MEDITATIONS OF A MINISTER
Min. Meishi Tsai
"LIGHT"
"In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth. And the earth
was without form, and void- and darkness was upon the face of the deep.... God
said, Let there be light, and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from
the darkness. And the evening and the
morning were the first day." (Gen 1:1-5),
In the primeval creative process,
God created something out of nothing, order from chaos and void. He called into existence light to illumine
the darkness. God took delight in light
and divided light from darkness.
The pleasure of God is our
model. We are the children of light, in
this crooked, perverse, and sinful world, We must walk on paths of light and
righteousness, following the perfect example of Jesus Christ and let the true
light illumine all lives. If we magnify
the Lord and, if the Lord wills, we can live to do this or that, then we will
be able to do what is good. The words of
God are the lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. With His words richly stored in our hearts,
we are able to know God and His will, the words of God are the guideposts for
our lives. Under the guidance of His
words, our spiritual life can be nurtured and advanced. In truth and spirit we will surely be worthy
of the Lord and be able to bear all kinds of fruit.
To be sure, we are the light of
the world and a visible citadel built upon the hillside. We are a vessel unto God in which the Holy
Spirit can dwell and reign. We must not
place this vessel under a bushel but upon the table, to shine through those who
enter the house. The light we shine is
the reflection of the true light. It
will shine forth into this dark world and manifest the Word and the way of
life.
God said, "Let there be
light," and there was light. Now
the true light has already shone. The
gospel of salvation, the Holy Spirit, the miracles, and the divine hearings have
come. Would you also like to receive
this light?
"REST"
We are all familiar with the
remark made by Jesus: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." (Mt 11:28) Human life is like a swift
boat, a flying arrow, or an overnight sojourner at an inn. And what's worse, life is a succession of
worries, cares, and hardships. Everyone
desires to have repose, rest, and happiness.
The only way is to "come unto Jesus" for such a tranquil and
blessed assurance, Why does one find rest in Jesus Christ? He came to the world to release us from our
mental and spiritual burden and from material bondage. But some people fail to completely trust and
deliver their burdens to Him!
Here is an anecodote germane to
Jesus' invitation: There was a man who
carried a heavy load upon his back, toiling uphill. An ox-cart came from behind and offered the
man a lift. He gratefully climbed
on. After some distance, the drive
turned around and, to his surprise, the man was still carrying the load on his
back. The driver stopped the cart and
said to him: "Friend, why should you bear your load? You are in my cart. You might as well put down your burdens and
let me take them for you." God is almighty and is able to take up all your
mental, spiritual, and material burdens.
The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross once for all. If we do not trust Him and turn to His
salvation, we fail His grace. The Lord
Jesus wants us to have genuine rest: a spiritual repose in meekness and
gentleness. If we take His yoke, we can
then team up with the Lord as do the Palestinian cows that till the fields
together. We share with Him His divine
nature and divine character. Jesus is
God Himself and the Word manifested in the world for redemption. He is humble, meek, and compassionate. In fact, the genuine rest is to lay down one
I s burdens of life and to take up the Lord's yoke-His righteousness and His
commandments. The Lord has told us that
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Come, therefore, to the Lord, all those who are heavy laden! He will give us the rest we need.