I am so confused! I’ve just read where a 22 year old man attacked his pregnant ex-girlfriend and that resulted in her aborting her child and therefore he has been convicted of “child destruction of the baby?” On the other hand, if an organization or medical doctor assists a woman to abort her child, this is viewed as “removing a problem and not the killing of a living being?” How is one decision considered murder and one is seen as the right of choice? How is it possible for a fetus in one woman to be a baby and something less than that in another? Hmm, consistency doesn’t seem to be a trait of our society, and yet, what is a Christian’s stance?
Why did God bless the creation of the church? What was its’ purpose and focus? Was it just a gathering for believers to hide themselves away from society or find fellowship for their own? Was it a place where God’s select sang songs and memorized the Bible? Or, is it just possible that the church was, and is, a body of bold and courageous people that will not let the confused society around us destroy us? When we look at the Jesus, James, John, Peter, Timothy, Paul, Philip, and other New Testament leaders, what do you see? I don’t see them as people of position or self-adventure but as bold, brave, consistent, hungry, learners who reached out in Christ’s name by doing whatever it takes to be impactful! The leaders of the church didn’t seek comfort or position but desired that their lives had meaning in service to the Father. For their efforts, it sometimes brought them in conflict with their society and there was a price to be paid…
1) John the Baptist: Beheaded Luke: Hanged
2) Jesus, Andrew, Peter: All Crucified
3) Stephen, Philip, Timothy: All stoned to death
4) Barnabas, Thomas: Burned Alive and Tortured
The USA President, who was assassinated in 1963, John F. Kennedy often asked, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country?” Instead of accepting a society as hopelessly lost, should we not also be asking ourselves, “Ask not what our church can do for us but what we can for our church?” Let us not fear the values of our surrounding society but ask ourselves how we can engage with that society to show Christ!
——————————————————
在新时代，想不通是正常的
我很想不通！我最近读到一个22岁男子殴打他有身孕的前女友，导致她的胎儿流产，因此他犯了“杀害婴儿”罪？与此同时，如果一个组织或医生为妇女堕胎，却被视为“解决问题”而不是杀人？为什么一个被认为是谋杀，另一个却是视为选择的权力？怎么可能这妇人的胎儿算是婴孩，而另一个人的却不是呢？一致性似乎不是我们这个社会的特性，而基督徒的立场呢？
上帝为什么祝福教会的设立呢？它的目的及焦点是什么呢？它是否只是信徒聚在一起，躲避外面的社会，只寻找他们自己的团契？或它是一个地方让上帝的选民唱诗歌及背诵圣经？或者教会可能曾是，仍是一群有胆量，有勇气的人，不被围绕我们的伦乱社会所摧毁？当我们看耶稣、雅各、约翰、彼得、提摩太、保罗、腓力及其他的新约领袖们，你看到什么? 我没看到他们是有地位或热爱冒险的人，但他们却有胆量、有勇气、言行一致、灵命饥渴、踊跃学习，凭着基督的名做任何需要做的事。教会领袖不是寻求舒适及地位，而是渴望他们的生命对侍奉天父有意义。他们的努力有时会让他们跟社会有所冲突， 他们付上代价：
- 施洗约翰：被斩首。 路加：被吊死
- 耶稣、安德烈、彼得：都被钉十字架
- 司提反、腓力、提摩太：都被石头打死
- 巴拿巴、多马：活活被折磨，烧死。
1963年遇刺身亡的美国总统约翰肯尼迪常问说：“不要问你的国家为你做什么，要问你可以为你的国家做什么？”与其接受一个无望迷失的社会，我们应该问自己的不是教会可以为我们做什么，而是我们可以为我们的教会做什么。让我们不要惧怕我们所在社会的价值观，要问我们自己如何可以在这样的社会中参与和彰显出基督。