Congratulations And Be Prosperous

Today is the Lunar New Year’s Day. I would like to kunghei (i.e. congratulate) and wish you a wonderful and prosperous year. You may recall from my sermon on January 1st in which I quoted Gary Ryan Blair’s saying: “New Year is the only holiday that celebrates the passage of time. Perhaps that's why, as the final seconds of the year tick away, we become introspective. Inevitably, that introspection turns to thoughts of self-improvement and the annual ritual of making resolutions, which offer the first of many important tools for remaking ourselves!” There is a related Chinese saying, “The face of the earth renews as spring returns. (春回大地，萬象更新) ” Yes, there is always a hope of renewal especially during such times as celebrating the new year.

As Christians, our hope of renewal is further guaranteed by the word and the will of our Lord: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come (II Cor. 5:17; RSV). Dear brothers and sisters, we all need such a renewal and the underlying wisdom in the Lord. Let’s keep on reminding and encouraging one another towards such a life goal. To this end, I would like to share with you the following lines from a devotional movie “Another Chance”:

If we might have a second chance
to live the days once more,
and rectify mistakes we’ve made
to even up the score,
…     …     …     …     …     …     …
But we can’t retrace our steps,
however stands the score,
Tomorrow brings another chance
for us to try once more!

The above devotional reassures us again of Paul’s teaching: “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philip. 3:13–14).” I hope we would truly attain our hope and wish in the way ahead. May the Lord bless us and keep us on. Amen.