Saturday 25 May 2013

My Child, Take Good Care of the Home



I do not have time to watch tv, but one tv program that I usually won’t miss out is “Touched by an Angel” at Good TV Channel. Several angels in the film were shuttling back and forth on earth, helping people to solve problems, and conveying God’s love and truth.
Once the story was like this:
15 year-old teenager Lucy was always enthralled while she was looking at the boundless starry sky. Gazing at those twinkling stars, she can’t help but to ask this question: Who crated all these? But her move was always suppressed by her atheist father, John. Later as Lucy’s mother Erica relapsed with cancer, the more desperate Lucy needed to find out whether there is God in the universe, in order to bring eternal hope to her mother. Monica the angel turned into an English teacher at school and encouraged Lucy to continue to explore and to seek the answer, and write it into an article.
After Lucy finished the article, she brought her seriously ill mother to the suburb to watch the stars, then she read the articles to her: “When I looked at the beautiful starry sky, there was a gratitude rising in me, suddenly I realized: I feel that I want to say thank you to “someone”, to thank Him for creating the beautiful stars……”--- Finally, Lucy found the answer, and brought peace for her mum too……
Can’t Help But to Admit
Whether we use the spiritual angle or scientific angle to explore, no one could deny that the whole universe was created by God. Many famous scientists in the history believed in God, such as:  Newton, Faraday, Pascal, Galileo, Edison……
< Romans > chapter 1 verse 20 said: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities --- His eternal power and divine nature --- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.“  God’s wisdom in creating all things in the universe will indeed make us lost in astonishment; nature is full with excellent masterpieces and exclamation marks……
The Earth & Sun which are Just Right
The self-rotation angle of the earth is 23.44°; this ingenious angle causes the earth to have four seasons and to have agricultural produce rich in varieties. If the angle is 45°, then the summer of most places will be as hot as the equator, while winter will be as cold as the north & south poles. Similarly, the average distance between earth and sun92,955,888 miles is also just right; if the distance reduces 1/10, the scorching hot sunray would have burn up everything on earth; if the distance increases 1/10, the earth would turn into an ice ball.
Human Bones that are Cleverly Designed
Bones have soft bones and hard bones type: Ears and nose must be soft bones, if they were hard bones, they will be easily broken when touched; but the arms and legs must be hard bones, if the legs were soft bones, then we will not be able to stand and walk. Bones also have those covered by flesh and those that are not: All bones except the teeth and nails were covered by flesh; if the teeth and nails were also covered by flesh, then we are not able to eat and scratch. Besides, bones are hollow, which can both reduce the weight of bones and to allow the nerve system to pass through, like a wire protection tube.
The Not-So-Simple Egg & Chick

The egg looks simple, but it is full of God’s ingenuity in creating. If the egg is like a round Ping-Pong ball, it will be easily rolled away when the hen is hovering over it or turning it, but the “one side large, one side small” design will cause the egg to stop rolling after rolling for one circle. In addition, there is an air chamber at the larger end of the egg, which is the design for chick’s breathing inside the                                                                egg; the head of the chick is also right at the side that has                                                             air chamber.

The chick usually comes out of the egg in day 21 exactly, but during these 21 days, if any part is badly designed, the chick will be endangered. At days 19-20, the air in the air chamber is already used up, the chick must come out quickly, but it is tightly wrapped up by the egg shell and cannot move. During this crucial moment, God gives the chick a life-saving little tool --- an egg tooth, which is a tiny triangular tooth at the top of its beak. The chick just need to slightly raise its head, the egg tooth will pierce a hole at the shell, and the chick will be able to come out at day 21. The amazing part is that the egg tooth will be automatically fall off after the chick is born and after it accomplishes its task.
Plant Seeds Spread by Various Creative Methods
God created the plants to be able to spread their seeds in many creative ways: Dandelion has tiny hairs which enable them to fly with the wind. Pod is like an ejector, which will suddenly burst open when it is mature and eject the seed to several feet away to provide enough space for the growth of seeds. Some seeds have hooks & thorns which can hook on the skin & fur of animals and the clothes of man to travel to far places. And those plants that rely on the birds to disseminate have sweet fruits to attract the birds to eat; their seeds will only be sprouted after passing through the birds’ digestive system, thus avoid the crowdedness of sprouting if they were falling directly on the ground.
The First Baby Room
Many dads and mums-to-be start to prepare and decorate a comfortable baby room for their babies several months before the babies are born; our Father God was also like that. The first chapter of < Genesis > recorded the sequence God created the universe: First He created the sky, land, sun, moon, stars, plants and animals, and put them into the right place, finally He created man. When Adam the ancestor of mankind opened his eyes for the very first time, he saw the loving and smiling face of Father God, welcoming his birth……; everything Adam needed was already thoughtfully prepared for him before he was born. 
Reminder of the Father
All creations created by God were good in the beginning --- There were no extreme weather, no pesticides that kill people, no polluted lakes, rivers & oceans, no disposable polystyrene food utensils, no deforestation, no ocean creatures choked to death by plastic trash, no chickens, cows & pigs injected for speedy growth & weight gaining…
I thought of a metaphor: Before a father leave home to travel, he said to his son who is staying back at home: “My child, daddy is going to travel for a period of time, you can enjoy yummy food in the fridge, and watch good tv programs……, I want you to look after this house, help daddy to take care of the home, understand?” The son nodded, so the father left. However, not very long after that, the son began to throw garbage around the house, and left the faucet running……
April 22nd is the Earth Day, I hope to represent all mankind, especially the Christians, to say to Father God, “Papa, thank you for thoughtfully created this world for us; please forgive us for wasting the resources and polluting the environment; we are willing to take up our responsibility, to care for and restore the earth, to take good care of the home for you……”
Hui-Zhi
( Chinese version was published in the “Shepherd” section of Nanyang Siang Pau on 2013.4.14 )

孩子, 好好的看家



我没时间看电视,但有一套电视剧我通常不会错过,那是Good TV好消息电视台的“与天使有约”Touched by an Angel;剧中几位天使穿梭人间,帮助人们解决问题,传达上帝的爱和真理。
有一次剧情是这样的:                          
15岁少女露西常常望着一望无际的星空入神;凝视着那些闪烁的星星,她不禁问了一个问题是谁创造了这一切?但她的感动却屡次被她那无神论者的父亲约翰压制。后来露西的母亲艾丽卡癌症复发时,露西更迫切需要知道宇宙是否有神,好为她母亲带来永生盼望。天使蒙妮卡化身学校里英文老师,鼓励露西继续探讨和追寻答案,并将之写成一篇文章。

当露西完成文章,她带病重的母亲到郊外去看星星,然后把文章给她听:“当我看着美丽星空,有一种感恩的心油然而生,我突然发现我有一种想跟某人说谢谢的感动,想谢谢创造了美丽的星星……”--最终,露西找到答案,也让她母亲得到平安……
不得不承认                              
无论是用灵性角度、或是科学角度去探讨,都没有人可以否认整个宇宙是神一手创造出来的。历史上很多著名大科学家都相信上帝,例如牛顿,法拉第,帕斯卡,伽利略,爱迪生……
《罗马书》120节说到:“自从造天地以来,神的永能和神性是明明可知的,虽是眼不能见,但藉着‘所造之物’就可以晓得,叫人无可推诿。” 上帝创造宇宙万物的智慧,实在是令人叹为观止;大自然中随手拈来的,是一件又一件的佳作、一个又一个的惊叹号……
恰到好处的地球太阳
地球自转的斜角是23.44°,这个巧妙的倾角使地球有四季之分,也使农产多样化。若倾角是45 °,那么大多数地区的夏天会像赤道一样炎热,冬天会像南北极一样严寒。同样,地球与太阳的平均距离(92,955,888英里)也是恰到好处,若二者距离减少1/10,灼热的阳光会烧死地球上所有一切,若距离增加1/10,地球就会变成一颗冰球。
设计巧妙的人体骨骼
骨头有软骨和硬骨之分:耳鼻必须是软骨,若是硬骨,一碰就碎;而四肢的骨头必须是硬骨,如果腿是软骨,就不能站立和走路了。骨头也有包肉不包肉之分:身体各部分骨头都包在肉里,只有牙齿和指甲露在肉外;若牙齿和指甲也包在肉里,就不能吃东西和抓痒了。此外,骨头是空心的,既可减轻骨头重量,又可让神经系统通过,象电线护管一样。
蛮不简单的鸡蛋小鸡
看似简单的鸡蛋,却充满上帝创造巧思。若鸡蛋像圆溜溜的乒乓球,母鸡孵蛋或翻蛋时,蛋容易滚掉,而一头大一头小的设计就会让蛋滚一圈就停下来。还有,鸡蛋较大一端有气室,是小鸡在鸡蛋里仰赖呼吸的设计,而小鸡的头也恰好就在气室那端。
小鸡准准21天破蛋而出,但这21天中,只要任何一部分设计不良,小鸡就有生命危险。在第19-20天时,气室空气已用完,小鸡必须赶紧破壳而出,但小鸡被蛋壳包得紧紧的, 动弹不得。就在分秒必争的时候,上帝给了小鸡一个救命小工具 --蛋齿,那是一个长在鸡喙上缘的三角形小齿;小鸡只要稍微抬一抬头,蛋齿就在蛋壳弄破一个洞,小鸡就可以在第21天破壳而出。奇妙的是蛋齿在小鸡出生、大功告成之后就会自动脱落。
各展其能的植物种子                                     
上帝让植物在散播种子方面各展其能:蒲公英种子有绒毛,使它们可以随风飘扬。荚果好像弹射器,在种子成熟后可以突然爆裂,将种子弹射到数尺以外,让种子有足够地方生长。有些种子有倒钩刺,能钩在动物皮毛和人的衣物上随之远行。而靠鸟类传播的植物,则有甜美果实以吸引鸟类啄食;这类种子只有在通过鸟类消化道之后才能萌发,这就避免了直接落地萌发所造成的拥挤现象。

第一间婴儿房
很多准爸爸准妈妈在宝宝出生前几个月,就着手为宝宝准备和布置一间舒适的婴儿房,我们的天父上帝也是如此。《创世记》第一章记载了上帝创造宇宙的次序:把天地、日月星辰、动植物……都一一创造和放对位子了,最后才创造人类。当人类始祖亚当一睁开眼睛,就看到天父慈爱的笑脸,迎接他的出生……;亚当一出生到这个世界,所需用的都已为他准备妥当。
爸爸的嘱咐
上帝创造的万物,本来是极其美好的 --没有极端的气候,没有毒死人的农药,没有污染的湖河海,没有用了就丢的保利龙餐具,没有被滥伐的森林,没有被塑胶垃圾哽死的海洋生物,没有被打针催长增肥的鸡牛猪……
我想到一个比喻:一个爸爸出门远行之前,把留在家里的儿子叫过来,嘱咐说:“孩子,爸爸要出门一段日子,你在家可以享用冰箱好吃的食物、看好看的电视节目……,你要好好的看家,帮爸爸照顾和打理这间屋子,明白吗?”,儿子点点头,爸爸就放心的出门了。可是,没多久,儿子就开始在家里乱丢垃圾,开了水龙头不关……
422日是地球日,在此,我希望能代表全人类,尤其是基督徒们,跟天父上帝说:“爸爸,谢谢,为了我们,如此悉心创造这个世界,请原谅我们如此浪费资源和污染环境,我们愿意负责任来照顾和修复地球,替好好的看家……”


慧治
2013.4.14刊登于南洋商报“牧羊人”版 )