08/20
I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh. Galatians 2:20
Unity with Christ
"Christ lives within me." Christ is the center of my being, not by my side, not along with me, or not staying with me as my heart's guest. This means He becomes my will; He becomes my person so as to being no distinction between Him and me. The unity between Him and me, at this moment, far excels that of close husband and wife, making it impossible to distinguish Him from me, or me from Him. Two hearts united and abide in a body, that is, friendship. But the unity between Christ and a Christian goes farther than combination of two hearts. It is unification of two persons together. So the two cannot be separated eternally.
08/21
For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28
Right Path
The only right path to the Christian belief is the consciousness of sin. When a person, awakened to his own sinfulness and conscious of his being a sinner, he or she worries one's self of eternal punishment, struggles how to get rid of the eternal curse, and desperately strives to find a way to salvation. And he or she will come to know the gospel of the redemption of sins as revealed by God in His Son's shedding blood upon the cross. When he or she believes this, clings to it, prays for the mercy of the Heavenly Father, and casts one's self before His presence, then he or she will realize what a Christian truth can be. For anyone who walks along this way, Christianity can never be a mere physical consolation, nor a mere philosophy, nor a mere social undertaking. The redemption of sins must be the greatest problem, affecting the eternal destiny of his or her own. And when this problem is perfectly solved by the suffering of Christ's death on the cross, he or she will no longer be interested in anything else. He or she will, then, driven one's sins through Christ, came to know God.
08/22
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision has any strength, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Galatians 6:15
Joy of Creation
God enjoys in creation; so does a Christian. He enjoys creating things or thoughts or new souls. Nothing else pleases him. Neither a theatre nor a leisure-travel is wanted. None of the worldly pleasures excels the joy of creation. Only the one who knows the joy of labor and creation can claim: "Life is a pleasure." Let's make, create, and labor at the kitchen, the factory, or the desk. Let's create; with hand, with lips, or with brain. "Be therefore followers of God, as dear children" (Ephesians 5: 1). Children of God enjoys in laboring. They ask not, whether big or small, whether noble or common. They simply find joy and honor in laboring. Let's labor and create.
08/23
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who first gave to Him, and it will be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Romans 11:33-36
Religion of Principle
Religion, if anything, is a principle. It is not a rite, not a doctrine, not a theology, and not an institution. Christianity, as a religion, is distinguished from other religions by its life-principle. Christianity is love, and is known by loving. It is work, faith, and thought at the same time. Love is giving of one's self for others; God for humans, and humans for God and one another. Nothing is so simple as Christianity, nothing so profound. A child can understand it, and a philosopher can swim in it without touching the bottom. I can be a Christian by loving, without belonging myself with any institutional church. "There is wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea;" yes, depth too, because it is a principle and not a form and not a system.
08/24
The light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.... That was the true Light, which lights everyone that comes into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not. John 1: 5, 9-11
God's Light
Human taught by human is nothing; he or she must be taught by God to be something. Even the teaching of the highest and best philosophers is of earth, earthy. Human's light in its greatest brilliance is pale reflected moon-light, good for soothing life's ills, but not for healing them. God's light is sunlight, full of energies, life-giving, shining by its own light, source of all power and wisdom. And where do we find God's light but in the Bible? And what light so concentrated, short, direct, pointed, sharper than the arrow of steel, as God's words, which is His light. More convincing is one paragraph of an Isaiah or a Paul than chapters of Kant, or volumes of Schopenhauer. . . The reason why philosophy is more popular than the Gospel even in so-called Christendom, is that human loves darkness more than light. Direct light is always unwelcome to the sin-stricken world, as it is to moles and bats. The very unpopularity of prophets and apostles is a proof that they are bearers of the heavenly light.
08/25
Your Father in Heaven makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. . . Therefore be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:45, 48
Mystery of Evil
The mystery of all mysteries is the mystery of evil. That evil does good is a sure fact of experience; yet evil is not good, and good is not evil. The very Satan is needed to make the very God a god; yet Satan is Satan, and God is God. How could that be is philosophically inexplicable, but morally and spiritually true. The worst man I have ever met in my life was one who did most to uplift me to God; and the hottest tears I ever shed were dew which gathered heavenly light into my soul. Oh mystery of life, the mystery of evil. I simply believe it, and praise God for it, all the while, without ceasing to hate evil and love good.
08/26
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:11-12
Nation of Heaven
Heavenly Nation or Paradise is nowhere else but where human loves human. Where human loves not human, there can be no Paradise, even though filled with music, sermons, fervent faith or charities. To make a Paradise is least difficult. No sooner does a person give herself/himself up and love the people, than the Heavenly Nation is attained. Not necessarily to organize a church; not necessarily to dispute over theology; but Paradise will come merely when a person follows Christ to love the people. Foolish are those who are busy discussing, planning and running about, instead of doing a thing as easy as this. Your Nation come. Yea, let us love people. And let Paradise appear over this sinful world, right at this moment.
08/27
I was no seer, nor was I a seer's son. But I was a herdsman and a gatherer from sycamore trees. And the LORD took me from behind the flock, and the LORD said to me, Go, prophesy to My people Israel. Amos 7:14-15
Great Persons
In most cases, great persons of religion have not come out of theological schools. The man of God, Elijah the Tishbite was a plain inhabitant of Giliad (1 Kings 17: 1). When he wanted to entrust his mission and spirit, he selected Elisha, a farmer of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him (1 Kings 19:19). Daniel was a government official. Amos was a peasant. When God sent His Son to save the world, He did not have him learn at Hillel or Gamaliel (Acts 22: 3), but put him in a desolate village of Nazareth, with the white peak of Lebanon and the clear stream of Kishon to teach him. Theological schools cultivate evangelists but cannot create them. So-called evangelists out of theological schools may be unnecessary, if not harmful, for the world. Cultivation of great person of religion can only be done by the Creator Himself.
08/28
Jesus took the child's hand and said to her, Talitha koumi; (which interpreted is, Little girl, I say to you, arise.) And instantly the little girl arose and walked (for she was twelve years old). And they were astonished greatly. Mark 5:41
Dairus' Daughter
Jesus resurrected Dairus' daughter out of death and gave her back to her parents. Likewise, at the last day, Jesus will resurrect all the lost daughters and return them to the hands of the parents who believe in Him, to their inexpressible joy. All true Christians will surely experience this inexplicable joy of Dairus, at the blissful last day. All believers will certainly hear blessing words like Dairus in their own ears and will see the same powerful holy wonder by their own eyes, once in a while.
08/29
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say to you that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Luke 15: 6-7
Value of A Person
Churches may decline; theology may collapse; the Bible itself may be worn out. But one thing imperishable is a person's soul and liberty. This transcends everything, and has nothing superior among God's creation. Hence Jesus said: "likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents." Heaven will peal with joyful cheers, as on earth, human shouts for loud joy over defeat of the enemy and the murder of thousands of them. In heaven, a triumph will be sung by the heavenly host, and its sound will travel from star to star, even to the utter end of the universe, over the repentance of one sinner.
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