Faith in the Wilderness by Hannah Nation & Liu Simon

Author:Hannah Nation & Liu, Simon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christianity--21st century., Christians--China.
Publisher: Bellingham, WA
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

属

Never Lost

CHEN YI

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

—Ruth 1:1–7

After Paul Gauguin’s dearest child passed away, he spent a long time immersed in grief, painting. The famous painter titled his painting, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Three women stand in the far right with a child. They illustrate the beginning of life, and the title’s first question. In the center, a young woman picks apples. She represents what we are, the second question. Finally, there is an old woman on the far left with a white dove next to her. The old woman represents approaching death and she appears reconciled and resigned to her thoughts. She completes the story. When disaster strikes, many people find themselves unable to accept loss. Death then seems to be the only hope for liberation.

Gauguin’s painting connected the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve did not listen to God’s command, to Tahiti. He wanted to express that humanity had grown up and gained independence. Humans can stand on their own feet, control their own destiny, and are free from bondage to God. As people often say, “My destiny is in my own hands, and my future is under my own feet.” Gauguin’s interpretation of life is the godless freedom mankind seeks. But this process of breaking free from God’s commands is self-destruction disguised as freedom.

In the face of a pandemic, no one can really take charge of one’s life. No one can control and prevent the spread of the plague or deal with an infectious disease confidently. If they could, the number of cases would not surge.

During the pandemic, many families lost loved ones. Daughters lost their fathers; fathers lost daughters; children lost mothers; husbands lost wives; wives lost everything. Our homes were full of tragedies. Countless people faced loss upon loss, until they lost everything they were and everything they had.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.