This is the first week after Sydney's lockdown of more than three months was lifted. Although the shadow of the pandemic still lingers, it is still evident that people are eager to return to their normal day to day lives. I heard that some of the large retail stores that were previously closed, upon the first day of their reopening were flocked with people eagerly waiting to enter. These shoppers were looking forward to making their purchases. There were also queues at the gym as people wanted to re-experience the feeling of sweating profusely. There was also a queue at the door of the nail salon. A customer claimed that she could not maintain her nails at home during the pandemic, as she could not make them look good, hence she wished to visit the nail salon immediately at the end of lockdown.
Perhaps when you see these news reports, you will smile to yourself because you may also be one of them. Alternatively, you may find these stories difficult to understand. Is this what people really want to do after the lockdown, which lasted for nearly four months, has been lifted? What is the most important thing in our hearts? When we reflect upon this question, we may find that the important things that occupy our hearts may not seem truly so important. Nevertheless, those things occupy important positions in our lives. Our daily actions and choices reflect the reality of what is occupying our hearts.
God has repeatedly told us that loving him and fearing him and obeying his commands should be the most important thing in our lives. Three thousand years ago, the prophet Jeremiah of Judah issued a stern warning to the people at that time. He said to them: if you do not repent and turn to God, you will perish. The warning was so severe that no one would listen. What Jeremiah meant was that the most important thing in the Universe is to follow God who created all things and saves all things. His message is still the same for us today. Do our daily choices and behaviour reflect that we are followers of Jesus? Do we consider God as most important in our lives? Or are there many other matters that are taking away our hearts and preventing us from truly turning to and relying on God?
這是悉尼三個多月疫情封鎖以後的解封第一周。雖然新冠疫情的陰影並沒有除去，但是人們迫切想回到原來生活的心情仍可見一斑。聽說一些原來關閉的大型零售店，在解封第一天的大半夜，就有人排隊等候開門，期待著進入店中大肆採購一番；健身房門口也排起了隊，人們那麼急切地想在封鎖三個多月以後，重新體驗大汗淋漓的感受。美甲店門口也有人排起隊，一位顧客稱她所作的美甲，在疫情期間沒有辦法到店家裡來維護，自己又沒辦法把它搞得好看，因此心中立下心願，解封後第一件事就是要來做美甲。
或許看到這些新聞報導的時候，你會心中暗笑，因為你也可能是那其中的一員。又或者，你會覺得難以理解，難道將近4個月的隔離解除後，人們最想做的只是這些嗎？到底什麼是我們心中最重要的事呢？當我們認真反省的時候，或許發現，我們心中所以為的重要的事情，真正看起來，可能並沒有那麼重要。但是，它卻在我們的生活中佔據著重要的位置。我們日常的行動和選擇，真實地反映了佔據在我們心中的是什麼。
神一再告訴我們，愛他敬畏他，順服他的命令應當是生命中最重要的事情。三千年前，猶大先知耶利米向當時的百姓發出嚴厲的警告，你們再不悔改歸向神，就要滅亡了。這警告如此嚴厲而沉重，以致沒有人願意聽他的。耶利米的意思是，宇宙間最重要的事情是跟隨那位創造萬物，又在一切艱難中施行拯救的神。這信息對於我們今天仍然一樣，我們的日常選擇、行為舉止是否反映出我們是跟隨神的人呢？我們是看神為最重要嗎？還是有很多事情正在奪去我們的心，使我們不能真正地歸向神呢？
