Farmer of Hearts - Finding God in All Things 生命恩泉 Fountain of Love and Life

As we come to the final day of the 40-day retreat, let us once again focus our attention on the theme of this retreat: "Finding God in All Things." At the heart of this theme is a relationship, an ultimate relationship with God. If the ultimate goal of Christians in this world is to "inherit eternal life", and if being with God forever is the meaning behind "inheriting eternal life", we need to prepare ourselves well in this life to be united with God eternally in the Heavenly Kingdom.
It is hoped that this retreat experience not only deepens your understanding of God, sensing His presence in your life, but also enables you to feel His profound love for you and His expectations of you. Now, let us learn how to live out the goal of "Finding God in All Things".
"Finding God in All Things" carries the meaning of "Choosing God in All Things". We must first look at things from God's perspective, and then make wise choices in life with His vision. The sacredness of the present moment lies in the fact that we can only make choices in the present. Good choices bring us closer to God, while bad choices lead us away from Him. Therefore, being able to make right decisions or choices in the present is crucial for whether we can ultimately "inherit eternal life"!
To put it simply, the situations we encounter in life can generally be divided into two categories: those with opportunities for choice, and those without. Let's first explore the second scenario. This refers to things that happen to us, which we did not choose but can only accept. If things go our way, of course we gladly accept them. However, if unfortunate events occur, such as suffering or disasters affecting ourselves or our families, in these circumstances, although it seems like we have no choice, we can still choose how to face them.
One thing we need to understand is that God does not actively bring disasters upon us. However, God may allow unfortunate events to happen to us because He knows that He can bring greater good out of these misfortunes. We should see these things that God allows to happen to us as part of God’s will. We must view them with the eyes of faith, helping us to discern the true meaning behind these events, as they are often difficult to understand in the present moment. But we must firmly believe that God, who loves us to the end, always puts our best interests first. When we submit to God's will and guidance, He will provide for all our needs in due time. We just need to patiently wait, knowing that greater good that God will bring will surely come. Moreover, our God desires to accompany us through life's trials, building a closer relationship with us. This explains why Jesus was willing to humbly dwell among humanity and spend thirty-three years with people.
The second type of situation we encounter in life is those where we have the opportunity or space to make choices. As mentioned earlier, everything that God allows to happen to us is part of God's will. From this perspective, we should approach all things with a spirit of indifference, whether they are good or bad, because God has ways to bring blessings to us in any situation. St. Ignatius also pointed out that everything in the world is created out of God's love, and these are gifts from God to help us better know Him. Therefore, we should cooperate with God to make good use of these gifts, glorifying Him and benefiting others. Conversely, if we misuse the gifts God created for us, or prioritize them above God in our lives, they will go against God's original intention, becoming stumbling blocks in our relationship with Him. Therefore, anything that does not lead us closer to God must be firmly rejected or let go of.
If in our lives, any event that happens and anything that appears can help us know and draw closer to God, or can inspire us to use these things to benefit others so as to return love to God, then we truly achieve the state of "Finding God in All Things". With this mentality

Yesterday we learned that through the examination of consciousness, we can heighten our awareness of God’s blessings in our lives and become more grateful so that we can more easily find God in all things. But how can we be grateful if we find no blessings from God in our lives, but only pain and suffering? How can we find God in all things in such a life?
First, let's challenge our understanding of the theme of this retreat, "Finding God in All Things". Have we romanticized the idea of "finding God in all things"? This means that in our impression, is God only present in things good and beautiful? So, is God present in pain, suffering, even persecution and sin? We need to understand that if God was only present in truth, goodness and beauty, the Son of God would not choose to be born as a human being, live in a world full of ugliness and evil, and choose to live and walk with people. While God cannot tolerate the sinfulness of human nature, He not only did not abandon or flee from us sinners, but willingly took on human nature and lived amidst sinfulness. We need to understand that it is the most unimaginable thing for God to do, for He is holy and perfect, the source of all truth, goodness, and beauty. But not only did He willingly live among sinful people, He even took on our sins and bore their consequences for us! As St. Paul proclaimed in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Since God is willing to become sin for us, to become our sacrificial lamb, does He have any reason not to be present in our pain, suffering, trauma, humiliation, as well as all the ugliness, evil, natural or man-made disasters in the world?
On this Good Friday, let us learn what it means to "carry the cross". First of all, we need to know that the so-called "crucifixion" was a capital punishment specifically designed by the Roman Empire to punish rebels, intended to make those criminals experience the most painful, cruel, excruciating, and torturous death possible. In addition to the process of dying on the cross, they also subjected the criminals to the most humiliating and helpless mental torment. The cruel requirement of forcing the criminals to "carry the cross" was to make those convicted of rebellion experience the defeat of being completely conquered, that the very last thing they were made to do before being nailed to the cross was to carry the instrument of their own death along a rugged path of suffering to the place of execution. This was done to demonstrate their complete and absolute obedience to the ruling authority. Jesus knew the torture He was about to endure was a form of punishment that was absolutely horrifying to the people under the rule of the Roman Empire, and it was certainly the most cruel means of governance that anyone had witnessed. Yet it was the will of the Heavenly Father that His only begotten Son should bear this torture innocently to pay for the sins of all of us!
Jesus demonstrated complete and absolute submission to the will of the Father with the spirit of obedience demanded by this form of torture. This spirit of surrender is a reflection and hallmark of Jesus' entire life, and it is also through this complete obedience that He reversed the rebellion of our original ancestors against the Father.
So when Jesus asks us, His followers, to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily to follow Him (Luke 9:23), He is asking us to learn from Him, to submit to the will of the Father. Therefore, "following Christ" means giving up our own desires, and instead, following the better arrangements made by the Father for us through faithfulness and imitation of Jesus. The greatest difference between us and the criminals sentenced to crucifixion is that they were coerced, while we can make choices and responses through the free will given to us by God.
When we make a heart

We had mentioned before that the "present moment" is the only time when we can truly "find God" and "encounter God". When we are fully present in the "here and now", that is the time when we can best experience God’s presence. However, for us to be able to achieve this state of "living in the present" does not happen overnight. Fortunately, we can establish some spiritual habits to help us build and strengthen the spiritual muscles of "living in the present".
St. Ignatius of Loyola developed a prayer practice based on his habit of daily reflection. It helps us recognize God’s presence and footprints in our lives by taking time every day to reflect on our life experiences and the blessings He bestows on us through the people and things we encounter on that day. This prayer method is called the "examination of consciousness", or the Examen,  done once or twice a day, usually in the middle of the day and in the evening. St. Ignatius’ intention was to gradually bring the habit of examination of consciousness into our lives through this prayer practice. As we become more aware of and sensitive to God's presence and blessings, we can more easily find God in all things in the present moment.
Jesus once reminded us that the first step in following Him is to "deny ourselves". In an earlier stage of the retreat, we mentioned that we are God's true opponents because we put ourselves and our pursuits and desires first in our lives. If we do not know what attracts and binds us, how can we know what we should renounce or let go of? However, if we have the habit of examining our consciousness every day, taking time to reflect on our desires, motives, and sinful tendencies, we can gradually get to know ourselves better and recognize areas where we are prone to stumble. By seeking God's help early on, we can deny ourselves more easily and overcome issues of pride and self-centeredness.
Besides helping us review and acknowledge our shortcomings, the most important and primary focus of the Ignatian examination of consciousness is giving thanks to God for the blessings, big and small, in our daily lives. We often find ourselves in a state of ingratitude, even though we are not to the point of repaying good with evil. We rarely realize or acknowledge God's blessings in our lives. Instead, we feel that we deserve them, or even think that they are due rewards because of our abilities. Ultimately, we will regard ourselves as the masters of our lives. In this state, our focus is solely on ourselves, and we fail to find God in all things. Over time, we become numb to the various blessings in our lives and take them for granted. When we fail to recognize that the blessings in our lives are gifts from God, it is the same as denying God and His love for us.
According to St. Ignatius, ingratitude is the root of all sins because one definition of sin is misusing the gifts God has given us. If we wish to repay God’s love, learning to express gratitude to Him is an effective way to show our love for Him. It is also a virtue that Christians who desire to "find God in all things" should develop.
When we can recognize that our lives have been blessed by God, it will induce in us a desire to give back to God and to imitate His selfless generosity to bless others. This is the best way for us to "repay God’s love" as He desires!
Just as Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (Matthew 25:40)
The better we can imitate Christ, the more we can live according to His teachings, the more we will be like Him, and the more we will be able to reveal the face of God to those we encounter.
Reflection
Do you take time for self-examination every day? Did today's reflection give you more motivation to develop or improve the habit of daily examination of consciousness?
Do you recognize the blessings of God in your life easily, and do you express gratitude for the

During the last ten days of the retreat, we kept mentioning that the relationship God wants to have with us is a marriage relationship. The concept of marriage originates from God Himself. Since we perceive God as a father figure and Jesus Christ also embodies a male identity, when we talk about our relationship with God being a marital one, it's easy for us to associate it with the imagery of the Church being the bride of Christ, with us, as the Church, being the body of Christ, assuming a female identity. Yes, from this perspective, the Church, which is us, indeed represents the bride, having a female identity in the context of marriage. Undoubtedly, many male believers may find this concept difficult to accept. The thought of being in a romantic relationship with Jesus Christ while assuming a "female" identity is indeed unsettling! No wonder men may find it challenging to fully engage in a relationship with God. However, whether you are female or male, please accept this reality. We should not confine our understanding of God based on gender when we consider accepting Him and His love for us. Compared to other more important aspects of our relationship with God, gender is relatively less significant. Therefore, please do not miss the point by focusing our attention on the lesser thing.
In fact, we need to acknowledge that as creations of God, we do not have a "say" in the design scheme of God’s love towards us. Although God has given us free will to choose to accept or reject Him, once we choose to follow Him, we need to accept God's "relationship model". How God wishes to connect with us is part of His perfect design. He does not seek to coerce us into compliance because that is not the definition of God's love. In God's eyes, everything revolves around putting us first and foremost. Therefore, in the relationships He designs, everything is premised on what is best for us, rather than on God's own preferences.
I believe many of us, when attending weddings, have asked the couple how their relationship started. Out of curiosity, we asked, "Who made the first move?" This question tends to be the most embarrassing question for the couple, especially if it was the woman who took the initiative, as it may seem she lacked dignity!
Let's take a look at our relationship with God and see who takes the initiative, and who is more dignified. God, as the Lord of Hosts, should be exalted, but we can see that whether it is God in the Old Testament or Jesus in the New Testament, it is God who takes the initiative. From this perspective, in the eyes of God, we are precious, and this is something no one can deny. If by now we still do not believe that God puts us first among all else, then we are truly hopeless!
Recall on the 26th day of our retreat, when Jesus comforted His disciples with these parting words: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3) Please picture this in your mind. These are the heartfelt words Jesus spoke to His beloved when He knew He was about to face suffering and death, when He was about to leave. And as you carefully ponder the words of Jesus, you will find that these are not just heartfelt words, but the most delicate, thoughtful, and sweet parting words, the solemn promises from the depths of Jesus’ soul.
Jesus wants to comfort us, His beloved, when He briefly departs. He urges us not to panic, or mistakenly think that He will leave us forever. Instead, just like the custom of Jewish weddings at that time, Jesus wants to propose to us first. Then He will go to prepare a place for us and come back to marry us! This is indeed the attitude of our Saviour, not to save us with an army, but to redeem us in

Yesterday we reflected on God's love, that is too much for us to bear. Do you have any new insights into the love that God has poured on you? Have you been touched by this overwhelming and inexplicable love? Did it pull your heart strings? Do you feel compelled to respond in some way? Or perhaps you think that you have already done your best to repay God's love, that you have already done everything you can to love God back and have given yourself fully?
God's love for us is both endless and bottomless, something we can never fully repay, no matter how hard we try. So, to what extent should we love God? What does God require of us?
I believe that from yesterday's reflection, you would have realized that God loves you, is willing to invest so much time and effort on you and to sacrifice His life and everything for you not because you possess any special qualities or outstanding merits. His love for you is unconditional. It is just because He loves you.
If God loves us not because of our merits, we cannot earn greater love from God through our actions and behaviour. Similarly, we cannot repay God's love simply by responding to God's call to spread the Good News, or dedicating time to serve the Church, as these are not only our responsibilities but also natural expressions of genuine faith. These should not be seen as methods to "love God back". Otherwise, these will be like tasks or to-do lists that we try to fulfill or become transactional love. This is not the true essence of love, nor is it the kind of love that God desires from us.
The ideal way to "love God back" is to spend time in prayer, encountering the Lord, getting to know this God who loves us unconditionally, and having heartfelt conversations with Him. If lovers would spend time getting to know each other and connecting emotionally to express their deep affection for each other, how much more should we invest time and effort in cultivating our eternal, intimate relationship with God? Shouldn't we put more thoughts and time on seeking opportunities to express our inner feelings, in order to deepen our mutual understanding, and genuinely admire each other?
God has given us free will, ultimately hoping that we will freely choose Him, choose to love Him and love Him completely, choose to be with Him forever — not out of obligation, coercion, or helplessness from not having a choice. This is the essence of love, and it is also the essence of God, precisely because "God is love"!
If prayer is an opportunity to have a heart-to-heart conversation with God, we cannot simply recite prayers mechanically; rather, we need to find a quiet environment to encounter God in solitude and silence. We shouldn't limit our communication with God through a human-to-God relationship, as God doesn't wish to interact with us from a distant, superior position. The depth of our conversation with the Lord should not be inferior to emotional exchanges between lovers; it shouldn't be superficial or apathetic, as that would show disrespect to God, and we would not be able to genuinely "love Him back" as a result.
Just like all relationships in the world need time to nurture and cannot be rushed, a relationship that is meant to last for eternity requires even more time to nurture. God doesn't want us to force ourselves, nor does He want us to blame ourselves for not being able to emotionally connect with Him at the moment. Having said that, it doesn't mean that we shouldn’t be determined and take action to prove that we are serious about Him.
We should start building a relationship with God on earth as soon as possible because we do not know how much time we have left to prepare our body, mind, and soul to commit ourselves eternally to the God who loves us unconditionally.
God knows very well that we are unable to love Him the way He loves us. In fact, what God desires most is not for us to love Him back but for us to accept His love more fully. Many believers have yet to fully embrace their

The question we asked ourselves in the previous day’s retreat about why we wish to enter heaven is one we really need to face. Reflecting on this question helps us understand the relationship between "heaven" and "earth", the connection between "eternity" and "the present moment". Our answers will become our life goals, helping us live each moment well to prepare ourselves to "inherit eternal life". If we constantly keep the goal of entering heaven in sight so as to live each "present moment" well, our worldview will be drastically different, and the choices we make that shape the trajectory of our lives will also be drastically different. This naturally affects the fruit we bear in our lives and ultimately whether we can enter heaven. This question is more important than many of the "life events” that we ponder on in this world because the successes and failures in this world are really insignificant compared to whether we can "inherit eternal life"!
We probably all have had the experience of attending someone's wedding and asking the newlyweds what attracted them to each other, which ultimately led them to get married with each other. As someone beloved by God, what do you think attracts Him to you, leading God to choose you to be with Him forever? What outstanding qualities and exceptional merits do you possess that make God favour you? Looking at it from another perspective, do you think you deserve Jesus to sacrifice so much for you?
As objects of God's love, we should be extremely amazed by God's actions, and we should also feel deeply ashamed. We should be amazed because this supreme and almighty God, who can create all things with His words and give us life with a breath, has lowered Himself and poured out His entire being, even His own life, just to love us, ungrateful creatures as we are. In the eyes of the Creator, we should be lowly insignificant beings. How could we humans be worthy of receiving such love from God and be regarded as treasures by Him? We should examine ourselves and ask, what is it about us that warrants God's humility, even to the point of begging for our love for Him? Seeing this pitiful God, we should cry out to the heavens: "What good do we have that makes you so unwaveringly devoted to us? Are you truly insane, or is there something that we fail to see clearly? Please tell us!"
This kind of almost crazy and irrational love is something the world cannot understand or bear! Yet, this crazy lover continues to silently and helplessly knock on the door of our hearts, begging for our pity. God waits patiently for us, hoping that we will finally open the door and accept Him, accept His lavish love for us! What's even crazier is that we, creatures originally created from dust, shamelessly assume the role of masters instead of servants, as we should be, and treat our Creator with an attitude of arrogance and indifference! Shouldn't we feel utterly ashamed? How insane it is!
Jesus once used this parable in Matthew 13:44 to describe the kingdom of heaven, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." When we think that Jesus' description in this parable depicts an absurd and irrational behaviour, little do we realize that He, in an even more irrational and crazier manner, demonstrated that His actions indeed matched His words! Jesus took pity on us, these "treasures" buried in the ground, people enslaved by sin and deprived of freedom. He resolutely "sold" His own life to redeem us from sin and death!
Now, would you be moved by God's crazy love for you? Are you brave enough to face your unloveliness, to open the door and accept God's pursuit of you, and to accept His unconditional and unreserved love for you?
Reflection
Do you believe that God is attracted to you by some of your exceptional merits or outstanding qualities? Why do you think He loves you so much?
If you desire to