Bible Devotion

Meditative Reflection
Being Like Children

As I was reflecting on Jesus blessing the children in Matthew 19 and His reminder that “the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”, I immediately called to mind the following two stories.

The first one is a story that you have probably heard in various forms and whose authenticity I have sometimes wondered about. But the message is one we need to hear over and over again. The version I came across many years ago was set in post-war Europe when an American soldier walked through the streets of a war-torn town. He went into a bakery to buy some bread for himself. As he looked out of the shop’s window, he saw a little boy pressing his face to the window, staring at the bread on display. He was obviously very hungry, but had no money. The soldier was touched by his plight, and as he walked out of the bakery, he offered the boy his bread. The boy was taken aback by this unexpected generosity and compassion. He looked up to the soldier and asked, “Mister, are you Jesus?”.

The second one was told by my mother as she returned from the market one day. She told me that she was about to buy some oranges from a lady in the market. There was sign that clearly said that the oranges were Sunkist oranges, except that my mother did not see any Sunkist logo on any of the oranges. So, she asked the storekeeper why there was no Sunkist logo on the oranges. Before the storekeeper could answer, her young daughter quickly replied, “O yes, madam, they are Sunkist oranges. It was my fault that I forgot to stamp the logo on them.”

Meditative Reflection
Inheriting Eternal Life

Not long ago, I was reading one of the leading Catholic magazines and came across an article by a leading Catholic theologian who was mocking Calvin’s emphasis of salvation through faith, and not by work. The author said that it was unmistakable that Jesus, in the various gospel accounts, was preaching salvation by work. One of the passages that he cited in support of his argument was that of the rich, young ruler of Matthew 19, in that Jesus said, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments” (19:17). This, to him, is being further affirmed by Jesus’ command of selling all his possessions, giving them to the poor and then coming and following Him.

The Catholic assertion of salvation by work is in plain contradiction to Paul’s clear teaching of salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) and James’ clear understanding that if we break one law, then we break all the laws (Jas. 2:10).

The story of the rich young man clearly shows that, as good as this young man was — he might honestly had kept the last 6 commandments that Jesus asked about —his honest soul knew that it was not enough. He honestly found himself lacking. As a result, Jesus, in 19:17, was simply repeating what the young man believed — obey the commandments and one would enter eternal life. He found out that doing such was not the case, for he honestly believed himself to have kept the commandments.

As the story unfolds, the young man came to understand that:

- The only way to eternal life is by following Jesus.

- In order to follow Jesus, one has to love Him more than anything and anyone, which is the meaning of the 1st four of the Ten Commandments that Jesus did not ask (or rather He did ask by asking him to sell everything to follow Him).

In support of the Catholic view of salvation by work, Reno (another noted Catholic intellectual) argues that,

 “St. Paul’s criticism of the law of Moses should be read as part of his larger claim about its fulfillment in Christ.” (First Things, January 2012, p.38)

and that the Old Testament Laws do not go far enough, and we need to complement them by obeying and listening to Christ’s commandments. But the fact remains that no one can by themselves obey the law, whether Moses’ or Christ’s. Only when we put our faith in our resurrected Christ and His merit on the Cross, then and only then can we have the power to obey Christ and His commandments. We cannot put the cart before the horse, the cart being work, and the horse being faith in Christ which gives us eternal life.

In Mark’s account of this young man, the question being asked was, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). This question already reveals this man’s understanding that eternal life could only be inherited and no one can work for an inheritance; it is a matter of relationship. In the Old Testament or in any culture for that matter, only children can inherit, no one else needs to apply.

“Yet to all who did receive Him (i.e. Jesus Christ), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”(NIV) (Jn. 1:12)

Meditative Reflection
The Power of Wealth

As I was reading the disciples’ response to Jesus’ hyperbole of how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, using a camel and the eye of a needle as comparison, I found the response of the disciples rather surprising. Instead of saying, “Which rich man can be saved?”, they were saying, “Who then can be saved?”.

Most of the disciples were of a humble background and all of them had given up everything to follow Jesus, and yet they still responded to Jesus’ hyperbole of a rich man with, “Who then can be saved?” This reflects their honesty in that they understood wealth as a powerful stumbling block for both the rich and the poor in entering the kingdom of heaven. They understood very well that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

For the rich, the problem is obvious and the rich young ruler left Jesus sadly, exactly because wealth had become his security, his reliance and therefore, his god!

But for those whom we might call the middle class, the problem with wealth is still powerful in that while they may not be rich, their desire to be rich, to earn more, to accumulate more and to enjoy more could still be a strong enough love that overtakes their love for God. Such a love for wealth may not be as obvious, and it takes tests like a sudden loss of fortune or job, or a rare opportunity to make millions that might conflict with family life, church life or biblical principles to reveal who their God really is.

One would think that the poor certainly has no problem when it comes to wealth. But I have come across many poor who are bitter with society and with God, who think that the world has owed them the wealth that they think they never could have. They are jealous of those who are well off, and while they may not be able to improve financially, they would be more than delighted to see more people become like them. No, not all poor are like this. Some poor have integrity and dignity and would not allow poverty to define who they are. I have come across many poor parents like this in my youth, as I studied in a primary school attended by children living as squatters on a nearby hillside.

But the bitterness and jealousy are signs that wealth, nonetheless, is a god that they wish they could possess.

Such, I believe, is the profound understanding of the disciples, of course except Judas whose poverty drove him to betray the Lord Jesus Christ.

Meditative Reflection
Poor Me!

It is a well-known fact that most churches (or all churches, I should say,) have 20% of their people doing 80% of the church ministries. Many of these servers are multi-tasking. As a result, I have discovered that the “poor-me” syndrome is very prevalent in churches.

You will have come across such people (or you may be one of them). They are very God-loving individuals who have a passion to serve. Many have children at home, and yet they will serve to the point that they spend more time in the church than in their homes. Apart from being commission-heads, project leaders, Sunday School teachers and Bible Study leaders, they would also care about others sacrificially. Yet, they do not have joy. Their mouths are full of complaints and criticisms. It is also obvious that they do not really have a meaningful and consistent “quiet” time with the Lord. Their constant complaint is that “nobody cares”. They are the only ones.

Like Elijah, their best cure is to run away, to take a break, a real break to be alone with the Lord, to listen to the small voice of God. Well, to tell you the truth, the voice of the Lord may not be that small, just that we have crowded ourselves with our busyness and bitterness that we have failed to hear the clear voice of God and we have made it sound small.

The Bible says, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Co. 9:7) and I believe it does not only apply to the giving of money, but also to our time, effort and yes, ourselves.

Meditative Reflection
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

As we reflect on the pride and competitive spirits of the disciples in Matthew 20, perhaps it is fitting that we meditate on the lyrics of this hymn of Isaac Watts and translate them into our own prayer. (Note that the 5th stanza, though written by Watts has never been included in his publication.)

1
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

2
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

3
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

4
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
demand my soul, my life, my all.

5
His dying crimson, like a robe,
spreads o'er His body on the tree:
Then am I dead to all the globe,
and all the globe is dead to me.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Meditative Reflection
Once was Blind, But Now I See

Jesus healed many who were blind, but the two blind men in Jericho were special; they were not only healed, but they “followed Him”. And so, they would have followed Jesus into Jerusalem and seen with their eyes, which were just opened, the drama of the last week of the Passion of Christ. They saw as the crowd turned against Jesus, as the leaders plotted and executed their evil scheme, as Pilate succumbed to the pressure of the people, as the Roman soldiers mocked and flogged Jesus and as Jesus was finally condemned and nailed to the cross. How would the two newest followers of Christ feel? Would they not be devastated, angry or at least puzzled? But one thing that was unique to them was that once they were blind and now they could see. No matter how confusing the whole thing might be to them, it was unmistakably clear that Jesus had performed this miracle in their lives.

Many new Christians face similar challenges. I came to Christ with zeal and fervor that ushered me into rapid growth in Christ and in the church. But after such emotions leveled off, I began doubting if what I believed was true. Indeed, feelings come and go, and if our faith is grounded on feelings, there cannot be looser grounds. Our faith is ultimately grounded in the unchangeable Word of God in the Scripture. But, the Holy Spirit who dwells within our spirit because of our faith in Christ “testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom. 8:16). Furthermore, every true believer has the undeniable experience of an inner transformation, like having successfully gone through a diet-program; we have a clear pre-and-post story to tell. This three-fold witness — the Word of God, the inner-witness of the Holy Spirit and our personal testimony of transformation — serves as a powerful surety of our salvation, no matter what the world around us may say.

Meditative Reflection
The Humble King

I often count it a blessing that I did not live in the days of Jesus, especially as a Jew.

Knowing my own personality, I know I would likely be one of the Pharisees. To see how Jesus blatantly violated the Sabbath and even claimed to be God, I would be extremely skeptical. But to me, the most challenging part of His life would be His last week in Jerusalem, starting with His entry on a colt.

As a Jew under foreign occupation and with over 400 years of history of religious apathy, my longing for the Messiah would be very strong. Despite my skepticism against Jesus because of the above, there had to lurk within me a glimmer of hope that He might be the Messiah — if only somehow He could prove to me, say, by overturning the Romans, I would, for sure, jump on the band wagon.

But His entrance into Jerusalem sealed my skepticism for good. All kings or rulers of the time would ride in their chariots with multiple stallions, accompanied with pomp and circumstance. Yet, this king of the Jews was riding on a donkey! It was like a child’s play! It was more than ridiculous! How could I believe that He was a king, let alone God? How would I be associated with a loser like Him!

And yet, our Lord Jesus did it purposely. Why?

Although the explanation of the needle’s eye (of Matt. 19) was a pure invention of someone in the 15th century (Lenski, Matthew, 755), he had a point. In his fabrication, he said the “Needle’s Eye” was a very low entrance gate into Jerusalem, through which one could only enter by stooping down. While his story was false, his point was valid. Only if we are willing to associate totally with such a lowly king can we enter into His kingdom.

As we enter into this season of Lent, may we “check in” at its entrance all our pride, our desire for recognition, our hunger for power and learn to say with our lowly King,

“I am a worm, not a man.” (Ps. 22:6)