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. Gospel Highway
 2008/1 The Rat Race
(A Chinese New Year Tract) PDF Print Version The rat is the first animal in the Chinese zodiac. Today, urban living is described as a rat race. From ancient times, the rat is known to be a carrier of the bubonic plague. The rat race In the rat race everyone strives to earn more money, to be more successful, and to climb higher up the social ladder. Life is a constant round of rushing to complete projects, meeting up with clients, competing with rival companies, feeling frustrated when caught in a traffic jam, flying overseas on assignments, and the like. In the midst of such busyness, feeble attempts are made to keep up friendships, to spend time with the family, to engage in exercise and sports, and to visit aged parents. From young, students are groomed for the rat race by attending endless classes including extra tuition, music, art, martial arts, ballet, swimming, and mental arithmatic. The pressure is to do well in exams, to score more A’s, and to attend the better colleges and universities. Everything is assessed on speed and competitiveness - playing computer games, buying computer modems, driving on highways, taking instant coffee, queuing at the bank and post office, introduction of the latest trains, trading on stocks, buying of new clothes, upgrading of one’s laptop, etc. Short of a public holiday, personal sickness, or the death of a loved one, the mind is constantly focused on work. Even during sleep, the mind is not fully at rest. It is no wonder that symptoms of stress show more and more in individuals and society - gastric pain, hair-loss, irritability, short tempers, road bullies, snatch-thieves, suicides, divorces, and public demonstrations against the authorities. You will be mercilessly sucked into the rat race unless you take stock of your life. What do you live for? Will it be worthwhile in the end? What happens next after you have achieved your dream, if ever you achieve it? The answers to these questions might lie in an ancient incident connected with the rat. A most unusual plague The bubonic plague is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria carried by rats. It is spread to humans by flea bites and can quickly become an epidemic. In the 14th century, the Black Death killed one person in four in Western Europe. Egypt was similarly devastated by the plague during the same period. The Bible records a plague that swept through the land of the Philistines round about 1000 BC. The Philistines had captured the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred gold-plated box symbolizing the presence of God, from the nation of Israel. The statue of the Philistine god fell down on its face before the Ark. When set in place, it fell again, breaking its head and hands. Then, the plague swept from one city to another, killing so many people that “the cry of the city went to heaven”.1 This was no ordinary plague, for we are told that “the hand of God was very heavy there”.2 About 300 years earlier, the Hebrew people were living under oppression in Egypt. God raised up Moses to lead the people out to possess the promised land of Canaan. The king of Egypt refused to let the Hebrews go, until God miraculously struck to death all the first-born in the land.3 The Hebrew people were spared death because of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, whose blood was sprinkled on the lintel and doorposts of each house.4 The Passover lamb was a symbol of the coming of Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.5 By His death on the cross, Jesus Christ paid the penalty of the sins of all who trust in Him.6 Forgiveness of, and cleansing from, sin comes only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.7 The same Christ who was crucified, buried and raised from death, will return to judge the world. Eternal life is found only in Him. The plague that struck the Philistines was to humble them so that they would acknowledge the God of Israel as the one, true, God. God has now revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. No one can know the true God without knowing Jesus Christ.8 No one can enter the kingdom of God except through Jesus Christ.9 Answers to life’s questions Life begins to make sense only when we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. The answers to the questions about life are found in Jesus Christ alone. We do not want to be drawn away by the rat race till stricken by the plague, or some other tragedies, before humbling ourselves to acknowlege Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. 11 Samuel 5:12; 21 Samuel 5:11; 3Exodus 12:29; 4Exodus 12:21-28; 5John 1:29; 62 Cor 5:21; Hebrews 9:26-28; 7Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 8John 14:9; 9John 3:5; 14:6
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