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EDITORIAL - Gordon Luk
As a boy growing up between two different cultures, I was always confused about what courage was.
Was courage about playing a sport like football? Was courage about playing football in a certain way? Was courage about being tough? Was courage about not being afraid? Was courage about not showing that you are afraid? Was courage about not showing any emotion at all? There was one thing that both cultures told me about courage: don’t show weakness!
When I became a Christian, however, the Holy Spirit illuminated for me that this was not true. In Mark 14, when Jesus was at the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was at his most sorrowful moment, when he was most distressed, and in so much anguish that he sweated blood—this was courage!
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33–34 NIV)
The picture of Jesus alone in the Garden of Gethsemane—weeping in distress, feeling the enormous weight of the task, about to be abandoned by all his friends—this is not a picture we’d normally associate with strength. This is a picture of weakness. It ticks all the boxes of what our world—no matter what culture you’re from—would call ‘weak’. Yet, as the Holy Spirit showed me when I became a Christian, that’s the point of the passage. At Gethsemane, our Saviour felt such distress as He faced what was about to happen to Him, all while his closest friends weren’t even able to stay awake. At Gethsemane, our Saviour was abandoned by these friends, because they couldn’t face what He alone was about to face. Jesus was the only one who went to the cross because He was the only one who could. On the cross, He saved us, because He didn’t save Himself.
He won the great battle (Col 2:15), because He chose not to fight back, because He chose not to call His twelve legions of angels (Matt 26:53). Our Saviour was courageous, because He entrusted Himself to His Father. Our Saviour was strong, because He was weak. Our Saviour was brave, because He lovingly laid down His life for us. This year’s Societas explores the topic of courage. As Christians, we are called to “be strong and courageous” (1 Cor 16:13 cf. Josh 1:7), and to “take up the armour of God” (Eph 6:11 cf. 1 Thess 5:8). We are called to “fight the good fight” (2 Tim 4:7). Yet, as we explore this essential topic, we must avoid what our world wrongly teaches us about courage. We must always look back to our courageous Saviour, our almighty, all-conquering Lord Jesus Christ, who went to the cross for us, “led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isa 53:7), and who took the cup of wrath for us (Mark 14:36). We hope you enjoy this edition of Societas, joining us in marvelling at the courage of our Saviour, and praying that we would, in His strength, take courage and fight the good fight of the faith.
