May I wish you all a blessed and fruitful new year.
“Happy New Year” is the standard greeting for this time of the year. What does a happy 2025 look like for you? A leap in your career? Handsome financial gains? Children doing well academically? Emotional fulfilment in relationships? Good health and vitality? An exciting holiday? All these are good and desirable things that we can feel free to ask the Lord for. They can be genuine blessings from Him. However, are they really key to long term sustained happiness? Far too often, they become people’s (even Christians’) obsessions in life. If so, instead of being blessings that boost our thanksgiving and dependence on our gracious Heavenly Father, they can become our idols that enslave. Undoubtedly, they will bring short term gladness, which could lure us into a cycle of ever diminishing returns, hence compelling us to commit more and more of ourselves in serving them. They are like treats that can bring a bit of spice to life, but are not life itself, e.g. an occasional chocolate (or whatever is your favourite treat) is enjoyable but addicting to it can be enslaving and truly harmful to your health.
The Psalmist gives us a picture of a happy life in Psalm 1. He starts with “Blessed is the one…”, which can be translated as “Happy is the one…” who does not:
• “walk in step with the wicked” – live in conformity with those who do not revere God and live solely according to fleshly desires,
• “or stand in the way that sinners take” – take the position of those who have no regard for God’s truth and holiness,
• “or sit in the company of mockers” – identify with those who scorn God and biblical truth.
Those three phrases describe the world at large.
“but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”- He/she delights in the Lord and His precious revelation, and therefore wants to know and draw from this source of eternal truth and wisdom every opportunity he/she has. Paul summarises this as “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Rm 12:2
“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”
What a happy tree that is! It has sunk its roots deep, to the source of life-giving water. That enables it to be fruitful for the blessing of others. It has the assurance of withstanding drought and hardship which are unavoidable in this fallen world. It will prosper, despite the hard times. It’s fruitfulness and prosperity are not for its own sake, but are a result of where it stands and sits, and how it lives (“walks”).
It is fulfilling its purpose in life, which was given by the creator. What happiness!
May You and I be such a person in 2025, and enjoy a Happy new year.
祝大家一個充滿祝福，結滿果子的新年。
「新年快樂」是每年這個時候的標準問候語。對你來說，快樂的2025年會是什麼樣子呢？你的職業生涯飛躍？有可觀的經濟收益？孩子學業成績優良？在人際關係中情感滿足？身體健康、活力充沛？有一個令人興奮的假期？這一切都是美好而令人嚮往的事情，我們可以隨意向主祈求。它們可以是祂賜的真正的祝福。然而，它們真的是維持長久幸福快樂的關鍵嗎？它們常常會成為人們（甚至基督徒）生活中的迷戀。如果是這樣的話，它們就不會增強我們為這些祝福的感恩和對仁慈天父的依賴，反而會成為奴役我們的偶像。毫無疑問，它們會帶來短期的快慰，這可能會誘使我們陷入回報遞減的循環，迫使我們付出越來越多的努力來為它們效力。它們就像可以為生活加添一點情趣的美食，但不是生命本身，例如偶爾吃一點巧克力（或任何您最喜歡的零食）是令人愉快的，但若上了癮，它能夠綑綁我們並實在危害我們的健康。
詩篇作者在詩篇第1篇中為我們描繪了一幅幸福生活的圖畫。開始所說「有福的人」亦可以譯為「快樂的人亅，不會：
• 「隨從惡人的計謀」:與那些不敬畏神、只隨從肉體情慾過日的人一起生活，
• 「或站在罪人的道路」:採取那些不敬畏神及其真理和聖潔的人的立場，
• 「或坐在褻慢人的坐位」:認同那些褻瀆神和聖經真理的人。
這三個短句描述了一般世人。
「惟喜愛耶和華的律法，晝夜思想，這人便為有福。」他/她喜愛主和祂寶貴的啟示，因此想要了解並藉每一個機會汲取永恆的真理和智慧。保羅對此總結為「不要效法這個世界，只要心意更新而變化」。羅馬書12:2
「他要像一棵樹栽在溪水旁，按時候結果子，葉子也不枯乾。凡他所做的盡都順利。」
這是一棵多麼快樂的樹啊！它已深深紮根於賦予生命的水源。這使它能成為他人的祝福結出果子。它具有抵禦這個墮落世界中不可避免的乾旱和苦難的保證。即使時局艱難，它也會繁榮昌盛。它的碩果累累和繁榮並不是為了它本身，而是它的「站」和「坐亅，並它的生活方式（「隨從」）的結果。
它正在實現着造物主賦予它生命的目的。這是何等的快樂!
願我們2025年也能成為這樣快樂的人，並享受一個快樂的新年。
