity trapped under to power of God's wrath and Sin's sway, Jesus came to pay the price for our self-centred rebellion against God. He served humanity by dying on the Cross so that we could be redeemed into God's heavenly kingdom. This is the glorious message of the gospel that God would humble himself to die in the place of sinners.
But is Jesus merely a servant?
The answer the Bible presents is clearly a 'no'. Jesus is not only a servant; he is also the king. He is not only our Saviour; He is also our Lord and Ruler. Jesus came to serve, but one day he is coming to rule. Ephesians 1:22 tells us that "God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church." The nations and the ends of the earth are the possession of Jesus. He is King over the Universe.
There is no refuge from Him, only refuge in Him. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
lincoln_mao's journal