ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Pulelulu ‘Akosi 2, 2017

“The Motive”

Loma 14:7-8

He kapau ‘oku tau mo‘ui, ‘oku tau mo‘ui ma‘aʹ e ‘Eiki; pea kapau ‘oku tau pekia, ‘oku tau pekia ma‘aʹ e ‘Eiki: ko ia, pe ‘oku tau mo‘ui, pe ‘oku tau pekia, ko e me‘a ‘a e ‘Eiki pē ‘a kitautolu. He tala‘ehai ‘oku ‘i ai hatau toko taha ‘oku mo‘ui ma‘ana; pea tala‘ehai ‘oku ‘i ai hatau toko taha ‘oku pekia ma‘ana pē.

Romans 14:7 – 8

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

‘Oku tau ‘i ha kuonga foki ‘oku hulu tuʻa ai e fakalakaʹ mo e tekinolosiaʹ. ‘Oku maʻu ngofua e meʻa kotoa, tatau pe ‘i he lelei mo e kovi. Pea ‘i he malaʻe ‘o e lotuʹ, kuo tau toe feinga ha ngaahi founga ke “fakaifo” e uʻa ‘o e tangataʹ fekauʻaki mo e ngaahi meʻa fakalaumālie. Ko ‘etau tohi lau Folofola ki he toʻutupuʹ, ko ha ngaue pe ke toe fakafoki kitautolu ki he ngaahi makatuʻunga ‘o e tui faka-Kalisitiane kuo pukepuke mai ‘o lau senituli. ‘E ‘ikai ke ‘aonga kapau ‘e ‘ikai ke tau tukuange kakato kitautolu ki he pule ‘a e ‘Eikiʹ ‘o hangē ko ia ‘oku tau lolotonga fonongaʻi.

Komeniteli - Tīmote Kela

Commentary - Timothy Keller

‘I he taha ‘o e ngaahi tohi ‘a Sione Kalaviniʹ, naʻa ne fofola mai ai ‘a e uho ‘o e toʻonga moʻui ‘a e kalisitaineʹ. Naʻa ne pehē ai, naʻaʹ ne mei lava pe ke hiki mai ha ngaahi lisi ‘o e ngaahi fekau ke tau tauhi pe ko ha lisi ‘o e ngaahi ‘ulungaanga ke hā sino maiʹ. Ka naʻa ne ‘omi pe ‘a e tefitoʻi mafai faka-loto (motive) pea mo e tefitoʻi fakahinohino ki he uho ‘o e moʻui faka-kalisitaine.

Ko e uho ‘o e foʻi moʻuiʹ, ko e foaki ‘e he ‘Otuaʹ hono ‘Aloʹ ke fakamoʻui kitautolu ‘aki ‘ene kelesiʹ pea ke ne ohi kitautolu ki hono famili. Ko ia ai, koeʻuhiʹ ko e kelesi ko iaʹ, ‘i heʻetau houngaʻiaʹ, ‘oku tau fie hokosi ‘a e tatau ‘o ‘etau Tamaiʹ. ‘Oku tau fiemaʻu hotau tuʻunga faka-famili. ‘Oku tau fie tatau mo hotau Fakamoʻuiʹ. ‘Oku tau fie fakahōhōʻiaʻi ‘etau Tamaiʹ.

At one point in his writings John Calvin lays out the essence of what it means to live the Christian life. He says that he could make us a list of the Commandments we should be keeping or a list of all the character traits we should be exhibiting. But instead, he wants to boil it down to the basic motive and the basic principle of what it means to live the Christian life.

The basic motive is that God sent his son to save us by grace and to adopt us into his family. So now, because of that grace, in our gratitude, we want to resemble our Father. We want the family resemblance. We want to look like our Savior. We want to please our Father.