害怕死去的麦子
世界给苦难的答案
经文
传道书一1-18
1在耶路撒冷作王、大卫的儿子、传道者的言语。
2传道者说：虚空的虚空，虚空的虚空，凡事都是虚空。
3人一切的劳碌，就是他在日光之下的劳碌，有甚么益处呢？
4一代过去，一代又来，地却永远长存。
5日头出来，日头落下，急归所出之地。
6风往南刮，又向北转，不住地旋转，而且返回转行原道。
7江河都往海里流，海却不满；江河从何处流，仍归还何处。
8万事令人厌烦（或译：万物满有困乏），人不能说尽。眼看，看不饱；耳听，听不足。
9已有的事后必再有；已行的事后必再行。日光之下并无新事。
10岂有一件事人能指着说这是新的？哪知，在我们以前的世代早已有了。
11已过的世代，无人记念；将来的世代，后来的人也不记念。
12我传道者在耶路撒冷作过以色列的王。13我专心用智慧寻求、查究天下所作的一切事，乃知神叫世人所经练的是极重的劳苦。14我见日光之下所作的一切事，都是虚空，都是捕风。15弯曲的，不能变直；缺少的，不能足数。
16我心里议论说：我得了大智慧，胜过我以前在耶路撒冷的众人，而且我心中多经历智慧和知识的事。17我又专心察明智慧、狂妄，和愚昧，乃知这也是捕风。18因为多有智慧，就多有愁烦；加增知识的，就加增忧伤。
信息分享
今天我们要再来思想关于苦难的问题，看看世界所提供的一些答案。诗人欧玛尔．海亚姆（Omar Khayyam）在思想世界的苦难时说：
紧抓各种悲惨情况……
将它们压成碎片，然后按照自己的渴望重塑。
他的做法是尽可能避免苦难，然后重塑一个理想的世界。
另一种做法是接受苦难的事实，以顺命的态度面对它。比如对自己说：「我知道它会临到但是不会措手不及，我明白我所拥有的一切都可能会被夺去。」这是失望的愤世嫉俗的人所抱持的态度。还有一种回应是陷入自怜。以这种方式回应苦难的人从同情自己中得着愉悦。另外还有很多人喜欢夸大自己的问题，借以得到别人更多的同情。
再有一种面对苦难的方法是逆来顺受，这是一种接受苦难的事实，并下定决心忍受它的态度。我曾经读过一篇关于南美洲一个印第安部落如何教导儿童的报导：「你出生在一个充满问题的世界，所以你要闭上口，安静地忍受。」就是因为这样的思想，产生了逆来顺受的印第安族人。至于东方宗教如佛教和印度教，他们对苦难都有复杂的解释，但却和其他人一样，都欠缺重要的一点：没有任何伤痛能给我们答案，没有死亡能回应我们的死亡。但是基督，唯有基督，才能给我们的苦难一个最后的答案。
「唯有基督能够回应我们的伤痛」
进深研究
彼前四1-13；伯十一16；诗三十5
1. 我们当如何面对苦难？
2. 我们所持有的保障是甚么？
祈祷
神啊，当我不断为难担的苦难找寻答案时，我清楚发现世界对这个问题没有令人满意的解答。我的信靠和仰望在您那儿。亲爱的父，求您带领我的步伐。阿们。
The Corn of Wheat Afraid to Die
The world's answers to suffering
Bible reading:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-18
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, "Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge."
17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Message
Today we look at the various answers - so called - which the world has offered in relation to the problem of suffering. Omar Khayyam, the poet, looked upon the world of suffering and said:
To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire...
Shatter it to bits - and then remould it to my heart's desire.
His answer was to remake the world with the possibility of suffering left out.
Another answer is to accept the fact of suffering and meet it with resigned anticipation. You say to yourself: "I knew it would come, I was not caught unawares, for everything I hold can be taken away" This is the attitude of disillusioned cynicism. Then another response is to give way to self-pity. Those who follow this method of dealing with suffering get pleasure out of feeling sorry for themselves. And many exaggerate their troubles in order to increase the possibility of gaining others' sympathy.
Yet another way is the way of stoicism. This is the attitude of accepting the fact of suffering and steeling oneself against it. I read about an Indian tribe in South America who teach their children: "You are born into a world of trouble. Shut your mouth, be quiet and bear it." You can see how this type of thinking produces the stoical Indian. The Eastern religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism, have complex answers to suffering, but they, along with the others, lack one important thing - there are no wounds that answer our wounds, no death that will answer our death. Christ and Christ alone gives us the final answer to suffering.
"Only Christ has words that answer our wounds"
Prayer
O God, as I move from day to day in search of an answer to the problem of unmerited suffering, I see clearly that the world has found no satisfying solution to this problem. My trust and confidence is in You. Lead on, dear Father. Amen.
Further study
1 Peter 4:1-13
Job 11:16
Psalm 30:5
1. How are we to face suffering?
2. What is the assurance we have?
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