Tip: Repeat or not (1)
By Isaac Tan, Singapore
“Stop! I say Stop!”
As a child, we’ve been psyched to recognize that there is a purpose behind repetition—it is for emphasis.
God in His perfect wisdom, inspire His writers to use repetition to drive home a salient point too. For example, in 1 Corinthians 13:11:
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child,
reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. (NASB)
Given that the word “child” appears five times in this sentence, one would be blind/deaf (as the letter would have been read aloud to its first audience) to identify the idea of childlikeness as the issue at hand. In addition, it created an impact.
Another good example from the Bible is from 1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 7:
If you read through these few verses aloud you would see that a climatic effect is achieved through placing points in increasing order of importance. The group of “it is not/does not” ends on a climax with verse six “it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”
However, as with many techniques, repetition is not spared from the susceptibility of abuse. In such cases, repetition can be irritating.
What then is “bad” repetition?
Read the paragraph given below and give me your opinion. Share with me how you would improve it.
“Many things in life happen almost immediately. Sometimes things can get so immediate that people who are still stuck in the past find it so difficult to live life. Immediacy can cause life to feel so rushed and this more often then not happens for those who experience the daily city life. This life of immediacy is one that I am not spared from. It is so immediate that this passage was not even spared from the stress that I have from having to experience from such immediacy.”
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Loading ...all shall be well
June 12, 2009
READ: Revelation 22:1-5
No longer will there be a curse upon anything (v.3).
Between natural disasters leveling wide swaths of crops and inflation dramatically skyrocketing prices, even subsistence foods like rice or beans have been pushed almost out of reach for many in developing economies. In response to the estimated one million North Koreans who starved to death in the late 1990s, government researchers have been working to develop a noodle that “delays the feelings of hunger.”
We all hope these measures alleviate suffering. It’s not good, however, when the best we can do is mitigate a bit of hunger’s twinge.
The apostle John gave us hope with his vision of the final good end toward which all of creation points: the day when God’s people will live in God’s new city. In this city, humans will live and flourish as God has always intended for us to live and flourish. In this new city, every parched village has hope because the water of life flows “down the center of the main street” (Revelation 22:2). In this new city, every famine-stricken nation will rejoice because the Eden tree of life will appear again and yield “a fresh crop [of fruit] each month” (v.2).
Beyond the bountiful water and year-round feast, the tree will offer the remedy for every evil that has ever afflicted human society, every abusive system of power, every corner of addiction or war or selfishness. There will be healing for ravaged tribes, starving regions, affluent-yet-broken suburbs. “The leaves,” John recounted, will provide “medicine to heal the nations” (v.2).
Our world may seem to be tipping toward hell. But the hope of the gospel is reflected in these words: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4). —Winn Collier
Where does your world most need healing? How can you see God’s healing and redemption already at work there?
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...a fair trade
June 12, 2009
READ: Psalm 119:161-168
I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure. —Psalm 119:162
Scott and Mary Crickmore poured 15 years of their lives into helping to translate the New Testament in the Maasina dialect. It was for the Fulani tribe in the West African nation of Mali.
After the initial draft, Mary visited nearby villages and read it to people. She sat in huts with a group of men or women listening to them discuss what they understood. That helped her to make sure the words they were using in the translation were accurate and clear.
Some people would think that the Crickmores’ sacrifice was too great—giving up their comfortable lifestyle, changing their diet to mush and rice, and living in less-than-ideal circumstances for those 15 years. But the Crickmores say it was “a fair trade,” because now the Fulani people have the Word of God in a language they can read.
The psalmist delighted in God’s Word. He stood in awe of it, rejoiced over it, loved it, and obeyed it (Ps. 119:161-168). He found great peace and hope in the Word.
The Fulani people are now able to discover the “great treasure” (v.162) of God’s Word. Would you agree with the Crickmores that any effort and sacrifice to get the Bible to others is “a fair trade”? — Anne Cetas
One measure of our love for God is what we’re willing to do to share His Word with others.
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