Dear brothers and sisters, Praise the Lord! I am Won KIM, voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom. This is the fourth and final lesson on the topic, “Casting off the trauma of the past.” It is also our last lesson in the current series: “Values for the Modern Disciple”.

We know for a fact that everyone of us has gone through hurts of one kind or another. Those who have never gone through hurt are angels. No one amongst us is a lost angel who has since landed on earth, right? Indeed, all of us have gone through hurts. These hurts, however, should not be allowed to become the determining factor of our present and future. We should go back to the gospel of Christ and let that transform us instead, as anyone in Christ is a new creature; the old things passed away; new things have come.

Whether the hurt comes from within oneself or other people, through nature or nurture, is not the key issue. What matters most is that it should not mutate into our own guilt and spread the harm beyond ourselves. Neither in any way should it cause us to feel depressed, and drive us into inflicting harm upon ourselves, or hurt others in response to their strong reactions, or ruin spousal relations within a marriage or even the larger family. These are not our desired outcomes.

Our life view should not be a case of the “Once bitten, twice shy” syndrome. There was a case of this boy who loved to climb up and down the staircase. He had been warned by his father against doing so, but continued all the same despite a round of corporal punishment meted out by his father. The father then warned him that he would eventually fall off the staircase one day. As it turned out, he fell down when climbing a tree on that very day. His father gave him a harsh scolding and he has been suffering from acrophobia -- an intense fear of heights -- since then. He would get frightened and start to shake all over whenever he entered a tall building or was at heights. Sad to say, he was unable to recover from this disorder.

Modern psychology suggests that one who has a fear of snakes and dogs should learn to overcome such fears by coming into close contact with these creatures. While such treatment sounds sensible and shows encouraging results, our fears today are not treated so readily. We need the gospel -- and love to match. This is because the hurts we are talking about here are caused by lack of love.

When love is lacking, it can cause hurt; a steady supply of it is the best antidote.

The lack of love between parents is the cause of divorce; it is the children who are the hardest hit by the heart-rendering miseries that follow. If I harm others and carry out acts that run contrary to reason and nature in my lack of love, I would need love to heal my hurts and those of others, as affirmed in the bible.

The gospel of Christ is an expression of love as seen in Jesus’ coming to this world to deliver salvation by dying on the cross for us. Thus, we need the gospel to let love into our lives in order for our wounds to be made whole again.

Our hurts need the gospel just as our wounds require proper treatment. Someone once told me, “Pastor, you have said that it is easy to forgive someone.” Well, I have never said that. The Lord Jesus had to suffer on the cross, shed blood and even gave up His life to secure our salvation and spare us from the curse of sin. We have to be willing to suffer for someone if we truly love him. In doing so, we are filled with joy as we see our love brings about healing and imparts joy to the stricken ones. It is also the road for us to take.

We see the life of Joseph in the bible is one of forgiveness throughout. How had this benefitted his life greatly?

Joseph is a good example amongst the many biblical characters that we can learn from.  He obeyed his father and proceeded to find out how his ten brothers and the sheep were doing at Hebron Valley. However, he ended being sold by them into Egypt as a slave. After going through many trials and tribulations, he rose to take up the second highest position in Egypt after Pharoah. The brothers came looking for grain when their land in Canaan was struck by a prolonged famine. Joseph recognized, forgave and even comforted his brothers instead of taking revenge on them for inflicting so much suffering on him during those 13 years when he was in Egypt.  

You will be amazed at the big-heartedness displayed by Joseph as you go through the book of Genesis chapter 45 verses 4-8 and chapter 50 verses 19-20 in the Bible. Indeed, many of us in similar straits would have bought into the notion that upholds “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” as our solution of choice, as the theme of seeking revenge enjoys a special place in Chinese culture. Such has also been explored and exemplified in Gungfu flicks that revolve around the hero/heroine chasing after some secret weapons or undergoing gungfu training for decades on end in anticipation of the final battle to clear their “humiliation” once and for all. And such stories come with a dose of self-righteousness tossed in for good measure, too.

Well, it is not uncommon for the average man to seek revenge as the resentment ferments inside of him. But not in the case of Joseph. He offered consolation to his brothers and showed no intention of “getting even” with them. He told them, “…not to be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you...(and) save your lives by a great deliverance ... (God) made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” (This is from Genesis chapter 45). Such is the wisdom of our God!

Joseph’s magnanimity can be traced to the love that burned within his heart and enabled him to forgive unceasingly. Such forgiveness kept the bitter past experiences from festering into hurts that would have otherwise degraded his spirit and character to no end.

The bible tells us that our God Jehovah was with Joseph all the way. Joseph had been described as a very handsome and well-built young man when he was sold into slavery in Potiphar’s household. His diligence and wisdom led to him being put in charge of his household. Meanwhile, Potiphar’s wife took a liking to him and even tempted him. However, Joseph refused to budge as his love for Potiphar and reverence for God took top position in his life. He said, “There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he (Potiphar) kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” He steadfastly refused to bite and did not commit sin, because he had love within him.

Nor did he harbour any hatred toward Potiphar’s wife when he was thrown into jail as a result of her false accusations. The Lord gave him favor in the eyes of the man in charge of the prison, where he met the chief wine-taster and the chief baker. Both of them had dreams that were interpreted by Joseph. He told the chief wine-taster that he will be out of prison with his job reinstated. Joseph also asked him to do him a favor when everything goes well: “Remember me.”

Turning to the chief baker, Joseph said that he will be killed.

Everything happened just as Joseph had said when he explained their dreams. But the chief wine taster didn’t remember Joseph. In fact, he forgot all about him.

Joseph was able to interpret dreams because there was love in his heart. He forgave the wife of Potiphar and his ten brothers, showing that he had a pure heart. As taught in the bible, “Blessed are the pure in heart!” Such a person is in a position to explain dreams. How could someone whose heart is cluttered by evil plans and sinful thoughts interpret the dreams from God? He could not even see God to begin with!

When the Pharoah had a dream, the wine-taster remembered Joseph and told him how Joseph had interpreted their dreams while in prison. The turn of events subsequent to Joseph’s interpretations of Pharoah’s dream elevated Joseph to take up the position of Vizier. Wow, that was GOOD! And Joseph won over the complete trust of Pharoah – and made a brilliant and wise vizier too! He had frequent encounters with God, because he had love – and wisdom – within his inner-self.

Lord, help us to keep our hearts free from being filled with hate, as that can only drag more suffering into our lives – and those of others, too. It will also ruin my life, too. Treat your spouse, offspring, parents and in-laws with love and see your life changing right in front of you! May our spirits be filled with God’s love!

Unconditional love and forgiving to no end can only come from God Himself.

Forgiving others is not an easy thing to do, but it can be done in Christ. In the Bible in the book of Matthew chapter 18 verses 21-22, Peter came up and said to Jesus, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." This is beyond what human beings can do. As Peter saw it, to forgive someone seven times is already something to crow about. After all, the benchmark by the rabbis according to the customs of the day was set at three times. Isn’t doing seven times so much better? But Jesus said “seventy times seven” -- which means “to no end.”

Unconditional love, forgiving to no end – now, no one but God is able to show such love. Since I would not be able to reciprocate, neither should I expect others to do the same for me in the first place. That would be an unreasonable demand on my part. I should instead wise up and direct our lives toward loving others to exemplify the wisdom of Joseph that makes the difference!

So, let us walk towards the cross, and our lives will undergo transformation in the same manner as the Samaritan woman after her encounter with Jesus. My life would also take after that of Joseph with his big-heartedness to forgive others. Likewise, we need to go for daily healings and not let these hurts continue to haunt our lives today.  

“The wounded healer”

A Jewish traditional story tells of someone who approached Elijah to find out where the Messiah could be found. Elijah replied, “At the city gate; he is the one with wounds all over. This man raced to the gate but was soon back to tell the prophet that there are many people at the city gates covered with wounds all over their bodies. “I cannot tell who the Messiah is!” he sighed. The prophet said, “Look for the one who opens up and heals the wounds of others.”

Today, there are some people who go around telling others that their bodies are covered with wounds all over. Doing so does not make his suffering go away and some may find this person to be irritating.  Let us make up our minds to heal our own wounds as we approach the Lord on every occasion to put across our request to Him. Tell Jesus about the wrongs and hurts that take place every day, and ask Him to forgive and heal you. Do not put off and wait for the next day. Just attend to one wound at a time. In like manner, we should be able to manage our own hurts well and become “the wounded healer”, if we desire to become someone who can heal others.

Let the love in our hearts help us face and close up the wounds. Let hate disappear from our lives, as love continues to fill us up. Life would then become much better for it; our families become different for it, and the love in our church will increase for it.

Let us pray

Dear Heavenly Father, we are truly thankful for your help in leading us through these four segments. May we take your yoke upon us and learn from you, even as we hear your Word. For your love, Lord, we vow to emulate you and let your love shine to no end in our lives.

May God bless each and every one of us, our families, work and careers as well as the road stretching ahead of us. May we not be bogged down by what had taken place in the past, but to draw strength and lessons from it instead. May the gospel continue to transform us so that we can see the sunny skies ahead of us. And may tomorrow propel us forward in our hopes for today, so that everything will change for the better. Amen!

O, God! May Your Presence be with us, continue to shower Your blessings, help and preserve every one of us, our church, and may our church glorify You, bear witness to You and live out your love. In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.：[email protected]