3 Pray & Relate opportunitiees

Couple years ago, I learned the Pray and Relate strategies from a workshop put together by Heaven Together, which I then shared with my fellowship. For each of the ten stages that describes a seeker's interest in Jesus (Fig.5), there's a suggested Bible verse to use along to pray for that individual.   I have included stages 1 to 3 below (Fig.6-Fig.8).

Lately, opportunities to pray and relate seem to present themselves. Just last week, I had the joy of relating the gospel in various degrees to 3 non-Christian individuals.

1. The mom of my piano student has been reading (and borrowing) the 《中信 》 hardcopy on my coffee table while his son takes lesson.   I gave her an invitation to our church evangelistic meeting and Christmas worship.

For me, it's the beginning of having a spiritual dialogue with her, even though she may not go and that the only "spiritual" subject of our conversation now is church event.

2. I shared John 1:12 with a former Chinese student via email. I simply explained to him the meaning of all the keywords in that Bible verse and the idea that all men have sinned.  And I engaged him by asking, "What do you think about what the Bible says?"  

3. I went to see this 60+ year old Chinese-medicine doctor for the first time. (The one I normally consult gets too popular and requires long queuing time.)  I don't know how it happened but I said to him that it's good to believe in Jesus and invited him to church on Sunday. He declined. But at the end of my consultation, he took out a phone bill from AT&T and asked me to translate for him.

I guess it's a good sign that he asked for my help, as that means he thinks Christians are supposed to be helpful people!

Fig.1


Fig.2


Fig.3


Fig.4


Fig.5


Fig.6


Fig.7


Fig.8


Fig.9

Quarter almost over

Done with my last lecture for this quarter. Thank God. Still there's work to do - like putting together an exam for next week, grading two stacks of term paper over the weekend, and then grading the exam papers next weekend and submitting grades.

Then I'll be off for a week before working on course syllabi for the winter quarter.

Love does not seek its own

I have thought for some time that the popular ideology of self-actualization, self-fulfillment, self-realization, self-satisfaction doesn't square with the self-denying ideology preached by Jesus, but couldn't articulate what exactly the problem is let alone figuring out the solution.

Self-actualization is ALWAYS what drives me forward. As Smedes wrote, "We feel at our moral best precisely when we strive to become more of our better self than we are. And when we feel we have attained a glimmer of our best self, we think of it as a gift of God. How deep is this need! How strong is this drive! How tragic when we lose it and come to terms too soon with the self we usually are."

What then is the problem? Reading Smedes's chapter on "Love does not seek its own self" proves to be a paradigm shift for me; or, to be precise, my mental center of gravity moved as I held my breath & read on:

The source of all the evils connected with self-seeking is that we turn our ideal self into an idol and expect other people to dance around it...We exploit people and push them around...flatter them, put them down. Whether crudely or with artistic finesse, we treat them as replaceable supports for the ego we are trying to build into a self. This is the poison that so easily gets into all erotic love; we love others only so that they will be acolytes at the altar of our divinized self.

The image of the self that is sought as the idol of ultimate devotion takes on different and changing forms. The ideal self of immature people is a fabric woven of fads nd fancies. For others, more mature and yet not fully developed, the ideal is the productive self. For others, it is a mixture of the noble, wise, humane saint and the earthy, happy sinner. For still others, the model is Jesus of Nazareth....

Many people combine a kind of self-denial with self-worship. Self-denial of this sort says No only to things; it is really self-discipline. We exercise even if we hate doing it; we do not smoke; we turn down the rich food we love to eat; we deny ourselves for the sake of a healthy body... All these sorts of denials have in common that they are disciplines, not self-denials. They are denials of things, not a denial of the self. Their spiritual value depends wholly on one question: are they for the self as an end, or for the self as a means of love?

Love is the divine force that moves us to make the neighbor our center of concern, drives us toward him without demanding a reward. Love does not put the self on center stage and ask the world around to applaud. Love does not praise a neighbor only to get praise in return. Love does not strive to become the better self merely to enjoy the excitement of being a splendid person. Love lifts our sights beyond the ideal self we are seeking. For this reason, not even our ideal self is our god, the goal of our life's quest. Hence, love cannot be self-seeking unless the self being sought is pre-registered as an agent of love (pp.50-51).

It's like he's writing about me, and says that's wrong! Good thing, this is not the end of the chapter. Smedes explains agapic love liberates one from self-seeking. Can quote everything here. You got to read the book yourself. (I'm going to buy it. The copy I have now is from a library.)

Jesus holds victory over death

"But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wing. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture."

Malachi 4:2 (NLT)

Billy Graham shared in the prayer letter dated November 2007 of the above verse. The Reverend Richard Bewes mentioned it during the private burial service of Graham's wife Ruth Bell.

This is the hope for Christians. Death is still brutal and ugly, but Jesus has victory over it.

Remembering friends whose parents passed away in the last six months since my dad's passing: Victor's mom, Kammie's dad, Tracy's dad, Coral's dad, Turia's mom, Yvonne's dad, and Yuen yee's mom.

Love is a power

Flipping through the pages of Lewis Smedes's Love Within Limites: A Realist's View of 1 Corinthians 13 as ablogaday recommended, I am already blown away by the Preface, "A Love Song Is ...":

A Great Love Song is a moment of ecstasy frozen into words, a rhapsody of enthusiasm and passion, a metaphoor pointing to a moment....

God's love song is in many ways like other great love songs. Its human writer St. Paul ... saw ... into love's ideal form... [H]is love song draws a profile of ideal love, but it is too plain for mystic passion. Love is not jealous, does not get angry quickly, endures very much -- these are qualities for ordinary living in ordinary days. This is our challenge: to find ways to bring the heavenly rhapsody down into our own worldly realities (mine emphasis).

Great stuff! No wonder I found 1 Cor 13:4-8 bland. The list of "Love is patient ... kind ... not envious" is only a profile. It's the sun ray but not the sun itself.

Love Within Limit explores how selfless love "can take root in the crevices of real life." Love, the author assumed, is a power of "selfless love works only within the tissues of our self-interested lives."¹

I get my orientation straightened out, finally. I shouldn't be spending time to read the book now, but I think I would. More to come later.

_______________________
¹ Lewis Smedes, Love Within Limits (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1979), xii.

My calling - II

"It has been obvious to me from very early on that it's a talent and gift from God.  But tennis has never been the love of my life."

~ Michael Chang

Despite having won the French Open & Grand Slam Champion at age 17, the now 35-year old, retired tennis star Michael Chang shared that Jesus--not tennis--is the love of his life.

Last night at the Pasadena Church of Nazarene, we watched some short video clips of Michael Chang's ligntning-quick reflexes and agility in past tennis matches before welcoming him on stage. With the theme "Finding the love of your life," he gently stated, "It has been obvious to me from very early on that it's a talent and gift from God.  But tennis has never been the love of my life."

His championship at the 1989 French Open, which happened shortly after the June 4 Tiananmen Square Events that saddened especially all Chinese around the world, caused him to understand why God made him Chinese and let him win some matches that were impossible for him to win. God wanted to put a smile on the Chinese faces through him winning when there wasn't much anything else to be cheerful about, Chang explained.

I was inspired by the way Michael Chang viewed his talent as a gift from God & as a tool to bless others. He recognized it from early on, and he is using it to its full-extent with determination, focus, and passion. I can't help but be reminded of another athlete, Eric Liddel, whose legacy continues to inspire.

Such beautiful lives.


* Photo downloaded from www.mchang.com

In the spirit of Christmas 2007

Two pots of poinsettia were bought today.

Music - a spiritual gift?

I think music may be considered a spiritual gift that belongs to the categories of speaking in tongues and of interpretation (cf. 1 Cor 12).

If music is a language and its objective is to represent, express, and affect (which is pretty much the dominant thinking of the ancient Greek, and that of the western Europe from the Renaissance up till the present day), and if the musical composition is inspired by the Above, then composing/performing a work would be equivalent to speaking in tongues.  Those who play/perform another person's original composition, which involves understanding, would be like rendering an interpretation of the said work to others who're not familiar or fluent with the language.

Kids say love is ...

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Jessica - age 8

愛是...

其 實 ﹐ 講 來 講 去 也 是 三 幅 被, 響 度 原 地 踏 步, 因 為 我 唔 明 白 -- 愛 的 意 思 是 放 下 自 己。

關 心 別 人 若 不 是 從 愛 為 出 發 點 , 而 是 為 了 滿 足, 抒 發 自 己 的 同 情 心 ﹐ 將 一 己 看 為 美 的 意 願 強 加 於 對 方, 這 樣 的 關 心 有 點 自 我 。

同 樣, 在 教 會 團 契 群 體 中 事 奉 ﹐ 亦 不 一 定 是 從 愛 為 出 發 點。 若 為 了 達 成 自 己 的 理 想﹐ 異 象﹐ 目 標. Never mind how spiritually it sounds, 這 樣 的 堅 持 好 像 也 有 點 問 題。 哥 林 多 前 書 十 三 章 提 到 一 沒 有 愛 的 服 事 ﹐ 善 行 是 與 行 善 者 無 益 的。(當 然 ﹐ 個 中 仍 然 有 受 惠 者 。)

約 翰 一 書 三 章 16 節 提 到﹐ 「主 為 我 們 捨 命 、 我 們 從 此 就 知 道 何 為 愛 ． 我 們 也 當 為 弟 兄 捨 命 。」 林 道 亮 牧 師 解 釋 「為 弟 兄 捨 命」 的 意 思 是 放 下 自 己 。

可 能 大 多 數 人 對 愛 的 認 識 是 intuitive , 但 對 我 而 言, 愛 是 一 個 很 抽 象 的 concept。 讀 哥 林 多 前 書 十 三 章, 只 覺 得 在 讀 一 堆 愛 的 「表 彰」, 而 非 實 體。 直 至 當 聽 到 林 牧 師 用「 捨 命」 即 「放 下 自 己」來 解 釋 何 為 愛, 頓 然 得 到 啟 發, 明 白 到 愛 的 實 體 意 義 在 於 放 下 自 己, 成 全, 建 立 別 人。主 耶 穌 也 是 這 樣 放 下 自 己(甚 至 捨 命)去 贖 回 我 們 的 生 命, ﹐建 立 我 們。

從 「愛= 放 下 自 己」 的 角 度 可 能 解 答 我 上 篇 blog 做 leader 的 疑 問。