Cultural Christianity

There is a certain way the gospel is heard when one’s stomach is empty and a very different way it is heard when people are satisfied. The gospel is first heard by people who were longing and thirsty, those who were poor and oppressed in one sense or another. They know their need and emptiness.

Religious education has for years given people answers to the questions they are not asking. The people accept the answers quickly and easily. And very often they spout the answers for the rest of their lives. For example, “God allow suffering to test us” and stuff like that. I call them canned answers. People apply the answers they learnt to questions without thinking as if they were as simple as some mix and match thing. People change but the answers (not implying content but method) do not and that is where the problem begin. Try saying that to someone who is going through intense grief, the answer, however true, will fall flat.

Such knowledge can pass away as quickly as it came because of the basic reason that we never thirsted for it in the first place. Until we make space inside, what comes is not an answer but an excuse not to face the question, an excuse to stop searching, to avoid the journey and sadly many people are no longer on that journey. We have easy Christian answers before we struggled with the questions.

If we wished to know more about the heart and mind of God, we will have to ask Him to allow us to feel what it means to be empty, to be abandoned and to be uncared for. We must go inside and find the rejected and fearful parts within each of us and try to live there if life has not placed us there yet. That should allow us a deeper communion with the oppressed of the world and at the same time a deeper understanding of the heart and mind of God. And most importantly His desire to reach out to them.

We have to face our fears and doubts. An awful lot of religion is an excuse for not facing our fears and doubts. True religion is not of denial but of transformation by God (Romans 4:17) “who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” God walks us into our fears, to feel them, to own them and to let them teach us.

God’s heart is love and His love is for the people, lets not give answers and quote scriptures as if the answers and scriptures are more important than the people.
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Speaking of scriptures, nothing in the New Testament says that the primary authority is the scriptures themselves. Scriptural authority points itself to God. And since the scripture is the word of God for the people, then the direct authority of Godly/Christian living should be based on the word of God. This is the concept! When we make an idol of the book, when we make an end to the words themselves, we get into trouble. The point of scripture is to do the very thing that that writers of scripture did, that Moses and Abraham did, to go out on a journey and there meet the Lord. And then continually come back to the word of God for confirmation and consolation.

Jesus told his religious leaders that they “know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times (generation).” (Matthew 16:3 emphasis mine) What Jesus is saying is that if we are not a listening people, a discerning people, a humble and open people, we are not going to find much truth. We are simply going to have our scripture passages and instead of them being an avenue to God, the scripture themselves becomes a barrier.

God’s heart is love and His love is for the people, lets not give answers and quote scriptures as if the answers and scriptures are more important than the people.

Understanding evil

Came across two interesting words of Greek origin today and they really helped me to understand the notion of evil and how it functions.

When we speak of evil, two words come to play at this point and we must understand them: “Symbolic” and “Diabolic”. “Symbolic” means to throw together and “diabolic” means to throw apart. Evil is always dualistic, always separates, examples would be body from soul, heart from mind, human from divine, masculine from feminine. Whenever we see separation, evil comes into the world.

Symbolism however, always reconnects what has been thrown apart. This probly explains why healthy religion (“re-ligio” = blind back together) throughout history, gives us symbols and images of reconciliation that heal and put together what has been taken apart. God is always the great reconciler and healer of opposites.

God hold together our person while Satan always tries to divide. Here evil can be seen as the destruction of purpose. What God has put together let no man put asunder.

Seek and sougth

You know how numerous times we are reminded in the gospel that God is in search of us, that he came to seek and save the lost. I think this truth puts everything in perspective for us.

In the midst of our struggle to walk righteously in obedience to the God, sometimes the struggle becomes so intense that it compels us to think that we are looking for Him but we find out later that he has come in search of us as well. The genuine seeker after God will find out that he too is being sought by God.

The more deeply we enter into the mystery of Christ the thinner the line between joy and suffering becomes. For me sometimes I’ll have to think twice to realize whether what I’m feeling is joy or sorrow. Once the heart is surrendered, I guess the only important question becomes if I am doing God's will. Whether it brings me personal happiness or sadness is no longer of primary concern.

On time

I had an interesting colleague when I was working back in my studio. Because of the nature of our work we always work overtime and sometimes get off work at 11pm. So these are the times when we get our free cab ride home. So as I hop on a cab, I asked my colleague if he is getting one too. He said no and the reason being that he is not in a hurry. Somehow his reply has been sticking with me for so long and I can even remember it so vividly till now. When I heard that from him, something inside me goes wow because I really want that mindset.

I guess I really need to loosen up on my concept of time. Ever since I got back from Indonesia I’ve been cabing around alot. I haven't been very patient with the buses. Every time I decided to save some money I would end up spending half an hour waiting and waiting and it’s really irritating. Half an hour for $10? Is my time really worth so much yet? I really need to change in this area.

I really love traveling. I like to be in the observation mode. I like the sight of everyday life and most importantly alot of times God will remind me of alot of things I normally wouldn't have. But all these wouldn't happen if I’m not in the "mood". I realize that there are many things that shape our mood for the day, and if we can control those things then we can control our mood. I believe that mood can be trained. Like for example leaving the waking up earlier and leaving the house half an hour earlier for every meeting. This frees us up to wait and not hurry around.

Isn't this true with our Quiet Time as well? I have realized that the prerequisite of observation is a still spirit. How can I come to God like a rushing wind? The consciousness of time (or rather the lack of it) during our QT actually robs us from more of God. That’s why God tells the psalmist to be still and know that he is God. I believe that stillness, like mood can be trained. Can I too, in all my busyness, be still and in doing so show that God is more important then what I am busy with.

Unwilling

I've been waiting for one year and really want to go for EAsia trip but comfort tells me no. Honestly I don't really want to start praying for them not because I don't want per se but because I know that the burden is there and I don't want to stir it because I know what stirring it means. It means learning Chinese, attending Chinese services and my parents' Chinese cell groups and subjecting myself to so much discomfort and basically those are the things which I have been avoiding for a very long time. And I also know that a burden is something that you can't keep silent for too long. Let’s see when it will burst.

OH GOD! Die to myself? I have already died to my dreams and aspirations, what more do you want from me? How much more do you want me to give up? Must you drive me to absolute brokenness so that in all darkness you will shine brighter and that everyone might see you at the expense of me?

I seem to encounter so many crossroads recently. So many decisions to make that might change my life as it is. I'm so tired of them. So many things have been on my mind recently and now it’s in a mess (as usual).

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You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all