 Major conflicts or contradictions in life could lead us to search for God. In Exodus3:1-14, Moses saw a bush on fire that didn’t burn up. That unexplainable event attracted Moses away from tending his flock, and brought him to God.
A disrupting event in our life could turn us away from our normal path. Some examples include the bishop in Les Miserables reaction to Jean stealing his stuff; not able to graduate due to flunking a class we believe we know well; and feeling deeply lost after getting what our hearts intensely desire. When Moses walked over to the burning bush, God called to him, “Moses! Moses!” In the Bible, doubling of a word implies emphasis, and doubling of a proper name conveys emotional intensity. God wanted to be closer to Moses. Yet His holiness forbad Him. From a distance, God told Moses He would rescue the Israelites, and recruited Moses to help. V8, 10. Similarly, God wants to be closer to us. But His holiness forbids Him to be close to the sinful humans. So, through Christ, God came down to save us. Christianity has a lot of contradictions that are beyond our understanding. For example, many things in life seem to be predetermined, but we also have free will. Or, Christ’s teachings are extremely demanding. The Sermon on the Mount asks for perfection. Yet, Christ is extremely merciful and loving. He sacrificed Himself on the cross, taking our place to be consumed by the wrath of God the Father. It is difficult for us to understand how we, as sinners, could be filled with Christ’s righteousness, beauty and glory. Or, how our God could be both full of love and truth, mercy and holiness. God could be using contradictions to lead us to Him. Keep exploring and God would reveal Himself to us. Summarized from a Tim Keller sermon https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/the-search-for-god-6554/ 寻找上帝 如生活中遇上了重大的冲突或矛盾时，它们可能带领我们去寻找上帝的路。在出埃及记3：1-14中，摩西看见了一惈在火中但没有燃烧着的丛树。这个難以置信的事情吸引了摩西，离开了他照料中的羊群，并将他带到上帝面前。 好像在扰乱事件发生时，我们可能会背离正常的反应。例如在悲惨世界（ Les Miserables）中，主教如何应对冉阿让（Jean Valjean）窃取他的东西; 又譬如说不能毕业由于考试不及格，但考的一科是自己以为很了解的课程; 又或者是当我们终於得到心中强烈渴望的东西之后，我们觉得心灵空虚和失落。 当摩西走向燃火着的丛树时，上帝呼唤他，“摩西！摩西！” 在圣经中，重复一个单词表示着强调的意思，重复一个名称代表了强烈的情感。上帝想要更接近摩西。然而上帝的圣洁禁止了摩西的前往。从远处, 上帝告诉了摩西他将拯救以色列的人及招募摩西来帮助他。 V8, 10。 同样，上帝希望更接近我们。但他的圣洁禁止他接近罪人。所以，通过基督，上帝降临拯救我们并与我们沟通。 基督教有许多超出我们理解的矛盾。例如，生活中的许多事情似乎是预先确定的，但我们也有自由的选择。又或者是基督非常严格的教导，像在登山宝训中的完美要求。然而，基督也是非常仁慈的。为我们在十字架上牺牲了自己, 基督取代了我们应当被惩罚的位置，终於被父神的愤怒而惩治。 我们很难理解作为罪人，我们如何可以充满基督的公义，美丽和荣耀。或者，我们的上帝如何可以充满爱与真理，怜悯与圣洁。 上帝可能用矛盾来吸引我们。继续探索，上帝会向我们展示自己。 Comments are closed.
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