The family affection in the movie is real and touching, but the solution of time travel can only provide temporary comfort. While we were moved to tears by the movie, we planned to invite our mother to dinner and take our parents for a physical examination; I also look forward to going to work quickly, because the more I get along with my parents, the more difficult it is. The loss, dislocation, and regret of love require real answers. When reason saw no possibility, God worked in my prayers.
In 2001, Jia Ling, who had just entered the university a month before, received the news that her mother Li Huanying had died unexpectedly. Since then, her mother’s departure has become a wound that Jia Ling is unwilling to touch. In the New Year film “Hello, Li Huanying”, Jia Xiaoling, played by Jia Ling, travels back to 1981; In order to make up for her regrets, she tries all kinds of ways to make her mother Li Huanying happy in her youth, resulting in a series of ridiculous things.
Jia Ling left a young and beautiful image of her mother in the movie, “Since I can remember, my mother is the appearance of a middle-aged woman, in fact, my mother used to be a girl in the flower season.” At the end of the film, Jia Xiaoling drives the open-top sports car promised to her mother, carrying her mother in a fashionable leather jacket with a smile on her face; But as soon as the camera turned, the mother sitting next to her disappears permanently, and Jia Xiaoling also turned joy into sadness, moving forward alone on the track of time.
“Parents are here, life still has a place, parents go, life is only a way back.” The person you want to share and want to give is no longer there, which is Jia Ling’s regret and the pain in the hearts of many people. On the other side of life, we always seem to be unable to give what we really want when our parents are still alive, just as Jia Xiaoling in the film is difficult to make middle-aged Li Huanying happy. Our love in the world always has all kinds of shortcomings. Maybe it can be temporarily relieved in a dream-making movie, but when the lights turn on and the movie ends, everything seems to return to square one.
With parents, the more you get along, the more difficult it is
In the interview, Jia Ling said: “My mother is gone, and the happiness in this life is missing. “I used to think that crying until she was distressed was just a description, but when writing the script, she remembered her mother’s past and really cried until she was distressed. Jia Ling said that all she could give the audience was sincerity, and this time, the audience also received her sincerity. After watching the film, many people either hug their parents around them or call their parents; The audience expressed that they should cherish the time with their parents more.
As a post-80s generation born in the same era as Jia Ling, the women around me either got married and had children early, or they started their careers and rode the wind and waves like Jia Ling in the workplace. I am still unmarried, but I often fall into the distress of the mother-daughter relationship because my mother forced marriage. A girlfriend said that she did not have any conflict with her mother, but in fact, because she was careful to avoid it, and her heart was already too desperate to touch the wound. In the film, Jia Xiaoling, who traveled back, and her mother became girlfriends who ate and slept together, sticking cucumber slices on their faces, shopping, and drinking wine. Such a relationship is envious of others.
In the real world, we either have been going back and forth when communicating with our parents because of the harm to our original family, or we jump up because the other party wants to manipulate our lives in the name of love, or we fall into various problems caused by the dislocation of family order and the gap between three views. The dream of traveling back and being best friends with a young mother is wonderful, but the reality is always skinny.
I don’t know if Jia Ling’s mother hadn’t died, would she have been forced marriage every Spring Festival like my mother; I also don’t know if in the trough of Jia Ling’s life, before she became famous, her mother Li Huanying could endure her daughter’s heartache in Beipiao, instead of pushing Jia Ling back to her hometown to find a stable job, get married and have children. After Li Huanying’s death, Jia Ling’s sister Jia Dan replaced her mother, and she often took out a small amount of salary to help her sister, but she also said this to Jia Ling: “Look at you fat, can you be red just like you?” He even hated that he kicked his sister without steel.
Li Huanying on the screen said to Jia Xiaoling: “I hope my daughter is healthy and happy.” “Off-screen, when I was healthy and happy, my mother was still worried about me being older and unmarried and not making any money. In the film, Jia Xiaoling is always glued to “If my mother didn’t give birth to me, I must be happier than now”, She longs for her mother to sit in an open-top sports car, wear a mink coat, eat abalone bird’s nest, and give her mother a long face. Jia Xiaoling wants to give her mother what she thinks is best. Li Huanying said: “I think I have lived a very happy life in this life, why don’t you believe me?” ”
At the end of the film, Li Huanying, who traveled back, took flowers in his hand, jumped on the back seat of his lover’s bicycle, and walked away joyfully and contentedly. Many times what we want to give is not necessarily what people really want. Whether inside or outside the movie, whether it is 1981, 2001, or 2021, it seems that we are always easy to misunderstand the love that our loved ones need, and it is difficult to give each other what they really need, and even more difficult to live the ideal us in each other’s eyes. We desperately want to give, we desperately want to grab loved ones, but it is always self-defeating.
Or something sadder than sadness, such as Jia Xiaoling’s final shock, Li Huanying in her youth is actually Li Huanying who crossed back in middle age, she cried and ran to find her mother, but separation is doomed. She can’t change her mother’s fate, even if she is willing to pay the price of her own life disappearing; Li Huanying also decisively chooses to see Jia Xiaoling in the future, Although this fate is miserable, because of love, she is willing.
I used to feel panic, afraid that the regret of “not waiting for the child to be raised” would fall on me. I would love to work hard to bring a good life to my parents and try to spend more time with them, but the more we get along, the harder it gets, and we will never be able to understand and accept each other. My heart was like a boat adrift, and I could only embrace my loneliness, which in turn exacerbated the pain of living.
Who can fill in the gaps?
We can’t change others, and it seems harder to change ourselves. We have love, but we don’t know how to love properly; We have love, but it is easy to exhaust. The absence, dislocation, or defect of love is the norm in this world. We are not capable of giving complete love, let alone keeping love. The law of this world is to keep losing and letting us lose. Our love is always stolen too much and destroyed too much by the world; We are selfish, narrow-minded, and self-righteous, and we always twist love. Who can fill in such a gap? Who can help me overcome the laws of this world?
It wasn’t until I came to Christ that the peace Jesus brought into my heart, and His Word allowed me to discover the truth of the world. Later, my mother also came to Christ, and our mother and daughter had a new relationship—becoming sisters in the Lord. My mother is not only my mother, but also the daughter of God who has an equal status just like me! When this mother and sister of mine were still greedy for the world’s money, I stopped arguing with her, but prayed for her life. When friction arises in our relationship, I know that it is a stepping stone for our mutual growth and that trusting in God brings us closer together.
In the film, the middle-aged Li Huanying has traveled back to 1981 before Jia Xiaoling crosses over, and when Jia Xiaoling asks her, “Are you happy that I came?” She replied, “I’m happy! Jia Xiaoling said, “I can make you happier.” Li Huanying watched her daughter help her buy a TV, drive away the gangsters, and fight for her the opportunity to change her fate, and she also fully cooperated to make her daughter happy. When watching Jia Xiaoling’s performance offstage, she laughed and cried. Li Huanying’s love is silent. When Jia Xiaoling recalled her mother, she remembered the first time she went to school far away, after her mother put her in the car, she pretended to take the car home, but got out of the car after her daughter left, in order to save money, walking alone on a white snowy day.
Some viewers left a message saying that when they watched the movie, they felt that their daughter loved their mother, and after watching it, they understood that it was the mother who loved her daughter more. But the love of God the Father is to send Jesus, His only begotten Son, to lay down everything he had and go alone to a world full of pain, regret, and ugliness because of sin, to sacrifice his innocent life and be crucified as a ransom for the sinful, so that all who believe in Him can return to the embrace of the Father’s love.
He promised, “The resurrection is in me, and the life is in me; Whoever believes in me, though dead, will rise again. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. “I no longer fear death and the separation of my parents, and I know that my mother and I are both travelers in the world and will one day be reunited with him. God is like an old father, leaning against the door, looking up, waiting for His children to come home.
If Christ is not resurrected, what we preach is in vain, and what you believe is in vain, [1 Corinthians 15:14]
Easter is preceded by Passover, and the Qingming Festival is preceded by Cold Food Festival. The Cold Food Festival seems to have similarities with the Passover, one is not allowed to make a fire, and the other is not allowed to make a face. But the difference, of course, is more and greater.
Just like Easter and Qingming Festival, the similarities are only that the dates are close, and this year it is the same day. Other than that, it’s completely irrelevant.
The Meaning of the Qingming Festival
Because the meaning of the Qingming Festival is mainly “death”.
This is a day when you have to “face death.” On this day, people will worship their ancestors and visit tombs, clearly facing the fact that “everyone has one death”.
Last Monday, my wife’s cousin died of drunk driving. We were the first to go. What surprised me the most was that for a whole day, none of the relatives and friends I saw shed a single tear, including his wife and his father. Only his mother and sister seemed to have red eyes. For the first time, I seemed to realize that, in a sense, the world seemed to be “stronger” than us. They are certainly afraid of death, but the way they fight this fear is more likely to be numbness than tears.
The police found his mobile phone, but could not unlock the password. His widow called the child’s teacher and asked her ten-year-old son to answer and ask for the password. The password is 518518.
This should be a homonym for “I’m going to send it, I’m going to send it”. He has been working part-time for years, rarely at home, trying to earn money outside the home. But he loves to drink, drives after drinking and does not listen to advice. Until this accident, leaving orphans and widows, elderly parents.
People who are numb to death really sometimes seem to be not afraid of death and dare to die. In order to “fa”, desperately.
But this also shows another meaning of the Qingming Festival, which is “timely happiness”.
As the Scriptures say: If the dead do not rise again, let us eat and drink! Because tomorrow is going to die. 1 Corinthians 15:32
In the face of a mortal ending, if there is no hope of salvation and resurrection, it must be the most reasonable choice to talk about life and death and enjoy pleasure in time. Therefore, in addition to ancestor worship and tomb sweeping, since ancient times, the Qingming Festival has also had customs such as planting willows and wearing willows, spring swimming, tree planting, flower picking, kicking, kite flying, swinging, tug-of-war, cockfighting, giving painted eggs, and eating Qingtuan. And the “Book of Rites and Moon Order” recorded: “In the moon of mid-spring, men and women will be ordered, and those who run cannot help it.” Timely pleasure has been the real theme of the Qingming Festival since ancient times, and today’s small long holiday is also proof of this.
But the meaning is still the same. Although it is bleak and soul-broken, what can be done? Let’s have three or five bottles, you can relieve your worries, you can forget your worries because tomorrow you will die, so there is wine and drunk today. Du Mushi is not Pastor Du after all.
The meaning of Good Friday
This year’s Easter and Qingming Festival are on the same day, which is worth noting. As many people know, Christmas and the Sun God Festival in ancient Rome were the same day.
Just as Christmas replaced pagan holidays, Easter needs to replace and renew Qingming Day. The meaning of Qingming Day needs to be reflected, and the meaning of Easter needs to be revealed. This is the latest meaning of “anti-Qing and restoration”.
The meaning of Easter begins with Passover and even Christmas.
We are familiar with the incarnation of Jesus and the crucifixion, acknowledging its mystery and greatness without thinking. But just as distance often produces beauty, “familiarity” often deconstructs the sacred.
Therefore, strange and archaic descriptions are often divine rigidity.
In fact, Jesus was utterly “humble to life, shame to die.” Although he was a king of heaven, he was born in a barn and had no bed, so he could deal with it by laying some grass in the manger. He fell into the grass as king.
Later, as a prophet, Jesus rose to fame far beyond that of Pharisees and scribes. But he spoke amazingly, often claiming to be God, and he was killed. The ancient Chinese people are cloudy, and it is not humiliating to kill a soldier. Jesus, on the other hand, was first humiliated and then killed. Punched in the face, slapped in the face by thick phlegm. Wearing a crown of thorns and a purple robe, people play like monkeys. Covered in scales, naked, not even the last fig leaf kept. The Duan players burst into laughter under the ten: “You come down!” “O great Savior, save yourself first,
His death, slow and painful, was extremely undignified and extremely shameful. Archaeologists have found an “Alexanémnon graffiti” depicting a man with a donkey’s head on ten racks. Written crookedly below: This is the God that Alexammenon worships. Yes, people at the time were so satirical about Christians, thinking that the god they worshipped was like a stupid donkey.
The gospel of anti-Qing and restoration
This is how our most glorious God endured humiliation. We are indeed worshipping a God of shame and failure. So today some people on the Internet say that our god is no different from a plate of flying pasta and that we believe in the flying god face religion, which is actually much more polite than the jokers and soul painters of the past.
As nominalists in a sense, I believe that Christ is free to become flesh as He sees fit. For example, become a lion in the world of Narnia, and become the number seven of the Yangtze River on the screen. So this kind of malicious humiliation, in fact, does not humiliate me, it will only make me more grateful. Because my Lord died for me, even for those drummers and keyboard warriors. He endured the humiliation and punishment we should have endured. That’s exactly what we believe.
Yes, from the perspective of an unbeliever, Jesus was a complete loser. This is not surprising, this is the result and cause of their being unbelievers. Recently, I was surprised to hear that a self-proclaimed pastor said in a righteous manner that Chengdu fat man: He has all gone in, can’t he explain the problem? Doesn’t it mean that he just has a problem?!
Oh. Then Jesus not only went in but also hung up, you know? If you judge justice by success or failure, what Christ do you worship? He failed much more than the fat man. You should worship the strong, worship the victorious Buddha, or the blood-red war wolf.
As for me and my family, in our church, we still worship Jesus.
We believe that he is a great savior, far more than Dongfang Hong. The “incarnation” reveals that Jesus is like God. That is, God is like Jesus. God loves us. He is a merciful Savior, not a dictatorial tyrant. He sees us as fish, not fish.
The early Christians also used the word “fish” to represent our faith. Because the Greek word for fish happens to be an abbreviation of the words “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”
The gospel of anti-Qing and restoration
They may not be as comprehensive and profound in their theology, and they are all wild Reformed in today’s sense, but they truly love Jesus. They knew that Jesus was their lifesaver. They never knew Jesus from a logical and rational point of view. Like the writers of the New Testament, they did not hesitate to address this lifesaver by the four-character holy name “Lord.” They love Him, and He loves them.
The meaning of Easter
But how did all this happen, from shame to glory, from loser to savior, from humble prisoner to the Most High God?
That’s what Easter is all about.
If the story ends on Friday, the world is scarier than Ragnarok. If history stays on Saturday, the world will have to wait for salvation in a heart-pounding rest.
However, the time was set for Sunday. The day of the Lord’s resurrection became a day of glory, a day of rejoicing, a day of victory, a day of worship—the day of all days.
The resurrection changed all mindsets. It is no longer spring when Easter comes, but Easter when spring comes. From then on, we no longer subconsciously think that there is a spirit in the flesh. Instead, it turns out that man is a spirit, and this spirit has a skin bag. Since then, the covenant has been reinterpreted and history completely renewed.
Easter was as if the prisoners in the prisoner-of-war camp heard over the wall on their short-wave radios that the Nazis of the East had been defeated by the atomic bomb. So they rejoiced, knowing that they had won, even though they were prisoners, even though they would even be killed at once by their angry and corrupt enemy. But they still have to rejoice, knowing that their salvation is coming.
After the resurrection of the Lord, the meaning of “law” is renewed. Until then, there had never been a concept in the Jewish faith that man would rise in this world. Martha’s words are a representation. The resurrection of Jesus is a new and difficult event for all to accept.
This first time, the first Jesus who rose from the dead and never died, expanded the library of standard definitions of “law” and updated the underlying source code of “law”.
Chesterton said that believers receive miracles because there is evidence, and unbelievers deny miracles because their dogma denies miracles.
In other words, the dogmatic system in the brains and hearts of unbelievers is made of old leather bags, and the new wine of the gospel causes their systems to crash and their memories to overflow.
The meaning of resurrection is similar, but far beyond heliocentrism, relativity, quantum mechanics, and gravity. Since then, the two natures of god and man have changed the world and mankind more deeply and comprehensively than the wave particle two elephants.
So each Sunday is essentially a continuation of the first Easter, and the core is “to commemorate the resurrection of the Lord and worship the resurrected Lord.”
After the resurrection of the Lord, the meaning of “history” is renewed. The apostles, touched by the Christ-glorifying Spirit, tell us that the risen Jesus is the first fruit, and at the end of the day, all will be resurrected in order, after which Christ will be victorious, kingdom, and glorified, and finally, we will be with Him and be King together (1 Corinthians 15:22-25).
After the resurrection of the Lord, the meaning of faith is renewed. The paradigm of faith shifted, from a Deuteronomy system (but with Christ) to a Christian system (but with the fulfillment of the law). Jesus’ conversation with his disciples on the road to Emmaus describes this shift:
Jesus said to them, “What are you talking about when you walk with each other? They just stood still, with sad faces on their faces. Luke 24:17
The paradigm shift is the shift in focus, and from then on the core of the faith becomes the “resurrection.” Paul says:
If Christ is not resurrected, what we preach is in vain, and what you believe is in vain, [1 Corinthians 15:14]
After the resurrection of the Lord, the life of the believer is renewed.
Peter, who denied the Lord three times, the mean, weak, rude fisherman, received the command “You shepherd my sheep” three times before the risen Lord, and he did so.
Saul, who persecuted Christians, the fanatical, hard, and cunning scribe, became Paul before the risen Lord. He received the mission of the gospel and did it.
Countless believers whose lives have been changed by the resurrection of the Lord, as written in the Scriptures:
When we die in trespassing, we are brought alive with Christ (it is grace that you are saved). Ephesians 2:5
Even Easter directly renews the status of women. Today’s Christianity has inexplicably become the enemy of women’s rights, but it has always been the greatest driving force for the liberation of women. In ancient Rome, women’s testimonies were unacceptable in court, but the four Gospels consistently state that it was women who saw the risen Jesus first. The Holy Spirit ignored worldly standards and declared these women’s testimonies not only valid but earlier than men’s.
However, the most important reason why Easter should and has prevailed over Qingming is that after the resurrection of the Lord, the meaning of death is renewed.
Henceforth, death is no longer the supreme power:
For knowing that Christ rose from the dead, He would no longer die and would no longer be His Lord. Romans 6:9 And death no longer meant the misery and terror of yin and yang, Paul says:
If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, God will bring those who have slept in Jesus with Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:14
Those relatives and friends who slept first in the Lord, loved ones, will bring them to us and pick us up when we die. Then everyone went home together.
This is our communication on WeChat before our dear teacher Huo died:
The gospel of anti-Qing and restoration
For me, he left us for heaven, just as he used to leave us for America. The small difference is that Heaven does not use WeChat, so we can no longer communicate for the time being. But in a short time, we will meet. At that time, we will remember the Changchun Church together and remember the past of the earth.
Exhortation
So, this Qingming Day and Easter, I would like to exhort you:
No shame
I am not ashamed of the gospel; This gospel was meant to be the power of God to save all who believed, first the Jews and then the Greeks. Romans 1:16
Do not be ashamed of the gospel, do not be ashamed of Christ. It is a fact that He has suffered the greatest shame, and it is even more true that He has now received the greatest glory. He is my glory, so I am no longer swayed by other people’s opinions. Do not fear dishonor in Jesus’ name. Rest assured, if you don’t deserve it yet, you won’t. Don’t be afraid of other people’s strange eyes and judgments, pray when you eat, no matter if there are people or how many there are. Preach the gospel when you should, whether you know it or not. You invite as you should, even if the other person rejects you seventy or seven times.
The secret is: that as long as you are not embarrassed, it is they who are embarrassed. The day when they are not embarrassed, you will have them in the Lord.
Do not burn paper
Brothers and sisters, we are already new, don’t go back to the old. It is written in the Scriptures:
Another disciple said to Jesus, “Lord, allow me to go back and bury my father first. 【Matthew 8:21】
So don’t celebrate the Qingming Festival again. Let Easter replace Qingming Day. It can be commemorated, not mourned. You can mourn in silence and do not bend your knees. You can have flowers, don’t burn paper.
No more fear of death
Resurrection gives true life, and true life must produce true courage. From now on, Christians are not afraid of death, but why should they fear death? If someone threatens to kill you, you can say That’s just right, thank you, I can finally stop all my toil. If he threatens us even more descendingly: Are you not afraid that your wife and children will suffer? I hope that then I will smile and say to him: I am not afraid, because I will see them again in the future. I hope to see you there too.
The resurrection gives true faith, and true faith must produce true hope. Job said, “I know that my Redeemer is alive and will stand on the earth in the end.” Job 19:25
A foreign brother spoke of his witness to Christ. Once he was on a plane, he encountered severe air currents and lightning, and after ten minutes of bumps, everyone’s hope of survival was extinguished. But he suddenly found that the old lady next to him was smiling and did not care. So he couldn’t help but stop the pen for writing his will and asked her why she was laughing. The old man said that I was going to see my daughter this time. I have two daughters, one on earth and one in heaven. I laughed at the thought of not knowing which daughter I would see first.
It was at that moment that he came to Christ.
In fact, the testimony of the old man is also the testimony of my family. When I fly home, I always think about whether I will see Jiawen Jialin Jiamin first or Jiahe first.
Twelve years ago, my wife and I asked five-year-old Jiahe, if you leave your parents and go, what will we do? He said, God will give you better children.
Today, his blessings and prophecies have been fulfilled. I don’t know if these kids are really better than him, but three are more than one. Two sisters and one younger brother have not met their angelic big brother, but I believe they will meet in the future. I believe so much, I hope so much, that I work hard for it, hoping to lead the whole family, the church, and “work of our salvation” in Christ (Philippians 2:12)
May we live in the rhythm of Easter instead of dying in the Qingming festival? Live in the joy and hope of the resurrection, not in the joy and despair of clarity. The meaning of clarity must be reflected, and the meaning of resurrection must be revealed. May the Lord have mercy on us and deliver us and our friends and relatives from the curse of clarity and the gospel of the resurrection.
The gospel of anti-Qing and restoration
2nd floor singing (God’s unexpected peace, will be in Christ) Posted on 2021-5-7 08:33 Just look at this person
Grace 365 | May 7 Prophet of the Times – Jeremiah: God has love in his heart
Ko Shaun’s Daily Grace today
Scripture: If I can speak the tongue of all men and the words of angels, but without love, I will be like a gong and a cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1)
Grace 365, three hundred and sixty-five days, we live together every day in God’s love and God’s grace.
These days I will share with you what kind of person God uses. If you’re a company boss and you go to interview some people who are coming to apply, you probably have some conditions. You see, how is this person’s language ability? What about this person’s ability to coordinate with others? What are the professional conditions of this person? Can he work in a team with others…? If you’re a boss and you’re a supervisor, you probably have some conditions that you care about when you hire people. God also uses us, and God wants some of the qualities in us that He wants.
In Jeremiah’s body, these days we see what kind of person Jeremiah is. Jeremiah was in him, he had a lot of his timidity, he had a lot of his considerations, he had a lot of his own thoughts, but he was obedient to God. In the process of following the Lord to fulfill God’s trust in him, he will have doubts, and he will have times when he is afraid, but he chooses to keep walking even though I am afraid in me, I rely on the Lord. He didn’t stop halfway, ran away halfway, didn’t do it, no! He persevered.
I feel like I see myself a lot of the time in my talk about Jeremiah. In fact, I have this problem, I am the kind of encounter who does it smoothly, I do it desperately, but when I encounter some setbacks, especially when that setback may encounter some of the things in me that I care about the most, I may say, I don’t do it, don’t do it.
But Jeremiah was not. He encountered many great setbacks, and great difficulties, and may even endanger his life, but he chose to persevere for the Lord and persevere. What kind of people does God use, God uses obedient people, God uses people who persist for the Lord, and God uses people who shared yesterday and cared about. He doesn’t cry for himself, he doesn’t just care about himself, he cares about what God cares about. God wanted him to go, proclaim God’s warning to the Israelites, and then God would redeem him. Does he care about the Israelis? He cried many times for his country and for his people. I ask God to help us so that one of us cares and cares about what God cares.
And what’s behind the care? It’s love, love will care. I have two children and I love my kids very, very much, so I care about them. The happiest thing for me is to come home from a busy day of ministry, our family of four, I am with Qimei’s mother and two children. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as we are together, I am happy. Why? Because I want to see them, I care about them because I love them.
What kind of person does God use? I often talk to some young people in our church who are learning to serve, and everyone wants to say, Pastor Cole, teach me! Teach me how to preach, teach me how to govern, teach me how to. I often tell them that you can learn all these things, but the most important thing is, do you have love in your heart? It’s not indifferent, it’s not that I preach on stage very movingly, but I don’t really care about these people in the audience, I seem to be performing. I ask the Lord to help us, what kind of people does God use? With a person who has love in his heart.
To conclude with this passage, we can do many, many things without love, and without love, it is a gong ringing, a cymbal, only sound, no meaning. Pray that if we don’t have love, there is a very important connotation in it—love.
Overtime culture prevails, how to work hard and enjoy life at the same time? Keller et al. Oak Word Studio
Which is more pleasing to God for Christians to work hard or enjoy life? It is believed that the instinct of many people is inclined to the former, otherwise, there would not be so many members of the Christian community who have been hastily swallowed up in spiritual life; But there must be many people who are more concerned about the latter, otherwise, there would not be so many people who have nothing to do on the grounds of retreating to the inner room to be quiet and close to God. Today’s two articles can help us have a clearer understanding of how to work hard and concentrate on and efficiently, and also return to rest peacefully and enjoy the abundant grace that God has bestowed upon us. May all of us learn not to be burdened by all kinds of work and not to spend our days idle!
In this way, all things in heaven and earth were created. On the seventh day, God finished His work; On the seventh day, God stopped all his work. God blessed the seventh day by sanctifying it because on this day God stopped all his work of creation and rested. (Genesis 2:1-3)
Six days of toil, do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God; On this day, you and your children, your servants and cattle, and the sojourners who dwell in your city shall not do any work. (Exodus 20:9-10)
The first thing the Bible begins with is work. It can be seen that work is very important and the basis of everything. The writers of Genesis regarded God’s creation of the universe as work and put the great work of creation in seven days of the week. He then shows us the work of humanity in the Garden of Eden. And we are also to realize that God Himself has rested after the work of creation (Gen. 2:2).
Many people mistake work for a curse and other things (rest, family, or even “spiritual” pursuits) as the only way to find meaning in life. Both from the biblical passages we have examined before and will be discussed later, we can see that this argument is nothing more than a lie.
But let’s also not fall into the other extreme, which is that work is the only important thing, and rest is forced to “recharge” in order to continue working. We see from God’s work in creation that God did not need to restore his strength but still rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:1-3). Thus, for us who are created in His image, rest and everything we do while resting is good in itself and nourishes life.
Work is not the be-all of life. While life without work won’t be meaningful, work isn’t the whole meaning of life. If you see work as a purpose in life, even if it is church service, then you are creating an idol for yourself against God. A relationship with God is the most important cornerstone of life, and this cornerstone can keep everything else in your life (work, friendships, family, leisure) so important that it makes you addicted and distorted.
The twentieth-century German Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper wrote in his famous essay “Leisure, the Basis of Culture”: “Leisure is not just letting go of work, but an attitude of the mind, in which you can simply focus on and enjoy things themselves, without considering their value or immediate utility.” In Western culture, work-oriented thinking allows people to see everything only in terms of efficiency, value, and speed. But people must be able to enjoy the simplest and most ordinary things in life, even if some of them have no practical value but are only pleasant to the body and mind.
Even Calvin, a notoriously stern Reformationist, surprisingly agreed with this argument. Speaking about the Christian life, he warns us not to judge the value of things solely on the basis of practicality: “Doesn’t God make us happy and happy when He prepares food for us, not only when he is full (providing basic nourishment)? The clothes on our bodies not only keep us warm but also dress us up dignified. In addition to their own functions, grass, green trees, vegetables, and fruits are also pleasing to the eye and exude a refreshing fragrance. Isn’t it pleasing to the eye that God created things, in addition to giving them the necessary uses? ”
In other words, we should look at all this and marvel, “The heavens of the universe may be dazzling or beautiful, the creatures on earth may be large or small, and all things in the world may be wise or wonderful, all created by God the Father.” ”
Only by constantly stopping our work and spending time in worship (which Pepper considers worship to be the first thing in “leisure”) can we truly experience the meaning of life simply by meditating and enjoying the world, including the fruits of our work. Piper writes: Leisure is the state of thinking about things with joy – a positive state of mind. It’s not the same as taking a break from work – leisure is more like the occasional silence when lovers talk, and that silence is part of the conversation. As the Bible says, when God “rests in all his work,” He sees that everything He has created is fine (Gen. 1:31), so leisure allows one to focus pleasantly and approvingly on the nature of creation.
All in all, hard work is essential to live a meaningful life. Work is God’s most precious gift to us, a pillar of purpose in life. But we must put work in perspective and not put it above God. We have to stop working from time to time to recover our bodies, and at the same time enjoy this world and ordinary life.
Work passionately, but don’t sell your soul for it
Leland Reiken, The Puritans Who Entered the World
Another legacy of the Puritan view of work is the idea of moderate work. At the two extremes of the attitude to work (one extreme is extreme idleness or laziness; At the other extreme, slavishly indulged in work), the Puritans theoretically tried to maintain the middle way. But in practice, they often tend to overwork.
One modern interpretation of the Puritan work ethic is correct—the Puritans despised idleness and praised hard work, and Baxter often showed impatience on the issue of idleness, saying, “It is despicable and sinful not to work.” Robert Bolton called idleness “the rusty, long ulcer of the soul.”
In his influential book, The Ordinary Man’s Way to Heaven, Arthur Dent wrote, “God does not allow anyone to live idle. Elizabeth Joselyn wrote in The Mother’s Gift to the Unborn Child: “You are a man, and you are ashamed of idleness; You are a Christian and are anxious for idleness. It is clear from these statements that Puritan ethics held that work was not only a social obligation but also an individual responsibility.
The Puritans criticized idleness while appreciating hard work, not because hard work was an intrinsic virtue, but because it was the means God assigned to mankind to provide for what they needed. Baxter wrote: “God commands you to somehow earn daily meals. Thomas Wattson envisioned: “Religion does not seal human idleness—God assigns all his children to work—and God blesses us for our diligence, not laziness.” ”
The Puritans had a strong aversion to idleness and praised work, in part because they were convinced that labor was the work that creation was ordained to do and that it was therefore necessary for the good of mankind. William Perkins wrote, “Adam could do whatever he wanted before he sinned, but God let him work.” In John Robinson’s view, “God allowed our first fathers to labor even in sinlessness—much less to let sinful human descendants live idle lives.” Man is destined to work hard – both physically and mentally, like a spark flying upwards. ”
Baxter writes, “Adam the sinless was placed in the Garden of Eden to govern the garden; In the flesh, both body and soul must have work to do. Work is both created and ordained to be done recognizing that labor itself and its response to God are honorable.
The Puritans believed that even “spiritual” was not an excuse for idleness. Richard Steele objected to “neglecting human necessity under the pretext of religious worship.” Thomas Shepard advises a religious fanatic who complains that thoughts about godly matters distract him from his work: “It is a sin to have earthly thoughts when God has appointed you to do spiritual, heavenly work; Similarly, from a certain point of view, when God has assigned you to work on earth, it is also sin to distract you and think about spiritual things. ”
But then, does the puritan ethic inevitably lead to workaholic syndrome? The Puritans thought otherwise. They try to find a balance for their diligence by explicitly limiting overwork. Their ideal is still moderation.
John Preston said: “Be careful not to overdo things, and not to work in detail and without restraint. Philip Stubbs cautioned that “every Christian should not allow “him to overwork before God” and “exceed the limits of true godliness.” Moreover, “the Lord does not allow us to be greedy or to work without restraint; We should not worry about tomorrow today, because one day of difficulty is enough. ”
Robert Woodrow, a Scottish theologian, commented: “I humbly believe that we have been too partial to work and neglected more valuable things, and such sins will be recorded in our verdicts.” ”
On the subject of “part-time,” Richard Steele points out that one should not “work two or three jobs just to increase one’s wealth.”
The goal of the Puritans was not to go to extremes and to conform to the middle way. Working passionately, but not selling their souls to work, is what they strive for. John Preston put it this way: “If you have pure love, then you can do all the things of the world without being defiled; But when you covet anything too much, it defiles your soul. ”
Neither idle nor workaholic, this middle-way idea is also John Cotton’s ideal:
In every living saint, there is a strange combination of two virtues, namely: on the one hand, diligence in the affairs of the world, and on the other hand, death to the world; The parties to this mystery will know, but others will not know. Although he worked diligently in the calling of heaven, his heart was not focused on these things; When he gets his belongings, he knows what to do with them.
二十世纪德国天主教哲学家约瑟夫•皮柏（Josef Pieper）在一篇名为《休闲，文化的基石》（Leisure, the Basis of Culture）的著名散文中写道：休闲不仅仅是放下工作，而是一种心灵的态度，在这种状态下，你可以单纯地去专注、享受事物本身，而不必考虑，它们的价值或直接效用。在西方文化中，以工作为导向的思维使得人们仅凭效率、价值和速度去看待一切。但是人们必须能享受生活中最简单和平凡的小事，即使有些并无实用价值而仅仅是愉悦身心。
Some people wrote to me saying that the place where I am is very popular, and I have to give red envelopes when I get married, have children, have birthdays, housewarming, win the college entrance examination, and the death of the elderly. Even church staff face a lot of pressure on this issue, and believers have to seal red envelopes for red and white happy events in their homes. I can’t afford to send it at all, and if I don’t send it, I’m afraid of tripping people. Ask me how is it good.
I don’t know where this limb lives. However, I know that in a coastal city in the south known for its individual economic development, the trend of exaggeration and comparison is prevalent. No matter what, it is popular to eat and drink, and it is natural to give red envelopes. If the children get married and the old man dies, it is even more necessary to make a big deal.
I personally attended Christian weddings, there was wine at every table, and everyone had to give out a gift bag before leaving. It is estimated that each table will cost more than 10,000 tables, and the wedding table will be as many as seventy or eighty tables. Although I know that the local area likes to do a big deal, it still makes me smack. If you don’t do it, you are afraid of losing face, if you don’t give gifts, you are afraid of losing people, and under the vicious circle, there is a tragedy that you can’t afford to hold a tofu banquet and choose to commit suicide. Speaking of which, it is estimated that many readers already know where it is.
There is nothing new under the sun, and there are ancient and modern feasts and favors. The rich class of the ancient Roman Empire had to find excuses to eat and drink for days when they had nothing to do, and they were extremely poor. That’s right, not a few meals, but a few days. The grandeur of the scene, the expensive ingredients, the gorgeous singing and dancing, and the exquisite utensils are not inferior to today’s metropolis. The result? Along with extravagance, moral standards continue to decline. First homosexuality prevailed, then barbarian invasions. Finally, the Eastern and Western Roman Empires both perished.
I once met young people who were hungry and fainted in the streets of the city center, because they had no way to work and were thin and embarrassed to ask for help. There were many onlookers, because there was still something to do, so they only bought food and gave it to him.
In contrast, you can see why lavish feasts provoke the wrath of the gods. The end of self-centeredness will be lamentable, whether it is Babylon or Rome, or the empire today. “So in one day, her calamity will come together, death, sorrow, famine. She will be burned by fire again because the Lord God who judges her is powerful. For a moment, such great wealth came to nothing. All the owners of the ship and the sailors who went everywhere on the ship, even all those who lived by the sea, stood far away, and when they saw the smoke burning her, they cried out, “What city can be greater than this great city?” And they sprinkled dust on their heads, weeping and weeping, crying, “Lament, mourn, O great city! “Whoever has a ship in the sea is rich because of her treasures, and she is in a moment a wasteland.” Revelation 18:8, 17-19
This is not necessarily related to the abundance of materials, the development of science and technology, and the prosperity of commerce, but to the hearts of the people. Because they chose to be considerate of the flesh and indulge their lusts, the Bible states: “Their end is to perish, their God is their belly, they glorify themselves with shame, and think exclusively of the things of the earth.” Philippians 3:19, “Fools who turn their way against each other will kill themselves; The foolish man is at ease, and he will harm himself. Proverbs 1:32
In the so-called human favor, the focus is not on love, but on people.
In order to build and maintain relationships, it has to be done. Unconsciously, basing a sense of security on the network of one’s own talents and external relationships, in fact, there is no peace. Those who look up to him will fall, and those who depend on them will be disappointed. This is due to the deceit of the human heart and the corruption of generations. This is especially true for gifts to leaders or children’s teachers. Those who trust in the Lord are never ashamed, and we need to do God’s will.
The essence of human favor is high maintenance cost and high pressure. Once, I went to a church in the hinterland, which is known for its godliness and fiery, and had a good conversation with the local elders. They were very welcoming, and during the small talk I asked what was the average local wedding dowry. Answer: Two or three hundred thousand, in addition to having a suite in the city. I heard that the elder in charge of teaching had just married his daughter, so I asked, “Does your child receive a bride price when they get married?” He suddenly became embarrassed and reluctantly replied: Also 200,000.
At a per capita monthly income of two or three thousand yuan, this is not a small number. The elder married his daughter, and the red envelopes of the co-workers seemed to have been discussed, all of which were five hundred. Brothers and sisters are divided into one hundred and two hundred according to their income. This is still the church, and the society has heard that it is 500 friends. If there are several so-called red-and-white happy events and birthday housewarmings in a month, it is estimated that you will have to borrow money to get by. Lust is expressly forbidden in the Bible, including rivalry, jealousy, drunkenness, and feasting. Galatians 5:20-21. Our godliness is meaningless if we do not protect ourselves from the world. James 1:27
Caring for others requires paying, but it’s not just about human relationships. If it is a dear friend and a person who gives symbolically but becomes a burden to all, the church should make its attitude clear: we oppose it and refuse to participate within the church. “Everything I do, but not all of it is beneficial; I can do anything, but in either case, I am not subject to it. 1 Corinthians 6:12
This needs to start with the pastoral staff of the church and act as an example of changing customs. Not by one’s own conscience, but by the conscience of others. For example, my pastor friend married his daughter, I knew that he was not rich, and I also regarded the girl as my own daughter, so I won my wife’s agreement to give her 3,000 yuan red envelopes. This is tantamount to caring for the brother and not thinking of anything in return.
But if the atmosphere in Shanghai becomes like the southern coastal cities mentioned at the beginning of this article, I will not give red envelopes. It is estimated that they will be advised to have a simple wedding at the church. The author did not take wedding photos when he got married, did not buy jewelry, only held two tables to invite elders and relatives to participate, and confiscated a penny of church bodies. It’s good here in Shanghai, see off the elders in the Lord, and I haven’t heard of sending red envelopes.
The important thing is to bring heavenly blessings.
Heavenly blessings are truly beautiful and last.
I’ve always objected to my co-workers bringing anything to my house, and I’m happy whenever someone comes. And I also like to send visiting body books as a souvenir. The Bible tells us that before we know it, we receive an angel. Hebrews 13:2
Normally, I don’t bring any gifts to visit my limbs, unless I am sick or impoverished. For there is a greeting, intercession, and the comfort of God’s Word. The same is true for the visits of the co-workers, even if they buy things, they pay for them themselves and do not have to be reimbursed by the church. The money in God’s house should not be used for human relations, but to support mission and care for the poor. Genuine love, it is more valuable than giving red envelopes, and everyone with inner life can recognize this.
In view of this, we should care for each other and pray for each other. Help if you have a physical problem, whether it’s moving or sick. As for the world’s favorite gifts, try to avoid them. For “whatever you do, walk for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31b
However, since breaking through social sentiment, it is inevitable that there will be greater pressure, especially for individuals. It is best to do it as a whole at the church level, that is, each member of the body expresses its attitude: “I am a Christian, and the church rules that no gifts are accepted or given.” I hope to understand. “If you have real difficulties, try to help. Most people verbally blame, but they will secretly envy in their hearts.
Christians are children of light, and they should be good witnesses to the Lord everywhere.
