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Who said life is a Marathon

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Who said life is a Marathon

最近看見一個日本的招募廣告，很有意思，也反映了我寫的田鼠的故事。難得日本這一個講究大一統的民族也有這樣的醒覺。中國人，我們何時才學會走自已的路？

Recently, I came across a Japanese commercial for an recruiting event. It was in Japanese with Chinese subtitle. Here is the subtitle translated into English:

We are running. We are running today. We all run.

The clock cannot stop. Time keep on matching forward.

This is a marathon with no turning back.

We compete with every opponents while racing down this highway of time.

We want to run faster than others. We believe there is a bright future. We believe there is a finish line.

Life is a marathon….

Is that true? Is that life?

NO!

Life is not a marathon.

Who made up this race? Who put up the finish line?

Where should we run to? What direction should we go?

I make my own way! My own way?

Can it be? I don’t know.

The world which we have never seen is so immense. It is much bigger than our imagination.

That is right!

Get off the well trotted path.

We may be perplexed. We may be hurt. But we will run till the end.

What if we fail? What if we go in circle?

We don’t have to compete with anyone.

There is more than one way. There is more than one finish line.

There are as many possibility as there are runners. Each of us is wonderful.

Who said life is a marathon?

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A Eulogy to Raymond Fong

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(This is a translation of my previous post. Sorry, I don’t have time to write something new. In this April, there has been two deaths in my extended family. Reflecting on Raymond’s life provided me much comfort. Hope it give you strength as well.)

On February 1st, 2014, Raymond Fong concluded his fifteen year battle with brain cancer and returned to Our Father’s house in victory.

 

Jocelyn and I have known Raymond since 1998, the year we were married. Raymond was diagnosed in Hong Kong with a tumor in the middle of the brain. After a diligent search by his brother William, they discovered that Dr. Black at Brigham and Women Hospital in Boston had previous success with cases similar to Raymond. They decided to travel around the globe to Boston for treatment. They did not know any friend in Boston, except that the wife of their pastor at Causeway Bay Baptist Church was once a classmate in nursing school with the mother of my best friend Gideon. Through this connection, Gideon became their host in Boston.

 

Once they arrived at Boston, Raymond had to go through a series of tests and consultations before surgery. So that were a few days when we took Raymond, his wife Shirley and his brother William sight seeing around Boston. Raymond loved to eat, and he was impressed with Boston’s delicacies.

 

On the day of surgery, what was planned to be a 3 hour surgery turned out taking more than 8 hours. Shirley’s overwhelming anxiety can only be quenched by fervent prayers. It turned out that the tumor, which appeared as the size of an egg in MRI, was actually much bigger – roughly the size of an orange. At the end, the surgery was a success; but that was only the beginning of a long road of recovery.

 

Gideon’s house had many stairs, therefore it would be inconvenient for Raymond and Shirley to continue staying at his house after Raymond’s surgery. (William had return to Hong Kong.) Instead, they stayed at our house. During that time, it was as if Raymond had become a baby again: he had to learn to eat solid food, learn to walk again, learn to put on his own shirt, and learn to speak. He had very little energy and slept many hours in a day. Shirley used to wake him up and encourage his effort in rehabilitation by whispering in his ears, “Cheesecake Factory – Now Open!”

 

During that time, Raymond had to take medication to prevent seizure. He could not swallow pills. We tried grinding the pills into powder, but it was too bitter for him to swallow. Our solution was to mix the powder into ice-cream and fed him. He had no recollection of most of the events in Boston, but in his heart he must have wondered why ice-cream in Boston tasted so terrible.

 

Raymond spent more than a month recovering with us. Before he left us, he could manage simple housework. He even planted in our front yard some tulip bulbs, which budded the next spring. To this day, we still have tulips planted in our front yard to remember Raymond.

 

After the surgery, Raymond lost his ability to form long term memory. He memory lasted only for a few minutes. It would take many repetitions for him to remember anything. He could handle simple conversation. If you had the chance to talk to him, you would not notice anything wrong until you had carried on a longer conversation conversation with him. Then you would discover that he had forgotten what you just talked about a few minutes ago. After he finished his rehabilitation in Boston, he returned to a rehabilitation facility in Hong Kong. He conditions did not improve, but instead regressed because the nurses at the facility were not as attentive as Shirley and he did not get the chance to talk to many people.

 

It took a while for their family to adapt to Raymond’s memory problems. He learned to write down everything in a small notebook – which bus to take to get home, phone numbers, name of his nurse, etc. If he had to go to the bathroom at a restaurant, he would find someone to accompany him, or else he would not be able to find his way back to his table. Slowly, Raymond and Shirley learned to cope with the inconveniences of his memory loss.

 

My family visit Hong Kong frequently. Every time we went back, we made an effort to visit Raymond and Shirley. If we were all busy, we would have a quick dinner or desert. When we could afford the time, we would go on a field trip. Raymond remembered nothing about his trip to Boston, but miraculously he remembered me and my wife.

 

Through the years, the cancer never went away. After the initial surgery, Raymond had more than ten surgeries. Sometimes after a surgery he would become more alert. Other times he would become less responsive.

 

Shirley took Raymond touring whenever possible. They had not only travelled throughout Hong Kong, but also went overseas. They even went on a pilgrimage to Israel. People asked Shirley, “Raymond can never remember his travel. Isn’t it a waste for you to take him on trips?” Shirley’s answer was, “He may not remember, but the people around him will remember him.”

 

I once shared with a non-believing relative of mine about Raymond’s condition. He said quite bluntly, “If I were him, I would have preferred death.” If not for the sake of being a witness to Christ, for Raymond to have fought with cancer for fifteen years would have been worse than death. The love of Christ, however, made all his suffering meaningful. Raymond and Shirley showed us how what is sacrificial love. We saw them serving the Lord unceasingly, both inside and outside their church. They were praiseful even in the hospital. Raymond sang so beautifully that his hymns and praise songs moved the doctors, nurses and other patients. He was a beloved angel in the hospital. In his weakness we saw the strength of God. The Apostle Paul once said, “To live is for Christ, to die is to gain.” That was such an appropriate description of Raymond’s life.

 

The last time we met with Raymond, we took him to Hong Kong’s fisherman museum on Lamma Island. The very first sentence Raymond said to us that day was, “Have you had your morning devotion this morning?” His pure heart and his devotion to the Lord put us all to shame.

 

I know many of us had been praying for Raymond and Shirley throughout their years of battle with cancer. We were wishing for a miracle. I now know for a fact that miracle did happened. No. It did not happen to Raymond. Instead the miracle happened on all of us who were inspired by his life. Raymond was strong in his faith, he did not need any miracle to make hime stronger. Instead it was all of us who knew Raymond who benefited. Through Raymond, we learned to have faith, we learned to cherish, we learned to sacrifice, we learned to love. This was the miracle of Raymond Fong!

 

Unknown's avatar

悼方家熾

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方家熾於2014年2月1 日，即農曆年初二，結束了十五年與腦癌的戰鬥，凱旋回到天父懷抱。

 

我們夫婦認識家熾是在1998年。那時我們剛結婚。家熾在香港診斷出腦中央部份有腫瘤。他哥哥家煒四出尋訪名醫，得知波士頓的 Dr. Black 有醫治類似腫瘤的經驗，故千里來到波士頓動手術。他們在波士頓舉目無親，幸得銅浸的師母和我的好友 Gideon 的母親當年是護士學校的同學，所以他們一家就寄宿在 Gideon 家。到波士頓後先有一連串的掃描和檢查，然後排期做手術。所以在手術前我們有機會和他們一家遊覽波士頓。尤其是家熾饞嘴，自然是要多嘗本地美食。

 

手術當天，原本預計三小時的手術足足用了八小時。杰英自是急如熱鍋上的螞蟻，不住的禱告。原來掃描顯示像雞蛋大小的腫瘤開刀後發現是像橙一般大。最終手術成功，但這只是漫長的復健旅程的開始。

 

手術後，因為 Gideon 家多梯級，不方便家熾出入，家熾和杰英來了我們家休養。家熾那時就像剛出生嬰兒，喫喝要餵，不會走路穿衣，説話也是從新學起。杰英不斷用 “Cheese Cake Factory ﹣Now Open!” 來鼓勵家熾早日康復。那時家熾要服用防癲癎的藥，他不會吞藥丸，把藥磨成粉又太苦，他不肯喫。結果我們的辦法是把藥粉混在雪榚中餵他喫。雖然他對那段時間的事情沒有記憶，但他的心中一定在懷疑為什麼波士頓的雪榚會那樣的難喫。在我們家中休養了一個多月，家熾慢慢的復元。後來他可以做簡單的家務，以至可以在我們家的前園種下鬱金香。（秋天種的鬱金香，第二年的春天才開花。）直到現在，我們家前園還是種有鬱金香，以記念家熾。

 

手術的創傷破壞了家熾形成長期記憶的能力，他的記憶力只能維持數分鐘。新的人和事，他要長時間和多次的重複才可以記住。他能夠應付日常的對話，旁人不會察覺他的記憶力有問題，但多談一會就會發現早前說的話他很快會忘記。在波士頓休養完畢，回到香港入住療養院，他的情況沒有改善，反而因為看護的照顧沒有杰英的細心，又少人和他談話，反而倒退了。

 

過了一段時間，他們一家慢慢的適應了家熾的記憶障礙。他把一切大小事情都記在記事本中，例如乘那一路巴士回家，家中各人的電話號碼等都一一記下來。和他上餐館時去洗手間一定要有人相陪，否則他可能忘記了坐在那一桌。一切的不便，杰英和家熾都適應了。

 

我們一家經常回香港，每次都會探望家熾和杰英。大家沒有時間就簡單的喫個飯，或是去喝糖水；有空就會一起郊遊。對波士頓的一切人和事，家熾都記不起來，惟獨是還記得我們夫婦倆。家熾的病情反反覆覆，多年來又再做了十多次的手術。有時手術後他會變得「精靈」，有時會變得木訥。杰英不單在香港會帶着家熾四出遊玩，也會帶他出外遊埠，幾年前也帶他去以色列聖地遊。有人問她：「家熾反正都不會記得去過什麼地方。妳還帶他四處遊玩，不會浪費嗎？」杰英的回答是：「他可能記不起，但我們這些在他身邊的人都會記得！」

 

有一次，我和一位不信耶穌的親戚分享家熾的病情，他很直接的說：「如果我像他一樣，我倒不如死了痛快。」如果不是為了見證基督，從家熾個人的角度來看，他和癌病的十五年作戰真的是生不如死。但基督的愛令家熾的苦難變得有意義。他和杰英完完全全的表現了什麼是捨己的愛。看見他們不斷的見證主，在教會事奉。以至在醫院中也不忘讚美，醫生、護士、病人都被他的詩歌感動。他是醫院中被愛戴的天使。在他軟弱的身體中顯現了神的剛強。我們最後一次見家熾時，我們相約去南丫島漁民文化村。見到家熾他第一時間就問我們：「你們今天做了靈修沒有？」他對靈命的專一，真是叫我們汗顏！使徒保羅說的：「活着是為基督，死了就得益處。」那樣崇高的心志，家熾做到了。

 

我知道世界各地的認識家熾和杰英的基督徒都有在過去的年月不斷的為家熾禱告。我們希望神蹟會來臨。我可以確切的告訢大家，神蹟實實在在的來臨了。不是降臨在家熾的身上，而是臨在我們這一羣被家熾所感動的人身上。家熾對神有無比的信心，他不需要神蹟。反而我們因為家熾的見證，我們學會了信心，學會了珍惜，學會了無私，學會了彼此相親相愛：這就是家熾的神蹟！

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Story of the field mice.

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(This is the English translation of my preivous post)
In a certain field was a village of field mice. They lived in burrows. Their diet was mainly grass seeds and roots. Their lives were mostly worry-free except for a hawk living in the nearby woods. This hawk was always lurking around in the hope of catching some mice for food.

In the mouse village, each mouse had its own strengths and occupation. Hulky was the strongest, he was responsible for tunneling.

Fatty had the best taste, he was the chef.

Spectacle had the best eyesight, he was the sentinel. Every time when the mice went above ground to collect food, Spectacle would keep watch at the burrow entrance. Before the hawk could approach the mice, he would warn them, telling everyone to run back inside. Generally the mice never wander too far away from the burrow. So the hawk had little chance of catching them.

The oldest mouse in the village was the mayor. When he was young, he traveled a lot. Therefore he was very knowledgable.

Speedy was the mayor’s son. He was the fastest runner. What was his occupation, you might ask? Well, he was a thief. He was very sneaky, so he was rarely caught. The few times he was caught, he was let off easy on account of his father being the mayor.

One day, Speedy went to Fatty’s kitchen to steal food and was discovered. Fatty was furious and was chasing after him. In his haste to escape, Speedy ran outside of the burrow to the open field, trying to escape to the woods.

Fatty was going to chase him down. But before he ran too far from the burrow, Spectacle, who was keeping watch, suddenly cried out, “The hawk is coming! The hawk is coming!”

This sent Fatty scurrying back into the burrow. Before he went back underground, he looked back and saw the hawk quickly closing in on Speedy. He thought, “Speedy is dead! ”

In fact, the hawk did caught Speedy and took him back to its nest. When the hawk was about to eat him, Speedy begged for mercy. “Brother Hawk, How mercy on me! As you can see, I am small and thin. I won’t make a good meal. You’ll still be hungry after eating me. I promise that if you let me go, you’ll have mice running to you every few days. You can eat mice to your heart’s desire!”

The hawk was enticed by his offer, and asked, “Really?”

Speedy replied, “I guarantee it with my life. If you let me go home, mice will volunteer themselves for your enjoyment. I only have a small request: Can you shake the branches, so that acorns will fell to the ground?”

The hawk said, “That is easy!” It patted its wings, shaking the branches vigorouly. And soon there were plenty of acorns on the ground.

Seeing his chance to escape the hawk, Speedy come quickly descended to the ground. He picked up two large and fragrant acorns, and went back to the burrow.

Inside the burrow, the mice were mourning the fate of Speedy. Fatty personally went to the mayor’s home to apologized, “I am responsible for Speedy’s death! Sure, he stole my food, but stealing food is not a crime that is worthy of death. I should not have chased him. I should not have made him ran outside and be eaten by the hawk.” And he started wailing.

Just as every one was mourning, Speedy’s voice came in from the outside, “Don’t cry! I’m okay! I am back safe and sound!”

Every one was amazed. They surrounded Speedy and started to ask him how he escaped from the hawk’s claws.

Speedy answer with pride, “Because I ran! The hawk was not fast enough to catch me and I was able to run all the way into the woods. When I was inside the woods, I found a lot of acorns on the ground. There was only one of me, so I only managed to bring back two acorns. Fatty! I stole your food and I was wrong. Please accept this acorn as my apology. The other acorn I give to my most beloved Daddy – the mayor! ”

Because the mice had been living underground, most of them did not know what acorns taste like. The mayor, with his vast experience, explained the nutritional benefits of acorn to the mice. Fatty was of course hugely relieved that Speedy returned safely. He used all his cooking skills on his acorn so that every one can have a taste of this novel delicacy. The mayor also donated his acorn for everyone’s enjoyment. Unfortunately, there were too many mice, so each of them could only have a small bite. Nevertheless, the taste of acorn was memorable.

After dinner, Speedy stood up and said, “Folks! The fact that I came back safely proves that the hawk is not as scary as we believed. If we run fast enough, we can go to the woods to collect acorns. Starting tomorrow, I will be your running coach. May we eat acorns everyday! ”

The mice were intrigued by the prospect of eating acorns everyday. The mayor also sparked their interest by praising the benefits of acorn as if it was food from heaven. The next morning, there was a large group of mice following Speedy into vigorous training – with dreams of running faster than the hawk, and winning acorns in the process.

Three days later, Speedy thought the opportune time had come. During their morning practice, he told the mice, “After three days of training, we have significant speed improvements. I believe we are now fast enough to out run the hawk. Let us start our first acorn run today at noon. Let us we bring back our acorns from the woods! ”

At noon, a group of more than thirty mice ran out of the burrow together under the leadership of Speedy. They ran straight towards the woods. What a sight! Even the hawk was admiring the running mice. It knew it had to be patient, so it waited until the mice are halfway to the woods before it attacked.

Hulky was one of the running mice. Although he had great strength, speed was not his forte. Moreover, he had to work his tunneling job, so he had less time to practice than the other mice. Consequently, he was the slowest runner and became the hawk’s lunch of the day.

The remaining mice reached the woods. They were overjoy to discover acorns everywhere. They gathered as many acorns as they could carry. When they were ready to make the return trip, the hawk was already full, and it did not attack them.

As soon as they returned to the burrow, the whole village exploded with joy. The happiest of them all was Fatty the chef. He spent his day planning for various acorn recipes: acorn pie, stir-fry acorn, acorn stew. He was anxiously waiting for the arrival of his main ingredient. With the acorns were there, they were ready for the acorn feast!

Everyone enjoyed the feast, but a few of them remembered of death of Hulky. In the middle of the feast, the mayor stood up and addressed the mice, “Today, we have entered a new era. We have a new source of food which is more nutritious. Henceforth, we will be more healthy, more energetic, and can run much faster! In the outside world there is a famous scientific principle called ‘Survival of the Fittest’. One of us was sacrificed today because he could not run fast enough. This is living proof of ‘survival of the fittest’. From now on, for our survival, we have to run faster!”

That day began a “running fever” in the mice village. Speedy naturally became the village hero. Only Spectacle remained skeptical. Because of this, he quarreled with his wife. He said, “No one in this village knows the attack speed of the hawk better than I. No way can Speedy out run the hawk! It must be a lie!”

His wife said, “He brought home acorns, didn’t he? What proof do you need? Now every mouse in the village is eating acorns. We are still eating grass roots. The mayor says that acorns are rich in protein. You can go ahead and be a coward. But our kid can not do without nourishment or he will grow up thinner and weaker than the others kids. If you do not bring back the acorns, I will divorce you!”

When his wife mentioned their kid, Spectacle’s heart softened. He said to his wife, “For our kid it is worth the risk. If I die, I die!”

One week later the stockpile of acorns was gone. The mice once again had to collect acorns. This time Spectacle was also involved. When the hawk saw Spectacle, it recognized that he was the sentinel. It reasoned, “If I get rid of him, it will be much more convenient to catch mice in the future.” So the hawk picked its target. Poor Spectacle did not even have a chance to scream.

Since then, the mice regularly run into the woods to collect acorns. With Spectacle out of the way, Speedy can now sneak out and make contacts with the hawk. He informed the hawk everything regarding the movements of the mice. The mice on the other hand, had no idea of Speedy’s secret dealings and still regarded him as their great hero. Some mice wanted to emulate the success of Speedy and started their own running schools. Under the co-operation between Speedy and the hawk, one by one these competitors became empirical proof to the principle of “survival of the fittest “.

One day, when Speedy and the hawk had one of their secret meetings, the hawk said to Speedy, “We are perfect partners! Thanks to your arrangements, I am now having too much to eat. Remember the last time you asked me to take care of the fat mouse? Eating him really drove up my cholesterol! At this rate, I am afraid I will soon be too fat to fly! Honestly, I feel sick just seeing a fat mouse.”

Speedy replied, “Fatty tried to buy acorns in the black market from another supplier behind my back. Ha! He gets what he deserves! Don’t worry about your weight problems. I will take care of it! I guarantee that beginning next week, your diet of mice will be sweet, tender, and healthy! Top quality stuff! The best of the best for you my dear friend!”

The hawk said, “That’s great! It is such a pleasure doing business with you!” Then Speedy quietly returned to the burrow.

The next morning, a huge poster appeared in the village:

“Give your children a head start in life!!!”

Unknown's avatar

A Parable for the children but not intended to be read by the children

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Sorry for not posting for so long. I was working on a “major” work, and here it is –

(I am posting the Chinese version first, English translation to come probably next week)

在田野裡住了一群田鼠，牠們住在地洞裡，喫的是野草的種子和草根。生活是不愁温飽，自由自在。但在附近的樹林裡住了一只老鷹。這老鷹常常虎視眈眈，希望可以抓到田鼠喫。

田鼠村子裡，每只田鼠都有自己的特長和工作。大強力氣最大，他負責挖地道。

肥仔味覺靈敏，他是厨師。

小明眼力最好，他是放哨的。每次田鼠們跑到地面收集食物的時候，小明站在地洞門口，鷹在老遠他就會警告大家，叫大家躲回地洞。田鼠們一般都不會離開地洞太遠，所以老鷹雖然利害，但對田鼠們卻是束手無策。

田鼠村長是年紀最大的一只田鼠，他年青時四處遊歴，見多識廣。

村長的兒子叫較腳，全村他跑得最快，他的職業？抱歉，他是小偷。因為他非常狡滑，所以偷東西很少失手。偶然被抓，大家都會看在村長的臉上，小惩大戒了事。

有一天，較腳在肥仔的厨房偷食物，被肥仔發現了。較腳在前逃跑，肥仔在後追。較腳慌不擇路，跑出了地洞外邊，向樹林跑去。

肥仔正想追他，剛剛跑出洞口不遠，忽然放哨的小明大叫：“老鷹來了！”

肥仔嚇得躲回地洞。臨進洞口的時候回頭一看，看見老鷹正飛向較腳。他想：“較腳他死定了！”

事實上老鷹真的把較腳抓住了，帶着他飛回了老巢。當老鷹正要喫掉較腳的時候，較腳大聲求饒，説：“老鷹大哥饒命，您看我又小又瘦，就算您把我喫了也喫不飽。不如放了我，我答應您以後每隔幾天就有田鼠自投羅網，給您享用。”

老鷹給他説得心動，問：“此話當真？”

較腳回答説：“我以性命擔保！只要您放我回家，以後自然會有田鼠定時奉上。我還有一個小小的要求，請您搖動樹枝，讓樹上的松果掉到地上。”

老鷹説：“這事易辦！” 他拍拍翅膀，樹枝就大力的搖動，很快就有好幾個松果掉到地上。

較腳見老鷹放過他，就速速的跑到地上，挑了兩個又大又香的松果，帶回地洞。

在地洞裡，田鼠們正為較腳的命運傷心。肥仔親自到村長家求饒。他向村長説：“較腳的死，我的責任最大。不錯是他偷我的食物，但偷食物也罪不至死。我不應追他，弄到他逃出洞外，給老鷹喫掉。” 説罷放聲大哭。

大家正傷心的時候，較腳從外面回來大聲喊道：“大家不用傷心，我沒事平安回來。”

大家都十分驚奇，連忙圍住較腳，七嘴八舌的問他怎樣在老鷹的爪下逃生。

較腳驕傲的説：“因為我跑得快！老鷹追我不上。我一直的跑，跑進了樹林。發現樹林地上有很多的松果，我獨自一田鼠力氣不夠，只能帶兩個回來。肥仔！我偷了你的食物是我不對，現在送你一個松果賠罪。另外一個松果送給我最敬愛的村長爸爸！”

田鼠們生長在地洞裡，很多都不知道松果是什麼味道。村長見多識廣，向大家解釋松果的營養和益處。看見較腳平安無事，肥仔當然十分高興，把他的那一個松果烹調得色香味俱全，給大家嘗嘗新。村長也把他的那一個松果拿出來分享。可惜田鼠太多，每人只分到一小口，但已令大家回味無窮。

飯後較腳站起來，向大家説：“各位！今天我平安無事的回來，證明了老鷹其實不是十分可怕。只要我們跑得快，我們就可以到樹林收集松果。從明天開始，我會做大家的賽跑教練，讓我們天天都有松果喫！”

田鼠們聽見有美味的松果喫，都心動不已。加上村長推波助瀾，把松果的好處讚美得像仙丹一般。第二天清早，就有一大群田鼠跟着較腳，努力的訓練，以求可以比老鷹更快，奪得松果。

三天之後，較腳見時機成熟，就向練跑的田鼠們説：“經過三天的訓練，大家的速度都有明顯的進步。我相信我們有足夠的實力，跑贏老鷹，把松果奪回來。今天中午，我們一起出發，到樹林收集松果！”

中午的時候，一群三十多只田鼠一起衝出地洞口，由較腳帶領，直奔樹林，蔚為奇觀。老鷹見到也很識趣，不立刻攻擊。等田鼠快要跑到樹林才飛出來。

大強是三十多只田鼠中的一只，他雖然是力氣大，但速度卻不是他的專長。况且他日常還要挖地道，實在沒有時間練跑。結果他跑得最慢，成為了這一天老鷹的午餐。

餘下的田鼠成功的到了樹林，看見遍地都是松果，真是樂透了。每只田鼠都滿載而歸。回程的時候，老鷹已喫飽了，也沒有攻擊他們。

回到地洞，村裡的田鼠都高興得沸騰騰的，其中最高興的就是大厨師肥仔。他已經想好了一味味以松果為材料的食譜：松果批，清炒松果，松果茸濃湯，只等松果收集回來，他就可以煮出美味的松果宴。現在大批的松果回來了，當晚他們就舉辦了盛大的松果宴。

在松果宴上，大家都開懷的大快朵頤。但也有少數的田鼠為大強的犧牲而傷心。席中村長站起來，對大家説：“我們田鼠村今天進入了新的紀元！我們有了新的更有營養的食物來源，從今以後我們將會更健康，更有活力，也跑得更快。外邊的世界有一句名言，叫作 ‘物競天擇，適者生存’。今天有田鼠犧牲了，是因為他跑的不夠快。正好証明了這一條真理。為了田鼠的未來，為了我們的生存，以後我們要愈跑愈快！”

這一天以後，田鼠村出現了快跑熱，較腳自然成為了村中的大英雄。只有放哨的小明不願意參加練跑。為此他跟他老婆吵架了。小明説：“村裡沒有人比我更清楚老鷹的速度和攻擊力。田鼠無論如何是不會比老鷹更快的！較腳説他跑贏了老鷹，一定是騙人的。”

他老婆説：“較腳他真的把松果帶回來了！這是不爭的事實！現在每家田鼠都在喫松果，我們還是在喫草根。村長説松果很有營養，有豐富的蛋白質。你自已膽子小不要緊，可是我們的孩子不可以沒有營養，將來長大比別人瘦弱。你不把松果帶回來，我就跟你離婚！”

小明見老婆提到孩子，心就軟了。跟老婆説：“罷了！為了孩子，危險也要博一博！死就死吧！”

一星期之後松果喫光了。田鼠們又一次出發去收集松果，小明也參與其中。老鷹看見小明，認出他是放哨的。心想：“把他解決掉，以後抓田鼠就方便多了。” 老鷹認定了小明，集中攻擊，小明連喊救命的機會也沒有，就成了老鷹爪下的亡魂。

從此以後，田鼠們定時的跑進樹林收集松果。沒有小明的哨站，較腳就可以悄悄的和老鷹聯絡，把田鼠的消息告訢老鷹。田鼠們沒有懷疑較腳在背後弄鬼，依然把他當成大英雄。有些田鼠，看見較腳的成功，也學他開辦跑步學校。在較腳和老鷹合作之下，這些競爭者都一一成為了 “物競天擇，適者生存” 的實證。

有一天，當較腳和老鷹秘密會面的時候，老鷹對較腳説：“老弟！我們的合作真是完美！多得你的安排，我現在喫得太好了。上次為你解決了那隻肥仔田鼠，真的把我喫胖了，現在我的膽固醇高的不得了，再下去我快飛不動了。老實説，我現在看見肥大的田鼠就會倒胃口。”

較腳識趣的回答説：“那隻肥仔在我背後向别的田鼠買黑市松果，實在該死！至於老兄您怕肥，這事容易解決！包在我身上！我保證從下星期起，閣下的田鼠將會是又甜又嫩又健康的上等貨！”

老鷹説：“那太好了！我們合作愉快！” 之後較腳便悄悄的回到田鼠洞中。

第二天早上，田鼠洞中出現了一張巨型的海報：

不要讓孩子輸在起跑線上！！！

Unknown's avatar

Why would you want to see God?

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Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God. – Matthew 5:8

When modern day western Christian read the verse, we tend to think of this verse as a promise to an uplifting worship experience – we sing of praise songs with loud music and those who have pure hearts enjoy the experience deeper because they can feel God’s presence.

I am quite sure the original audience of the sermon on the mount did not think that way. So what did it mean to “see God” in the first century?

To begin, attempting to see God was (and still is) a fearful, dangerous and often fatal, venture. Our God is a holy God and the bible has ample evidences that even prophets and apostles fell down in mortal fear when they encountered God.

So why would one want to see God? In Chinese there is a phrase “上訪”, which means “upward visit”. Imagine you are a poor Chinese peasant. A powerful real estate developer took your farm by force and bribery. What are your options? You can try sue the real estate developer in the district court. That usually does not bring favorable results. What you would need to do is to take the train to Beijing and make your appeal to the officials in the central government. Maybe you can find the sympathetic ears of some one who is powerful enough to make a difference.

The situation of the original audiences of Jesus probably resonates closer to the poor peasants of China than to praise singing worshipers. They were poor Jewish peasants being oppressed by both their own religious leaders and the Roman government.

The message of Jesus to those people was “God is King”. The Kingdom of God is here, and God is in charge. He is making judgement from His throne. You, though you are poor and powerless, can see Him and plead your case to Him as long as your heart is pure. He is our advocate, we are no longer helpless.

Why would you want to see God? When you see Him, what is your plead?

Unknown's avatar

Survival of the Fittest

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Last Wednesday was the last day of school for my daughters. To celebrate, the school had a talent show. Obviously, some acts are better than others but it was a lot of fun for everybody. I noticed two girls whose act was just upstaged by another boy. The boy was singing a similar song with more spectacular background music. The two girls looked at each other and said, “we should do this next year!” then sang along with the boy. Not a hint of envy or any negative sentiment.

Later the same week, I had dinner with friends sharing news from Hong Kong. Kids in Hong Kong begin their struggle to get into good schools from birth. Kindergartens have entrance interviews and parents send their two year olds to intensive training to prepare for those interviews. When they come to elementary school, the kids are competing not only in academics, but also in music, sports, experience in world travel, as well as how much their parents donate to “selected charities”.

The most destructive aspect of the theology of evolution (I distinguish between the theology of evolution from the science of evolution) is not that evolution teaches us that God did not created the world. Most people still believe that God created heaven and earth. The most destructive aspect of the theology of evolution is the concept of “survival of the fittest”. Survival of the fittest has permeated through our culture and done damage in our business lives, our political systems, and our education.

Survival of the fittest belongs to the theology of evolution, the science of evolution teaches us instead “survival of the collaborative”. In real life ecosystem, species live in collaborative balance. Without wolves, the sheep will grow too numerous. The grassland will be damage, the ecosystem collapses.

Survival of the fittest teaches that there is no friendly competition, every competition is a fight to the death. Loser don’t deserve to live. We don’t live by words that come from the mouth of the Lord. Grace has no place in life.

Because it is survival that we are talking about, we have to win at all cost. Cheating and backstabbing are just tools of survival. We have to turn everything into competition. Education is competition, music is competition, arts is competition, beauty is competition, worship is competition. Life is one big season of “Dancing with the stars” or “American Idol”: you don’t get the votes, you are eliminated. Bye bye, sayonara, good riddance, go rot in hell for all I care.

Survival of the fitness deny us of grace. We are not allowed to show grace and to receive grace.

We like to think of life as a rat race. And we are all too eager to enter our kids into the same race too. Let me remind you that if a rat starts racing against other rats out in nature, that rat would probably become afternoon snack of some bird of prey.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (I Peter 5:8, John 8:44)

Unknown's avatar

What is God doing in China?

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The question “what is God doing in China?” has many answers. Here are some typical ones.

Answer 1: “God is doing wonderful things in China! Last summer our church sent a mission team to China. We cannot share the gospel openly there, so when we go we serve by teaching them English. Nevertheless, our last mission team got the chance to share our faith personally with a number of students. 16 of them accepted Christ! Praise the Lord!”

Answer 2: “God is doing wonderful things in China. Christianity is the fastest growing religion there. Some reports say that there are 70 million Christians in China while some say the number may be as high as 130 million.”

Both good answers, each of them reflect a different perspective. But let me introduce the perspective of Gideon, a friend of mine:

Answer 3: “If you want to know what God is doing in China, turn to the book of Exodus. Modern China is quite similar to Ancient Egypt. Each of them was/is the biggest economy of their time. 99% of the workers work really hard without receiving the benefit of their labor. Their products are shipped overseas so that the other 1% become rich and powerful. In order to keep the economy going, the government build massive infrastructure projects employing more slave labors. If you want to know what God is doing in China, just read what God did in Egypt. God never change, what he had done before, he will do again.”

Do you think that God only cares for Christians or do you think that God cares for all people, especially the poor?

Do you think that God only cares about religious lives, or do you think that God care about economics, international relations, and social justice?

Do you think that God has changed so that He deals with us differently from the way He dealt with previous generations?

Is your God big enough for this world?

BTW, can you tell me what God is doing in your church?

Unknown's avatar

False sense of freedom

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It happened again last night. There were no Celtics or Bruins games and the Red Sox had an afternoon game. So in the evening, I could find nothing interesting to watch on TV. I have hundreds of channels on cable but nothing to watch.

Obviously cable has not given me entertainment freedom. If none of the hundreds of channels is interesting, the freedom to choose among them is a false sense of freedom. If I had the energy, I could serve myself better by reading a book, or better yet write something or shoot the next viral video. But I did not have the energy, so I just vegetated on the couch staring at a meaningless screen as a faithful member of the Society of Overweight Americans.

What I just experienced yesterday evening probably is representative of a large segment of our lives: choices pretending to be freedom. In a world driven by monolithic giants, consumers are not really free, they just have the illusion of freedom.

True freedom is not measure by the number of choices presented, but by the diversity of capability generated those choices. Choosing between McDonald’s and Burger King does not generate a high degree of freedom. Choosing between a larger variety of food (e.g. Italian vs. Chinese) entails more freedom. Having the ability to purchase healthy food and cook dishes according to one’s particular taste provide significantly more freedom. Freedom is not measured by number of choices or quantity of products but by their diversities and capabilities. Freedom is not enhance by consumption, but by creativity.

Consider China. With the economics boom, the average Chinese have much higher purchasing power than she had a few years ago. However many of them have to flock to Hong Kong and even overseas to buy baby formula. They breathe polluted air, drink polluted water, eat untrustworthy food. Money does not buy freedom – trustworthiness and truthfulness do.

Here in America, we value democracy. However we are continually being taught a “democracy of consumers” instead of “democracy of citizens”. We superstitiously believe that democracy equal voting. So we believe we are free because we can go to the voting booth and select between a politician with an “D” and a politician with an “R”. When both parties are equally untrustworthy, are our choices truly free?

True freedom is not choosing between “D” and “R” the way we choose between McDonald’s and Burger King. True freedom is to be a citizen instead of a consumer. True freedom is to running for office yourself if your have the ambition or to love your neighbor when your ambition is not as grand.

Let us not be deceived by the false sense of freedom promised us by consumerism. Instead, let us truly exercise our freedom by being active agents of God in this land.

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32

Unknown's avatar

No trees to be found

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Beijing Olympic Square

Most people remember the glorious 2008 Beijing Olympics. The majestic event demonstrated the rising power of this nation. But upon what principle is this earthly glory and power built?

I recently toured the Olympic Square in Beijing. Look at this panoramic picture, what is missing?

(That is my family in the foreground, the Water Cube in the far left and the Bird Nest in the middle.I am missing because I am the one taking the picture).

Have you notice the color green is missing? There is not a single tree, nor there is any patches of grass in this super-sized  square. I checked on Google Maps with their aerial pictures – there are trees around the artificial lake, and trees lining the highways surrounding the Olympic Square – but inside the square not a single tree.

I once was given a lesson on architecture by the famous Chinese evangelist Stephen Tong. He asked us why there are many ancient architectural sites in the Western world (e.g. Acropolis of Athens, Colosseum of Rome – both of them around 2000 years old) while relatively few survived in China. (The Imperial palace in Beijing is only a few hundred years old). His answer was, “Chinese believe that living people should live in buildings that are built from living materials, i.e. wood. Therefore even the palace for the emperor were always built with wood. Chinese do build large stone structures – we use stone to build tomes.”

The creation of God is full of life. The creation of industry is devoid of life.

I am also reminded that as Christians we are called to be builders. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15, 1 Peter 2:4-10) We are called to build God’s house with the most precious material – with our own lives.

So what is your house made of? What is our churches made of?