Chapter 289: 380 Chapters, Never Cowardly

380 chapters, never cowardly...

38o chapter, never cowardly…

――――Walking with Love twenty-three

「The plain is desolate, smoke like woven threads; the cold mountains stretch, a sorrowful green. The dim light looms like a tall tower; someone on the upper floor worries. Jade steps stand empty, alone; returning birds hurry home. Where is the road home? Long pauses, then short pauses。」

Where is the road home? Is the poet asking the bird? Or is he asking himself?

Oh, soaring bird, where is your resting place?

The bird's life is spent amidst wind and rain, flying back and forth. No matter where it flies, it cannot escape the eternal wind and rain's blows.

However, facing the eternal wind and rain, the bird remains forever happy, spending its life in song.

It sings of the sun, sings of brightness, sings of spring, and also sings…………………

In the bird's chirping, I again think of that person's contemplative story――

Once, Lord Jesus led his disciples to preach. Arriving at the seaside, they boarded a boat. Just as the boat reached the middle of the sea, a great storm arose. The storm whipped up huge waves, surging toward the boat carrying Jesus and his disciples; the boat tossed in the sea, it seemed the waves would overturn it.

Facing the raging waves before them, our Lord Jesus remained calm and composed, utterly disregarding the wind and waves he encountered.

No one can foresee the future—will it be hardship? Or joy?

He believed that encountering adversity and storms in life is quite normal. The storms are precisely a tempering of life; through that tempering, our faith becomes more resolute and strong. Yet when faced with sudden, great storms, Jesus fell asleep.

Facing the same great storm, however, Jesus' disciples were frightened into panic, shouting, 'Lord, save us, we are doomed!'

Are we doomed?

We have God protecting us—how could we possibly be doomed?

Jesus said, 'You of little faith, why are you timid?'

Thus, Lord Jesus, relying on faith and courage, led his disciples to quickly overcome the wind and waves…………

(My thoughts are with the disaster area, my feelings are with the disaster area; I pray to God with a sincere heart: may peace, courage, faith, and strength accompany and stay with the people of the disaster area!)