our daily bread

[Dexu Xia]

The Turn

For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. Esther 8:16

As the minister spoke at a funeral for an old military veteran, he mused about where the deceased might be. But then, instead of telling the people how they could know God, he speculated about things not found anywhere in Scripture. Where is the hope? I thought.

At last he asked us to turn to a closing hymn. And as we rose to sing “How Great Thou Art,” people began to praise God from the depths of their souls. Within moments, the spirit of the entire room had changed. Suddenly, surprisingly, in the middle of the third verse my emotions overwhelmed my voice.  God never leaves us.

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin.

Until we sang that great hymn, I had wondered if God was going to show up at that funeral. In reality, He never leaves. A look at the book of Esther reveals this truth. The Jews were in exile, and powerful people wanted to kill them. Yet at the darkest moment, a godless king granted the right to the enslaved Israelites to defend themselves against those who sought their demise (Est. 8:11–13). A successful defense and a celebration ensued (9:17–19).

It should be no surprise when God shows up in the words of a hymn at a funeral. After all, He turned an attempted genocide into a celebration and a crucifixion into resurrection and salvation!

Our surprising God often shows His presence when we least expect Him.

转变

犹大人有光荣，欢喜快乐而得尊贵。-以斯帖记8章16节

在一位退伍老兵的丧礼中，讲员的信息谈到人死后会到哪里去，但他并没有提到如何认识上帝，只是分享一些没有圣经根据的假设。我默默地想：这样怎会有盼望呢？最后，讲员以一首诗歌做为结束。当会众一同起立高唱《祢真伟大》时，大家都从内心深处赞美上帝，瞬间改变整个聚会的氛围。唱到第二节时，我的情绪激动，以致无法继续吟唱。

当我想到，神竟愿差祂儿子，降世舍命，我几乎不领会；

主在十架，甘愿背我的重担，流血舍身，为要赦免我罪。

在吟唱这首优美的诗歌之前，我还怀疑，这个丧礼是否有上帝的同在。事实上，上帝从未离开我们。从以斯帖记，我们就能看到这个真理，那时犹太人被掳到外邦，有权势的恶人想屠杀他们。但在最黑暗的时刻，一个不认识上帝的国王，却允许被奴役的犹太人起来保护自己，抵御要毁灭以色列族的人（8章11-13节）。最后，他们大获全胜并设筵欢乐（9章17-19节）。

在丧礼中，上帝会透过诗歌显明祂的同在，这是毋庸置疑的。毕竟，上帝能将一场民族浩劫转变为欢乐的庆典，并将耶稣被钉十字架转变为复活和救恩！在最意想不到时，上帝会奇妙地显明祂的同在