“A Life of Glass” ~ ✨
Glass is transparent, yet it can also be shattered. Life is like glass, breaking with a single blow. Life passes by in a few short decades; a rootless life vanishes completely with the passing years! If one desires to see clearly and yet avoid being shattered, there is only one way out (Acts 4:12). Justified by faith, we live by that righteousness (Romans 1:17).
A life belonging to God is a rooted life; the spiritual person can discern all things (1 Corinthians 2:15). Their life is built upon the rock (Psalm 18:31); they are those created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10); like crystal or sparkling glass, they radiate light, adding splendor and colour. Without faith, one cannot take root; faith is the beginning of obedience, and the beginning of wisdom.
People say “faith” is acquired through learning; I say “faith” is innate (Ephesians 1:4). Just like integrity, you either have it or you do not; it is not a matter of more or less. The Lord Jesus said, “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” (Luke 16:10).
Faithfulness is faithfulness; there is no big faithfulness or small faithfulness; righteousness is righteousness; there is no big righteousness or small righteousness. I say “faith” is innate, but a “trusting” heart towards God must be learned. Knowing through experience, trusting through knowing; this is the believer’s spiritual journey. A heart that trusts God is a heart that knows God, renewed day by day through experience. Only with such a trusting heart can one be refined to see transparently and remain unbroken.
The final words of the Apostle Peter in his second letter are his advice to believers in Christ before his death. Here, he summarises the exhortations of both his letters; “salvation,” “suffering,” and “obedience” form a three-linked chain. And within this chain, the most crucial element is that a person must be faithful and honest towards God. The Lord Jesus said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). An honest heart can be stirred; from the Old Testament to the New, God has used prophets and apostles to stir people’s honest hearts (2 Peter 3:1-2).
In 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter lays out five environmental eras spanning time and generations:
– The first era’s environment is God’s original creation, and God saw all that He had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31); sadly, this was the briefest era.
– The second era was after Adam’s fall, when the earth was cursed by God; mankind lived on this earth for about a thousand-plus years in this era (Genesis 6:17).
– The third era is the post-Noah period up to the present; after the flood destroyed the earth, the entire world’s environment underwent a great upheaval; humans and beasts who did not eat meat began to eat it (Genesis 9:2-3); the people scattered across the earth; with different languages, they established different nations and cultural customs (Genesis 10:5 & 11:6-9). Scripture calls the latter part of this era, the time of Jesus’s first coming, the last days (1 Peter 1:20); and it remains so until now (2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2:18).
– The fourth era’s environment will be after the Lord’s second coming, when all the elements will be destroyed by fire, ushering in the millennium (2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:1-6).
– Finally, the day of God will come, when everything will have been melted by fervent heat, and a new heaven and a new earth that believers hope for, where righteousness dwells, will arrive—this is the era of eternal life (Revelation 21:1-3; 2 Peter 3:12-13).
Peter knew he would not see the Lord’s second coming; because the Lord had told Peter before His ascension how Peter would die to glorify God (John 21:18-19). Yet, Peter felt compelled, before his own martyrdom, to warn believers to guard against those who would come to slander the truth and be scoffers. These are those who cause divisions, are worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit (2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18 & 19). The three statements in 2 Peter 3:5-7 accurately outline God’s timetable: from the first heavens and earth God created (Genesis 1:1), to their destruction (Revelation 20:11; 21:1); and then to the coming of a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:2-3).
By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place (Proverbs 3:19). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding (Psalm 111:10). Believers must hold on to true wisdom and God’s purpose, persevering to the end, so they may walk securely and not stumble (Proverbs 3:23).
Believers often speak of hoping for the Lord’s return. I wonder if they understand that when the Lord returns, it will not be like His first coming, where He offered Himself as the Lamb of God to accomplish salvation. There and then, the Lord, in the identity of the Son of Man, displayed His complete gentleness and humility; for example, washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:3-5). At His second coming, He will come as Judge (Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1). At that time, the Lord’s work will not be to save, but to judge people according to what they have done, determining their end (Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Peter 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Just as Scripture says: separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32-33); sorting good fruit from bad fruit (Matthew 7:17-18; 12:33); or pulling the weeds from among the wheat (Matthew 13:30).
A believer’s life journey does not go from the starting point directly to the Lord’s banquet by pressing a button. A believer’s life journey begins at the starting point, which is entering through the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13): that is, denying oneself, removing self-righteousness, confessing sin, and repenting earnestly; and walking the narrow road (Matthew 7:14): that is, taking up one’s cross and following the Lord; one must hold firmly to the truth, serve the Lord faithfully, and bear much good fruit, all the way until standing before the Lord’s judgment seat. In Peter’s words, on this path: “Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation” (2 Peter 3:14-15).
Through Peter’s exhortations, I often examine myself: Do I participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4-8)? God’s works are perfect, all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He (Deuteronomy 32:4). Am I truly like Him? There’s a Chinese saying, “To have the name but not the share/position”; when I give an account before the Lord’s judgment seat in the future, will these be the Lord’s words to me (1 Corinthians 3:15)? Or will I in the future be able to stand behind God’s firstborn Son, sharing in the glorious crown God bestows (Romans 8:17)?
“Entering the narrow gate and walking the narrow path” is not achieved in one step; it is a lifelong commitment of perseverance and growth until we see Him face to face in peace. Our faith is not a closed system, but a process constantly stirred and refined through the prophets, apostles, Scripture, and life experiences. May we all, in our fragility, rely on the solid Rock; in our confusion, pursue the Spirit who discerns all things; and in the fleeting, build what lasts for eternity. May we all become lives that “radiate light, adding splendour and colour.”
Finally, I conclude this sharing with this poem👇🏻
“The Story”
Everyone has a story
Is it good to hear or not?
Before the Lord’s seat, it will be judged
A good one, fears not the fire
A hard one, barely escapes the fire
A terrible one, cast into the fire
If the story is not to be burned
The lost sheep must mend the fold
It is not yet too late
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 