How GOOD Are You? 你有多好？

[Anthony Su]

It has been a common sense in the Chinese circles that religion is for "persuading people to do good".  Most of the people around us believe that they have to do good in order to reach some higher levels of life, perhaps reaching beyond this earthly world. 在華人的圈子裡面一向把「宗教就是要勸人為善」當作常識。我們周遭大部分的人可能相信「需要透過行善機功德以便提升生命的境界，可能是進入西天」

Last Sunday, while Rev. Aline was resting after cataract surgery, Dr. Miller reminded us of the opposite by asking how good could we be. 上個主日，愛鄰牧師為了白內障手術而休息的時候，密樂博士問我們「能夠有多好？」來提醒我們相反的思考與信仰。

Would we believe that God uses something like the Imperial examination system to select qualified persons through ranking by goodness or good deeds? 我們是不是相信上主會透過某種科具制度，透過排名次來挑選品質或行為合格的人嗎？

Would we believe that our church gathers only the good ones and those having good deeds? 我們是不是相信我們的教會只呼召好人跟已經有好行為的人嗎？

What would the church become if we emphasized the goodness and good deeds? 如果我們強調好人跟作好事的人，教會會變成什麼模樣？

Would we believe that we are looking for the best candidates and calling one pastor who is the number one among all? If not, what are we looking for? 我們相信我們正要尋找最好的牧師人選，打算呼召所有牧師當中最優秀的那一位嗎？

Do we believe that everyone in the congregation could serve or lead regardless of his or her goodness or good deeds? 我們是不是相信我們的會有當中每個人都可以服事或領導，而不必計較個人品質，跟作過的好事？