John 7:24

Following up to my last post, I was having some hard time trying to put into words the message that the picture was carrying. Finally when I did string some words together, I thought it didn't sound quite eloquent. And now, I've found just the right caption for it! ^^

On Tuesday night (the following day after my last post), I was reading my Bible according to my daily reading schedule, when this verse happened to be the last verse for my night.

John 7:24 (New King James Version)

²⁴  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement."

Do I believe in coincidence? Not at all. Do I believe that God was the One at work? Yes I do!




不可按外貌断定是非，总要按公平断定是非。- 約翰福音 7:24
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement. - John 7:24

 

What do you see?



很多事情不能只看表面
Do not judge a book by its cover, or perhaps in this case, do not judge the size of a carrot by its tops.
If you must judge, judge wisely.



I came across this very interesting picture when I was browsing Sina MicroBlog, or more commonly known as Sina Weibo, a chinese microblogging site. Some say, a good picture speaks a thousand words. I say, a great picture inspires us beyond words. When I look at this seemingly simple piece of art, what do I see? Am I seeing what it's trying to show me? Am I hearing what it's trying to tell me? Am I getting the right message?

What about you? What do you see?

Today, I pray for wisdom.

A Time for Everything

On November 2008, I've been given the opportunity by my company to travel to Germany to attend a two-day-seminar. I had the most memorable and fun time of my life exploring the sweet little town of Weimar. On the other hand, I don't remember much about the seminar though.

Below, is one of my most loved photos of all time, taken at a quiet little street during that trip. Something about this photo speaks volume, at least to me. When I look at it, I wonder who painted the picture on the letter box, children perhaps, or street painting artists? And I'm not even sure that that was a letter box, it might be a garbage bin, or just a metal box. Perhaps the shop owner invited someone to paint something that would be in line with what he is selling, timepieces. Sometimes, I love these unknowns, so that I may create my own story and let my imagination run wild.

If you ask me, I'd love to believe that kids were here, laughing and painting and creating this beautiful piece of art that would eventually capture my heart. When I look at this painting in the photo, I see two friends playing with a pink ball, I see a little girl at school, I see another girl being alone, I see some clocks showing different time. And all these, reminded me so strongly of the Word of God, which is beautifully and flawlessly written in the book of Ecclesiastes, that there is always a time for everything.




Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ~ A Time for Everything

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time for war, and a time for peace.

 

Some days I feel victorious, other days I just feel totally defeated, days like today. When life is not so good, when darkness falls and I start to stumble, when I can no longer find the right words to express myself, when smiling becomes the hardest thing to do, when tears can only double my sorrows, when my world comes to an abrupt end (or so I thought), I am always comforted by this powerful Word of God.

Someone once wrote:

God did not promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain;

but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for our way.

And I thank God for that.