Christian professor Sun Yi claimed we were forced to go through sufferings in order to learn how to obey God’s will in our lives.
Sun Yi, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies at Renmin University and a church elder, gave a lecture titled “Sharing in Christ’s Sufferings” in a Holy Week devotional discipline course on March 30.
In the course sponsored by Surrey Christian Alliance Church in Canada, Sun said that we passively learned how to deny ourselves through sufferings in our lives and to obey God’s will.
Sun said, “Knowing that we do not own a thing in the world, we come to know that we have Jesus whom we belong to and we are accepted by him. It seems like while our feet are stepped on a stone, our hearts become steadfast and our souls receive comfort.”
He added, “Then we have a from-death-to-life turn that shows us a clearer picture of the world. It implies that we accept our limitedness and brokenness, know the real world more truly, and realistically do our part. On that basis, we are learning to live a normal life accompanied by dark forces. We don’t fight with dark forces by ourselves, nor do we long for some Utopia without regard to darkness.”
After experiencing the “turn”, we would be aware that we did not have many days to live and we may gain a heart of wisdom, he confessed.
The professor urged the participants to imagine what they would do if they knowingly had only one more year to live.
“At that time, we will deny our own wisdom, convinced that we cannot do anything. Then we may possibly apply our little remaining time to things God entrusts us to do.”
Sun introduced two ways for us to discipline ourselves on making good use of our time.
He explained, “First, sing hymns silently with prayers and meditate on the questions alone every day or two or three times a week: Am I ready if God calls me to him? Am I ready if he permits me to be taken away? Are there some issues I cannot let go of? Are there some things that scare me? Through self-discipline, you can put down anxious things and enjoy freedom in Jesus Christ. Your heart will be powerful enough to face any possible issue.”
The second approach would be sole meditation after singing and prayers in a fasting that would last one or three days at the beginning of the year.
He shared, “What do you want to do the most if you have just one year? List them out on your notebook and turn them into a manipulable plan through prayers.”
“Check them every three or six months to see if your current life is turning away from your previous life. Share your plan with your family or prayer partner and ask for their prayers, encouragement, and support.”
“Through such discipline, we regard what we have received as commissions from God, execute and maintain them heartily. Implement every single thing after you pray about it. Moreover, try to say no to everything which is not included in your plan; at least don't make promises or commitments to those”, he stressed.
He concluded, “In our journey of faith and life, we will encounter sufferings and inner death, but we can walk out of it through Christ and embrace from-death-to-life turns. When we are raised from the dead, we may genuinely know the world and our limited life.”
- Translated by Karen Luo
