Goodbyes and Greetings

Last Friday was the last day that one of our interns worked for us. His name is Clive, and he will be heading to graduate school in Beijing. I will miss him a lot. Here are two pictures of our team:




































Also, another associate of Jian Hua has opened up has opened up a Dutch cheese factory in China. In addition to providing poor Chinese farmers a skill and work, this is a very welcome service for us cheese-starved foreigners. I ordered by first wheel last week, and it arrived in the mail today. I was so excited that I guess my was perhaps a little emotional. One of our employees drew this picture to poke fun at my emotional response to cheese:

Training on Forgiveness

I gave a talk this week at our lifeskill training session on forgiveness. I used the story of Joseph to illustrate the point. If you read Chinese, you can peruse the prepared text below.


我给饶恕下定义为“不去追究那些得罪我的人而且不怀恨他们。”

从前在迦南地，亦即现代的以色列，有一户叫雅各的人家。当时一夫多妻很流 行，他的四个妻子给他生了十二个儿子。他的儿子中，有一个叫约瑟，雅各特别偏爱。为什么呢？因为约瑟是雅各爱妻的大儿子。雅各很明显地偏待约瑟，还做了一 件色彩缤纷的新衣服给约瑟，其他的弟兄都没有。而这件彩衣不断地提醒约瑟的哥哥们，雅各爱约瑟胜过爱他们，所以哥哥们讨厌约瑟。更糟的是约瑟有时做很奇怪 的梦。有一次，约瑟梦见他和哥哥们都在田里捆庄稼，约瑟所捆的庄稼自动地站在中间，哥哥们所捆的庄稼却围着约瑟的的下拜。另外一次约瑟梦到太阳、月亮、和十一个星星都向他下拜。 你可以想象一下，约瑟和哥哥们分享这些梦的时候，他们更加恨他。父亲偏爱约瑟已经让他们很不高兴了，听到约瑟将来要做他们的主人，哥哥们对约瑟的憎恨更深 了。

终于有一天雅各不在家，哥哥们决定再也不忍受约瑟，于是绑架了他并卖给一支刚好朝他们走近的商队。你知道哥哥们怎么向父亲交代么？他们杀了一只小羊，把血染在约瑟的彩衣上，然后送去给父亲。雅各以为约瑟被野兽吃了。

商 人将约瑟带到了埃及，卖给法老王的一名大臣，名叫波提乏。我们会很自然地产生这样的想法：约瑟一定对此感到生气和愤怒，并带着这样的情绪度过余生。但是这 样的情况没有发生。为什么呢？因为约瑟敬畏上帝、知道唯有上帝具有论断人的权力，所以约瑟心里放弃了他论断哥哥们的权力而且饶恕了他们。因为圣经说：“你 们不可论断他人，要爱人如己。”这个决定使他成为波提乏最忠诚的仆人。结果呢？

耶和华与约瑟同在，约瑟就事事顺利......波提乏把自己所有的 一切，都交在约瑟的手里。除了自己所吃的饭以外，其他的事他一概不管。（创世纪39：2－6）

过些时日波提乏的妻子迷恋上约瑟并要求约瑟和她同寝。因为约瑟敬畏上帝，所以他坚定地回绝了。他说：

你看，家中的事主人一概不管；他把所有的一切，都交在我的手里。在这家里没有比我大的。除你以外，我主人没有留下一样不交给我，因为你是他的妻子。我怎可以作这极恶的事，得罪上帝呢？（创世纪39：8－9）

波提乏的妻子虽然天天都这样诱惑约瑟，约瑟却不仅不愿意通奸，而且连和她单独在一起都不愿意。对于约瑟多次的拒绝，波提乏的妻子感到很生气，因此决定要惩罚他：于是就向他的丈夫诬告约瑟，说约瑟戏弄她，波提乏相信他妻子，就把约瑟关了在监里。

你可以想像，对约瑟来说，这是一个严重的打击。约瑟本来可以因为主人妻子诽谤的话语，就变得懒惰、愤懑，且没有爱心。可是因为约瑟敬畏上帝，他饶恕了波提乏夫妻。结果呢？

耶和华与约瑟同在，向他施慈爱，使他得到监狱长的欢心。因此，监狱长把监里所有的囚犯都交在约瑟手里；他们在那里所作的一切事务，都由约瑟负责处理。凡交在约瑟手里的事务，监狱长一概不过问；因为耶和华与约瑟同在，使他所作的尽都顺利。（创世纪39：21－23）

约 瑟每天都送饭给囚犯们，其中有两个是法老王的大官。约瑟有一天去看他们的时候，见他们正在发愁。他们说他俩各做了一个奇怪的梦，只是不知怎么解梦，所以烦 恼。约瑟回答道：“解梦不是出于上帝吗？请把梦告诉我吧。”他们分别告诉约瑟自己的梦，然后约瑟一一解释给他们听。在约瑟解释完他们三天后会出狱的梦，约 瑟请他们向法老王求情，并告诉法老自己是因为被诬蔑而坐牢的 。请法老王可以放他出去。三天后，所有的事情都如约瑟所预言的那样，大官们出狱了。但不幸的是，两位大官完全忘记了约瑟交代的这件事情。约瑟完全可以怨恨 他们，但是相反，他没有，因为他敬畏上帝。 于是他继续做监狱长忠实的仆人。

两年后，法老王曾被自己所做的两个梦困扰着，巫师和一些智慧 之士都不会解释他的梦。突然那个健忘的大臣想起了约瑟会解梦，就将此事告诉法老王。于是约瑟被召出狱，来到法老王面前。法老王问约瑟是否会解梦时，他回 答：“解梦不在于我，但上帝必给法老一个吉祥的解答。”于是法老王将梦告诉了约瑟，约瑟解释道： “上帝要作的事，他已经向法老显明了。看哪，埃及全地必有七年大丰收。接着又必有七年饥荒；甚至埃及地所有的丰收都被人忘记了，饥荒必把这地毁灭。因为接 着而来的饥荒太严重了，使人不觉得这地有过丰收。" 当法老王听到约瑟的解释后，他下意识地感觉到约瑟说的是正确的并同时出乎意料地让他担任宰相，要他负责管理粮仓为七年后的饥荒做准备。

当约瑟饶恕那 些曾伤害他的人时，他也对法老王及这个国家更忠心。他的内心没有苦毒怨恨，他把百姓的利益放在自己的利益之上。饥荒是件可怕的事情，但是埃及人民并没有遭 受到饥饿，因为约瑟早有准备。他将这件事情管理得很好。当饥荒来到时，周围的国家也受到了影响，但是埃及却仍然有着充足的粮食。于是其他国家的人们便来到 埃及购买粮食。

而很讽刺的是，有一天约瑟的十个哥哥来到埃及买粮食，他们以为约瑟还在埃及当奴隶，他们根本认不出那个正在和他们说话的人 就是约瑟。约瑟想到了那个自己曾做过的哥哥们向他下跪的梦，最后约瑟表明了自己的身份对他们说：“ 我就是被你们卖到埃及的弟弟约瑟。现在你们不要因为把我卖到这里来，而感到自责。这原是上帝差派我在你们之前来到这里，为要保全性命。现在这地的饥荒已经 有两年了，还有五年不能耕种，也没有收成。上帝差派我在你们之前来这到里，为要给你们在地上留下余种，大大施行拯救，保全你们的性命。这样看来，差派我到 这里来的，不是你们，而是上帝。他立我作法老之父，作他全家之主，又作全埃及地的首相。你们要赶快上到我父亲那里去，对他说：‘你的儿子约瑟这样说：上帝 立我作了全埃及的主；请你下到我这里来，不要耽搁。你和你的众儿孙、牛羊，以及你一切所有的，都可以住在歌珊地，与我相近。我要在那里供养你，因为还有五 年的饥 荒，免得你和你的家人，以及你一切所有的，都陷入穷困里。’”

哥哥们回到迦南告诉父亲这件事情，然后雅各及他的妻子，孩子，孙子 们共70人全都来到了埃及。在这么多年后，约瑟终于见到了他深爱的父亲。十七年后父亲去世了，约瑟的哥哥们感到很害怕。他们担心约瑟会向他们报仇。父亲走 了，谁可以保护他们呢？于是他们写了一封信给约瑟，忏悔他们以前的行为。约瑟在回信中写道：”你们不要害怕，我怎能代替上帝呢？从前你们有意要害我，但上 帝有美好的意思在其中，为要成就今日的光景，使许多人的性命得以保全。现在你们不要害怕，我必供养你们和你们的孩子。

如果你们饶恕别人的过犯，你们的天父也必饶恕你们。如果你们不饶恕别人，你们的父也必不饶恕你们的过犯。”（太5：14－15）

The Secret to Happiness

I gave a speech at the Bridge yesterday. I thought it went really well, so I will reproduce the text here:

As Lipu brought out so clearly, it is foolish merely to pursue the things that make us happy here and now. Furthermore, it is actually a sign of wisdom to prepare in advance for our final--and eternal--stage of life. This naturally leads us to the question how to prepare for eternal happiness. Before we talk about that, I want to make a few things clear: 1) When I say happiness, I do not mean the happiness that only begins at some point in the future after you die; instead, I mean happiness that begins now and continues even after you die. 2) When I say happiness, I don't just mean good feelings. I mean something much bigger than this. In fact, I am going to switch to the word joy instead of happiness, and when I say joy, I mean the following: "the character quality of maintaining a good attitude even when faced with unpleasant conditions". Now let's return to the topic of preparing for eternal joy. I believe that joy depends on two things: a purpose and a faith. Let's talk about each of these in turn.

Why is purpose important? Firstly, purpose gives meaning to suffering. None of us likes to suffer, but we all will experience suffering in our lives. However, if our suffering results from the pursuit of our goal, then it is much more bearable. Athlete sometimes boast about how many bones they have broken in pursuit of winning a game. Suffering can even be a source of honor. We honor those who give their lives for their country. On the other hand, if we suffer just because we were being careless, this is much less bearable--like if you are hit by a car because you did not wait for the green light to cross the street. When we suffer for our mistakes, it feels meaningless. If we suffer because we were diligently pursuing a worthy goal, it feels meaningful. Like the Bible says:

Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. (1 Pet 2:20)

The second reason that purpose is important is that it gives me a higher perspective when facing difficulties. There is a Chinese saying, "不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。" When I am in the middle of a situation, it is hard to have a clear perspective. However, with a purpose bigger than myself, I can objectively assess the difficulty and find courage to persevere. With a purpose, I can realize that difficulties are "just par for the course" and "take them in stride". However, without such a purpose, I will just want to give up. So we clearly see that the first thing upon which joy depends is purpose in life. Why? It gives meaning to suffering, and it provides perspective when facing difficulties.

The second thing that joy depends on is faith. I define faith to mean this: "confidence that actions rooted in good character will yield the best outcome, even when I cannot see how". Faith provides the reason to persevere in doing what is right even when facing difficulties. Without it, there is no rational argument to persevere. I mean, if there is no guaranteed reward for living a life of loving my neighbor as myself, why bother? Of course, this definition of faith assumes that your goals are good as well as the actions you take to pursue them.
This is an important point. Not all goals are created equal. The quality of your goal directly affects your joy. Just having a goal is not enough; you need a goal big enough to eclipse the trials endured in its pursuit. If I set the goal to taste every flavor of every brand of ice cream in the world, that is a big goal, but is it a quality goal? I don't think so. In general a goal that merely pursues the gratification of our own desires does not hold up under pressure. However, goals that focus on meeting the needs of others tend to inspire us to greatness.

You may ask what is the rational basis for my confidence that actions rooted in good character will yield the best outcome, even when I cannot see how? Because I believe in a personal Creator God who is perfectly wise, powerful, loving, and just, I have this confidence. In the Bible, God promises that:

He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. (Rom 2:6-8)

So then, put as simply as possible, the secret to eternal joy is this: 1) to dedicate yourself to a high-quality, eternal goal and 2) to pursue that goal with a rational confidence. Now you may ask, "What exactly is an eternal goal?" Let me answer that by describing Lipu's and my daily life.

First of all, both of us have a very clear life purpose. We believe that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. So this is our life goal. Now "glorify God by enjoying Him forever" is a bit abstract, so let's try to break it down. The glory of God is the beauty of his manifold perfections. Think of a diamond. A cut diamond has many, many surfaces, and each one reflects the light in its own beautiful way. God is like this. His every character trait is perfect, flawless. Perfectly loving, perfectly just, perfectly wise, perfectly powerful, etc. And each one of these character traits, when you seriously meditate on it, you discover that this is what makes God beautiful. Okay, now this is what "the glory of God" is. Now, what does it mean "to glorify God"? Let's say that you are in a submarine and there is a diamond in a boat on the surface of the water. How can you see it? With the periscope. The periscope has a series of mirrors that reflect the light so that you can see the diamond even around a corner. That is what I want to do with my life. I want people to see and admire God's beauty. However, since he is usually invisible, I use my life--my decisions, my actions, my attitudes--to reflect his beauty. Specifically, as I love my neighbor as myself, others are able to see a little glimpse of God's love for people; as I delight in and invest in my relationship with God, others are able to see his loveliness.

Back to Lipu and me, our goal then is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. So, practically speaking, how do we pursue this high-quality, eternal goal? Well, in fact, our whole day revolves around it. It starts every morning at 5:30 a.m. when we get up to read the Bible, to sing songs of worship to our God, and to pray together. For those who do not have these habits, they might sound like a drudgery. But actually for us, these practices both lay the foundation for our daily joy as well as provide a means to express that joy. These two verses describe the joy we feel as we study the Bible and sing songs of worship to God:

Oh, how I love your instructions!
I think about them all day long.

How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey. (Ps 119:97, 103)

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God (Ps 84:1-2)

Then when we start to work, we know that what we are doing is not for ourselves, but for God’s glory. So whenever we face difficulties, we know that we don’t need to give up, because God will provide a solution for us as long as we ask. During the week, we spend time to eat with friends to tell them about our God. And every weekend we come to the Bridge to spend time with other Christian brothers and sisters. We share our joy and encourage each other. You see that 24/7 we are heading towards our high-quality, eternal purpose of glorifying God by enjoying Him forever. And we have faith that every single activity we do both pursues that goal as well as sustains our eternal joyfulness.

I want to close now by encouraging each of you to consider well what your life goal is. Your goal and your faith are the secret to joyfulness--both now and at the last stage of your life. Do you still remember that Lipu talked about Judgment Day a few minutes ago? Jesus said said that on Judgment day, God will speak one of two sentences to each person. That sentence will determine whether you experience eternal joy or eternal sorrow in your last stage of life:

Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together! (Matt 25:23)

You wicked and lazy servant! ... throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 25:26, 30)

Which sentence do you want to hear when you meet the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgment Day? I hope that each one of us cultivate a strong, eternal desire for joy and that we pursue it relentlessly. Only if we joyfully prepare now for that last stage of life can we have eternal joy. Please consider whether you have the high-quality, eternal goal and faith that can sustain your joy now and forever. If you do, nothing can stand between you and joy.