Good Friday, 10 April 2020

Proverbs 10:12 (ESV)

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offences.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” – Luke 23.34 (ESV)

I wonder what will we cry out when someone nailed us on the cross when you have done nothing wrong. It will be very natural for us to revile back with words of hatred. The Pharisees and the religious leaders disliked Jesus because Jesus was a friend to sinners. He violated some of the scrupulous religious laws. They were jealous of Jesus’ popularity. They hated him when heard Jesus claimed,
“I am {the Son of God}.” “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Mark 14.62
The crowd demanded, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” They crucified Jesus on the cross. The first thing Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus responded in love and forgiveness.

Our text in Proverbs 10.12 talks about hatred and love. Both of these words are filled with intensity in the opposite ends. Hatred stirs. Love covers. Where there is fighting there is hatred. Where there is conflict there is hatred. Unless love wins, otherwise the strive will go worse. Love pursues peace. Because love covers offences and wrongs. It seeks to end conflicts and fights as soon as possible.

The word strife means antagonism, enmity, discord, contention, or dispute. It is godly to fight against, evil, corruption and injustice. The strive here is caused by people who do not practice love. Wherever envy, strife, enmity conflict or tension exist, underneath it you will find traces of hatred of one or both parties.

The word stir means to raise up, stir up, or to wake up. I am reminded of the Cantonese phrase, “a stick stirring up the dirt” is considered a trouble maker. He will literally rase up problems that were put to sleep a long time ago. Hatred stirs up things that stink. Hatred stirs up contentions and quarrels by gossiping and talking behind others.

But love doesn’t stir but covers, all offences, all transgressions, and all sins. Love conceals, clothes and hides the offences other done to us. Love forgives sins and forgets sins, just as God forgives us and forgets them. At the cross, Jesus hides and conceals all our sins when we come to Him to ask for forgiveness. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love keeps no record of wrongs. But hatred just loves to dig deep into the past wrongs and wake them up to create strive and trouble. If anger, envy, jealousy and pride allow lingering in our hearts it will turn into hatred. Hatred stirs up trouble.

Covering sins is not compromise. Sin should be dealt with. The rightful authority should execute judgement swiftly as ordained by God. “but covering sins should occur when the offences are against you, where there is repentance, or you are not in direct authority.” (Let God be true)

Prayer for today

Our heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your only Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We praise you Lamb of God. Our Saviour, and our Deliverer. We thank for your forgiveness for all our sins each time we ask you to forgive our sins. Lord, we are ever grateful that you have borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; with your wounds, we are healed.

O Lord, we need you so much each day. We love you Lord. Teach us to love like you love us. Teach us to forgive as you have forgiven us. Loving you is easy. But loving people is just difficult. Especially, the people whom we love so much, hurt us. Practising “Love covers all sins” is almost impossible. Give us the strength and wisdom to love and forgive when we are hurt and offended. Remove all hatred from our homes and replace it with your love. Teach us not only to love you but also to love our spouse and children; children to parents.

In our time of lockdown, give us the wisdom and strength not to stir or wake up the past problems but grant us the ability to exercise love that covers a multitude of sins.

O Lord, we pray you will raise up peacemakers and not troublemakers in our homes, in our church, our community and our multicultural, multireligious country.
Lord as your children, help us to love one another and we will be a good testimony to all the people around us. Help us to take delight in you each day. May we live our lives in such a way that we will build up each other.

Lord, teach us to deny ourselves and take up the cross to follow you.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Pastor Isaac Yim

xxx

每日灵粮
受难日
10/4/20
作者：严以撒牧师

箴言10:12 「恨能挑起争端，爱能遮掩一切过错。」
路加福音23：34「耶稣说：” 父 阿 ！ 赦 免 他 们 ； 因 为 他 们 所 做 的 ， 他 们 不 晓 得 。」

当有人把你钉在十字架上，而你却是无辜的，我不晓得你会大声哭喊什么。 我们会很自然地以仇恨的话回骂。 法利赛人和宗教领袖不喜欢耶稣，因为耶稣是罪人的朋友。 他违反了一些严格的宗教法律。 他们嫉妒耶稣的声望。 他们恨他因为耶稣声称, 「我是神的儿子。你必看见人子坐在大能者的右边，乘着天上的云降临」（马可福音14：62）

众人要求：「把他钉十字架！把他钉十字架！」他们把耶稣钉在十字架上。 耶稣说的第一句话：「父啊，赦免他们，因为他们不知道他们所做的。」耶稣以爱和宽恕回应。

箴言10.12谈到恨和爱。 这两个词，在两个极端，表达着嫉妒强烈的情感。 恨能挑 起。 爱能遮掩 。 战斗及冲突之处必有恨。 除非爱战胜，否则争端会变得更糟。 爱追求和平。 因为爱遮掩罪和错误。 爱力求尽快结束冲突和战斗。

争端意味着对立，敌意，不和谐和争论。 与邪恶，腐败和不公正作斗争是敬虔的。这经文表示， 争端始于不实践爱的人。 无论嫉妒，纷争，敌意冲突或紧张局势，在这一切的表面下，你会发现仇恨的一方或双方的痕迹。

挑起意味着提高，搅拌，或唤醒。 我想起了一句广东话，「搅屎棍」，是指瞎捣乱,搞破坏的人。从字面上来说，这人会故意挑起一些已搁置一旁的问题。 仇恨会挑起恶臭的事。通过在别人背后闲聊和谈话，仇恨挑起争论和争吵。

但爱并不挑起，而是遮掩所有的过犯，罪恶和过错。 爱隐藏，披上和隐藏别人伤害我们的罪行。 爱赦免罪，忘记罪，正如神赦免我们，忘记他们。当我们来到他面前，请求宽恕，在十字架上的耶稣隐藏和遮掩我们所有的罪。爱这该了众多的罪孽。 爱不计算人的恶。但仇恨只是喜欢深入挖掘过去的错误，并唤醒问题，挑起争端和麻烦。 如果愤怒，嫉妒，和骄傲在我们心中，它会变成仇恨。 仇恨会挑起麻烦。

遮盖罪不是妥协。 罪应该被处理。 正当的权威应该按照神的命令迅速审判。
「但是，遮盖罪应当发生的前提是因为犯罪对你们有害，人心悔改，或者你们没有直接权柄的时候。」（愿上帝的话是真实的)

今天的祷告:
我们的天父，我们感谢你差你唯一的儿子耶稣在十字架上为我们的罪而死。我们赞美你，上帝羔羊，我们的救主，我们的救赎者。感谢你宽恕我们每次向你求饶恕的所有的罪过。主啊，我们永远感激你担负了我们一切的悲伤。你受的伤我们得了医治。
上帝啊，我们每天都非常需要你。我们爱你。教导我们爱你像你爱我们一样。教导我们饶恕如你饶恕一样。爱你很容易。但是，爱人很难。特别是，我们所深爱的人伤害了我们。实行「爱掩盖一切罪恶」几乎是不可能的。当我们受到伤害和被得罪时，给我们力量和智慧去爱和宽恕。从我们的家中清除所有仇恨，并以你的爱来代替。教我们不仅要爱你，还要爱我们的配偶和孩子。孩子也爱父母。
在我们处于封城的时候，给我们智慧和力量，不会搅动或唤醒过去的问题，而赐我们有锻炼爱能掩盖多种罪恶的能力。
上帝啊，我们祷告你在我们的家庭，教会，社区和多元文化，多宗教的国家中培养出和平使者而不是麻烦制造者。
我们作为你的孩子，请帮助我们彼此相爱，让我们成为周围所有人的良好见证。每天帮助我们以你为乐。愿我们的生活能够彼此建立。
主啊，教导我们放下自己，背起十字架跟随你。
奉耶稣的名求，阿们！

巫惠如 译