Imagine an alphabet with over 20,000 characters, more than 7,000 of which are encountered on an average day. That is the reality for anyone learning to read or write Chinese. Not only are there a lot of characters, but many of them are also incredibly complex. For example, the character ying (“Eagle”) is composed of 24 brushstrokes.
Beginning in the 1960’s, Chinese computer engineers tried a variety of ways to represent this massive alphabet on a computer keyboard. The challenge was taken up by engineers, linguists, and entrepreneurs across Asia, Europe, and the United States —including Silicon Valley.
One of the most successful keyboard designs—the IPX—featured an interface with 120 levels of “shift,” packing nearly 20,000 Chinese characters and other symbols into a space only slightly larger than a QWERTY (typical US keyboard) interface. Other systems featured keyboards with anywhere from 256 to 2,000 keys. Despite all of the brainpower involved, each of these efforts would eventually meet exactly the same fate—oblivion.
It turned out that it was easier for a person to learn the Latin alphabet and let the computer translate that into Chinese characters automatically. Software replaced all the complex keyboard gymnastics. This fundamental change was one of the most significant advances in Chinese computing. It transformed China’s technology sector from a struggling academic discipline to a global powerhouse that now competes for world dominance.
The switch that it required was not intuitive for Chinese speakers. It required them to surrender their devotion to an ancient and nuanced language in order to enter the modern computer era.
For better or worse, the greatest advances in history have resulted from changes in the way people think about the world. From Conquerors and Kingdoms to advances in philosophy and science, the breakthroughs have often resulted from a revolutionary change in thinking.
The change in thinking that Jesus brought to the world was no less revolutionary than the Chinese need to abandon its attempts to type in Chinese.
When He told the people that He was the fulfillment of the Law, the religious leaders of His day considered it heresy. The Pharisees demanded adherence to 613 laws, which were then subject to hundreds of interpretations that became the “oral law.” They could not conceive that the original purpose of Moses’ law was to demonstrate people’s need for a savior. It was hard for them to understand that their ancient and nuanced ‘religious language’ could not ultimately save them.
People have imagined countless ways to 'earn' their way into Heaven.
The tendency for us to try to earn a place in Heaven is still prevalent today. Hundreds of religions promise a path to spiritual nirvana through acts of karma or good deeds.
Jesus’ teaching, in fact, was unique among world religions – he taught that it was impossible for a man or woman to reach God. That chasm could only be bridged from one direction – it had to be God who did the reaching.
The message of salvation is so simple that it is offensive to some. It has nothing to do with human effort. It requires that we abandon human efforts and rely completely on the work that Christ completed for us.
Trying to earn Heaven through good works is like trying to type in Chinese.
"What does all of this mean? It means that the Gentiles were not trying to be acceptable to God, but they found that he would accept them if they had faith[a].
but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works. They stumbled at the stone of stumbling[b]" ~ Romans 9:30-32
From a human perspective Christ’s coming was the most outrageous act in all of eternity. Although he had the power to save himself from the cross, he chose instead to save humanity by sacrificing himself.
In that astonishing act, he forever transformed the relationship between God and man. Man could not and never will save himself through good works. The only way to reach God is by speaking in His language – the love language of redemption.
[a] (CEV) - Contemporary English Version
[b] (ASV) - American Standard Version
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