Recently I've been making my way through a very interesting book entitled Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of Belief by Rodney Stark. The general premise of the book is that of comparative religion. Stark is a professing Christian, but writes from the perspective of a sociologist. To get to the gist of this post, I was reading a section today on the Chinese religion of Taoism. Apparently Taoism celebrates "Eight Immortals", also known as ordinary people whose virtues were rewarded by the Queen Mother Goddess, who gave them peaches of everlasting life to eat. I want you take notice of why these individuals are immortalized. Without further ado, I now present to you the "Eight Immortals of Taoism" or the "Heroes of the Tao Faith":
1. Chang-Kuo Lao was a hermit with a donkey that could reach incredible speeds.
2. Chung-Li Ch'uan was a smiling, ascetic old man.
3. Han Hsiang-Tzu chose to study magic rather than cram for civil service exams.
4. Ho Hsien-Ku was a girl who became immortal by eating mother of pearl.
5. Lan Ts'ai-Ho was an inspired flute player.
6. Li Tieh-Kuai was a begger who sold wonderful drugs that could revive the dead.
7. Lu Tung-Pin was a hero of early Chinese story-telling who slew dragons with a magic sword.
8. Ts'ao Kuo-Chiu tried to reform his brother, the emperor.
(Taken from Discovering God by Rodney Stark, Pg. 261)
Sound like the type of people you would want to model your life after? As much as I enjoy eating peaches and aspire to be a hermit and ride an incredibly fast donkey, I can't really picture myself following in the footsteps of these eight "immortals".
After meditating on this non-sense for a bit, I was reminded of my own faith in Jesus Christ and a list that is found in the Bible in Hebrews 11. I'm sure that most of you are familiar with this chapter that lists our own "Heroes of the Faith". Hebrews 11:33-40 concludes a list of several heroes in this way:
"...who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated--of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, thought commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect."
Now, I'm not saying that the lives of these heroes were any easier or glamorous than the "Eight", but I take solace in the fact that by God's grace through Christ my life is not in vain. I love the fact that the "heroes" of our faith spent the majority of their lives fighting for the truth, most suffering death in brutal ways, but through death gaining victory in the fullest and they didn't even have to learn to smile or study magic or eat mother of pearl. Their mission was straight forward and they were willing to give all for the cost of the Gospel. Jesus is the ultimate hero and He ultimately lived the life we couldn't live and died the death we should have died in our place. It's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone that we can continue the legacy of all those that have gone before us as spiritual vagabonds who "died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But, as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:13-16)
So, the next time you aspire to be an accomplished flute player or try to reform your brother who is emperor, just remember to drive to Georgia to find some of those good peaches, Amen?
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