(Book Review) "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe

1. Introduction 

'The Black Cat' is a short story published in 1843 by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. From the first-person point of view, "I" takes a look back on his life the day before the execution.

2. Summary 

From my infancy, I had been gentle and especially fond of animals. I had a remarkably large and beautiful cat, entirely black, called Pluto. He attended me wherever I went about the house.

But from one day onwards, it was all mixed up. Alcohol was the cause of the trouble. As I drank, I turned violent.

One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence.

I seized him; when, in his fright at my violence, he gave a slight wound upon my hand with his teeth. The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer.

I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the neck, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket!
 
The next day, I was stunned to see what I had done. Pluto, who had lost one eye, was avoiding me in extreme terror. As I looked at it, the feeling of guilt soon gave place to irritation.

Finally, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to a tree in the garden.

On the night of the day, a fire broke out in my house. My wife, a servant, and I made our escape from the flame.

The next day, I approached the unburned surface of a wall and saw the figure of a gigantic cat with a rope around its neck.

Months later, I was in search of another pet to replace the vacancy of Pluto. I then saw a cat closely resembling Pluto in a pub.

The cat followed me home. It domesticated itself at once and became a great favorite immediately with my wife.

I found later that it, like Pluto, also had been deprived of one of its eyes. It was overlapped with one eye of Pluto, and I disgusted it.

The worst incident occurred. One day my wife accompanied me into the cellar of the house. The cat entered under my feet and nearly threw me headlong.

The following is my testimony about what happened:
 
"It exasperated me to madness. Uplifting an axe…in my wrath....I aimed a blow at the animal. But this blow was arrested by the hand of my wife. Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demoniacal, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain."

I deposited my wife's body between the outer and inner walls of the basement. After I'd done all, I re-laid the whole structure as it originally stood. 

I looked for the cat, but it did not make its appearance anywhere.

Afterwards, a party of the police came to investigate my wife's disappearance. When the police couldn't find anything suspicious in my house, I got excited, being satisfied with my perfect crime. 

I rapped heavily, with my cane upon that very portion of the brick-work where I hid the corpse of the wife.

Then a bizarre cry echoed through the wall into the cellar. When the police broke down the wall, the body of his wife turned up. And a live cat was sitting on top of it.

The strange noise was none other than from the beast. I had walled the monster up within the tomb!

3. Lessons 

It's a horrifying story. How come the protagonist with a gentle character turned into such a terrible figure?

Alcohol was the primary cause, but not the main. The writer does not specify why, but readers can't get it out of their minds.

The Bible answers through Ephesians 6:12.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (NIV)

That's right. We can say that evil spirits are involved in the destruction of the protagonist of "The Black Cat."

We see the anger issue here in this novel. In the Bible, the first person with anger disorder was Cain.

Cain brought his offering to God along with his brother Abel, but the Lord accepted only Abel's. (Genesis chapter 4) So Cain was furious, and his face was downcast.
 
God said to the angry Cain, "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door....you must rule over it." Nonetheless, Cain killed his brother Abel in the field.

There must be an evil spirit behind Cain's uncontrolled anger having ended up murdering.

Apostle Paul makes a request, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior."

But we live in a more and more furious and brutal society.
 
Even Christians are not free from it. If a wicked spirit pours oil on my burning rage, it will make an explosion without control.

Remember one thing. Dirty things floating on the water sink down only when the water is calm.

When we get caught up in rage, let's stop everything immediately, and look to God silently.

David, in Psalm 62:1, confesses, "For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation." (ESV)

I pray that God's salvation, which recovered David's soul, will come down upon all those who are struggling with anger control.

 

(Book Review) "The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen

1. Introduction          

'The Emperor's New Clothes' is a short story published in 1837 by Danish

 Hans Christian Andersen.

2. Summary 

There was a vain emperor who did not care about state affairs at all. All his attention was showing off his clothes.

One day, two tailors came to him and promised to make up the most beautiful clothes in the world.

The king, unable to resist temptation, readily paid them a large sum of money in advance.

The deceptive scenario of the tailors started. They advertised that they would use exceptional fabrics for the outfit. 

They said that anyone who was 'unfit for the position or hopelessly stupid' couldn't see the cloth.

The king sent his men from time to time to check how they were working on it. In front of the officials, 

the weavers acted as if they were making clothes. They pretended to cut and paste fabrics that were not there.

None of the officials could see the clothes, but they could never report it to the king. 

It is because the moment anyone says that they can't see the clothes, they will be branded as 'unfit for the position or hopelessly stupid.'

Time had passed. At last, the emperor himself stopped by the tailor's workshop. He was embarrassed when he didn't see the clothes.

However, he couldn't say that. If he did, he would become a king 'unfit for the position or hopelessly stupid.'

Finally, the king got the report that the tailors had finished making the clothes. Now is the time for him to march in front of his people.

The deceivers brought the suit with extreme care and dressed the king. Of course, both had pretended because the clothes didn't exist.

The emperor went out on the street. All people came out to see the clothes. But they saw nothing but the naked body of the king, let alone the clothes. 

Nevertheless, no one could speak it out. On the contrary, they cheered, saying that it was the most beautiful dress in the world.

That's when a child suddenly yelled in the crowd. "He doesn't have anything on!"

Thanks to the little boy, the emperor, his officials, and all the people realized the truth. The reason they couldn't see the clothes was just because he didn't have it on!

But the king couldn't stop the march. He, as if nothing had happened, continued to go on his way with his body naked.

3. Lessons 

This short story asks the readers. Can I alone shout for truth when everybody else is silent on lying?

All were trapped in pretense. It was because of the fear of political and social downfall when saying NO.

But the kid was different in terms of being pure. He said just what he saw. That’s it. I hope the child's innocent heart is the heart of Christians. 

Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such little children(Matthew 19:14).

Luke 10:23 and verse 24 amaze me in that Jesus has pinpointed the core of this short story.

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see….For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it,"

In the Christian faith, the Bible plays the role of the naive kid.

The crime of King David. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, Uria's wife,  and schemed for Uria to be killed on the battlefield. (2Samuel 11)

The shame of the Apostle Peter. He denied Jesus the Lord as much as three times a night (Luke 22).

The past of Matthew. He proclaimed Jesus as the King of the Jews; however, he used to be a tax collector who the Jews treated as a traitor.

We've learned all this from the Bible. The Bible does not cover up or distort the truth for the sake of any God's person.

Let's put the book aside for a moment and ask ourselves. Are we telling the truth as we see?

I don't mean we should live like an activist. I am suggesting to live with bright eyes and a pure mind like a kid. That's what Jesus wants us to do.

(Book Review) "Strait is the Gate" by Andre Gide

1. Plot 

                

"Strait is the Gate" is a novel published in 1909 by Andre Gide of France.
 
The story began when Jerome was fourteen years old. Alissa was sixteen at the time.  Jerome stayed at his uncle's place every time he was on school holidays. 

One day, he saw his aunt having an affair with a young officer. When Jerome went to Alissa's room, she was weeping with kneeling at the bedside. 

The moment he saw Alissa's face soaked with tears due to her mother's infidelity, he fell in love, along with compassion.

But even before love blossomed, the religious issue of secularity and holiness interrupted the relationship between the two.

It occurred when Jerome and Alissa heard a pastor's sermon on the subject of "Enter through a narrow gate" at the church service.
 
(Matthew 7:13)
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

At the background of the pastor's sermon, there was Puritanism that dominated the society. The religious barrier was too high for the young lovers to breakthrough.

Jerome was pursuing Platonic love. It would've been the way for him to avoid conflict with Puritanism.
 
Alissa was going through a tougher time. Her mother's impure love would have given Alissa a negative image of love. She could neither get near nor stay away from Jerome.

She might have thought that she ought to seek absolute holiness rather than a human emotion that was changeable. 

Of course, Alissa loved Jerome. But she had to choose. "The path you teach us is narrow. Two of us can't walk side by side." 

She finally decided to go on the way of self-denial and temperance.

Alissa got rid of everything that reminded her of Jerome. Alissa got sick from a harsh fight with herself. At last, she faced a lonely death in a nursing home.

2. Lessons 

At the root of this tragedy lies religious legalism. Truth sets us free(John 8:32), but a legal yoke doesn't. 

Puritanism is excellent in terms of living a godly life. But the distorted Puritanism takes away happiness and joy from our lives and instead forces pain and sorrow.

Jesus said to the disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

The self-denial that the Lord said here is not the same as Alissa's rejection of romantic love. 

Jesus encouraged his disciples to follow His way, but Alissa followed the religious holiness instead.

The narrow gate in this novel is different from what Jesus spoke. The narrow gate of Matthew 7:13 leads us to the gate of life that the next verse of 7:14 mentions.
 
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
 
The gate of life is none other than the gate of Jesus. It is a wide gate of grace, but we feel it narrow because it is 'only Jesus'. 

Once we enter the narrow entrance, however, the endless mercy of God welcomes us.

Unlike Alissa's idea, there is no way to be righteous through our religious efforts. That's why Jesus had to die.

It is only self-abuse to reject love and happiness and fall into misery and suffering. That sort of religious holiness is not the way to become a righteous person before God.
 
After reading the book, I asked myself a question to relieve my spiritual thirst. 

If Jerome and Alisa had encountered the grace, not the law, listening to the 'narrow gate' sermon, how would their love have changed?

I hope that Christian readers of this book will be the next main characters of the upcoming love story in their lives.

(Essay) How will you live 24 hours a day?

In Luke 19, we read Jesus' parable of the ten minas.

A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. "Put this money to work," he said, "until I come back."

The first one put one mina to work and made ten more. Likewise, the second earned five more. 

But another servant kept the money laid away in a piece of cloth. He did nothing. After coming back, the master was disappointed and called him a wicked servant.

What does this mina parable mean to us? If one mina for each servant is something that we all have equally, I think it could be 24 hours of a day.

Anyone receives 24 hours a day. There is no exception to that.

When starting a day, we all stand at the same start line. As soon as the signal rings, we run off into 24 hours of a day, no matter who we are.

If so, what will bring us five, ten more minas or bad names of 'you wicked servant!'

In my opinion, the parable is about relationships, not about diligence. The problem of the wicked servant was not laziness. His trouble came from a misunderstanding. 

The servant was afraid of the master. He thought the master was a hard man, taking out what he did not put in and reaping what he did not sow.

I presume he was possibly in a bad relationship with the master. His knowledge of him was wrong and distorted.

We could also make the same mistake. As we know, the master in the parable is indicating Jesus. 

How's my relationship with Jesus? Whether or not we are wicked servants depend on the answer.

God is omnipotent and can do everything by himself. At this point, the third servant was right. 

But the important thing we need to remember is, nevertheless, God doesn't work that way typically.

He likes to do his work through our hands. That's about relationships. God wants to grow up mutual intimacy through the mandate.

People work hard every day. Can we guess how many of them work in an intimate relationship with God?

If anyone works only for himself, he is self-centered. The motive is wicked before God. 

How about me? I am a bus driver. What brings me to the street every single day? If I drive for the glory of God, God will surely provide me with all necessaries.  

Am I focusing on Jesus at all times? What is Jesus to me? Looking back on the past days, I ask myself. 

If I can say that he is everything to me, Jesus will call me "you faithful servant!"

(Essay) The very moment we were called Christians

Acts 11:20-21 tells us a very touching story. It’s about the history of the name of Christians.

Following Stephen’s death, there was persecution against Jesus’ disciples. They left Jerusalem for as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.

Even though they escaped to other cities, the disciples were not silent, sharing the Gospel. At first, they spread the Words only among Jews. But some of them, from Cyprus and Cyrene, also began to speak to Greeks.

This remarkable challenge was made in Antioch. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:21) How could this occur?

We need to remember the Cornelius case in Acts 10. Let me make a long story short.

Cornelius was a Roman centurion. Nevertheless, the apostle Peter preached to Cornelius and his family members. The Holy Spirit came on them. God accepted them as Jesus’ disciples. 

But after that, Peter had to explain his action to church leaders in Jerusalem. They criticized Peter, saying, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (Acts 11:3)

Peter tried to persuade them and resulted in success. They had no further objections and praised God.

The issue of spreading the Gospel to Gentile was not easy for both Peter and Jerusalem church leaders. By the way, some anonymous disciples made it in Antioch. They must have been full of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit led them to speak to Greeks.

Hearing the news, the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to Antioch. Why Barnabas? Presumably, because Barnabas was from Cyprus, where some of the Antioch people were from. They might have already known each other. Barnabas must have been the best person to serve as a bridge between Jerusalem and Antioch. 

Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch. Both taught there a whole year, and the disciples were first called Christians. (Acts11:26)

Think about Paul. This ministry was a remarkable opportunity for Paul. Jesus called Paul as the apostle for Gentiles, but Paul hadn’t had a chance to do his role until then. His mission could begin from the time.

Isn’t it marvelous? It was only some anonymous disciples. They opened the door of mission towards Gentiles. Through their seed minister, Paul could officially become a church minister. Afterwards, the Antioch church sent Paul and Barnabas as missionaries.

Likewise, the unknown believers were kernels of wheat, which died and produced many seeds. (John 12:24) Thanks to their commitment, we are now called Christians.

We got a worldly saying, “When tigers die, they leave their leathers behind. When people die, they leave their names behind.”

But the saying of the Bible is different. 1Kings 19:18 tells us the delight of God for seven thousand people leaving no names behind.

God was so proud to tell Elijah, “I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Are we are not as famous as Elijah or Paul? We don’t have to care about that. If God is proud of us, is the grace not sufficient?    

Let us not worry about our names left behind us. Even if all people but God forget our names, God alone is more than enough. For, God is everything.

(Bus Episode) Learning the Cross on the road

The Cross of Jesus is totally on the other side of the worldly-wise lifestyle. Losing is not the end. It’s the entrance to the real victory instead.

When Jesus died on the Cross, everyone would have thought he was defeated. But he made a victory, rising back three days later.

A few days ago, I got trouble with another bus driver at a bus stop in the city. It was a hectic time. Every driver was struggling to secure a parking place to get passengers aboard at a bus stop.

I was managing to park there, but the driver swore at me. He seemed to think he had lost his parking place because of me.

But, I didn’t do wrong. I just moved faster than the driver. I felt his attitude was rude and absurd. I also yelled against him, of course, it was not swearing. I believed my response was righteous anger.

But, shortly after, one verse of the Scriptures came into my mind. "Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires."(James 1:20)

I came to realize something had gone wrong with me. Regret flooded in my mind. Why did I not give way to him? Why did I lose my temper? 

I learned I had to change my way of living, looking up the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus didn't struggle to defeat others. He won by losing. 

Life is not building up my success above others' failures. 1Corinthians 10:24 says, "Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others."

I need to grow the give-way character while driving on the road. Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Act 20:35)

Even if somebody swears at me, I'd rather not react at all. When a bus passenger makes a complaint to me, just saying "I am sorry," is very enough instead of arguing. Suppose another driver is trying to get into my lane, I need to be willing to accept it.

Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."(Luke 9:23)
To take up my cross, I need to keep practicing the life of losing rather than winning. The life of the Cross starts from the moment to decide to lose.

(Book Review) “A little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett

1. Introduction

A Little Princess was published in 1888 by Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, a British-born American novelist.

A Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and The Secret Garden are the three children’s novels of Burnett

This novel gives readers an important question regarding our life. How will we live regardless of whether we are either rich or poor? Do we have unchanging love and kindness in any circumstances?

Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever! Let us pray that his everlasting character may become ours.

2. Summary 

Sara Crewe is the leading role of this novel. Captain Ralph Crewe, Sara’s father, raised Sara by himself in India since his French wife had died.

Ralph started a new business to mine diamonds with his friend, where he invested all his money. Ralph sent his daughter Sara to London to study. Sara went to a strict boarding school run by Miss Minchin, a greedy woman.

Sara was kind to everyone. People there liked her. There was a maid named Becky in Minchin school. All but Sara looked down upon her. Sara and Becky became bosom friends.

One day, Mincin held a big birthday party for Sara. During the party, Mincin heard that Sara’s father had died and was bankrupt.

She immediately stopped the birthday party, threw the orphan Sara out into the attic, and treated her like a maid. Sara had to experience hardships. Sarah was still kind even to mice in the attic.

A man named Carrisford moved into the next door to the school. He had been a close friend and a business partner of Sara’s father, Captain Ralph Crew.

Carrisford had suggested Ralph would invest in a diamond mine. But, Carrisford ran away when the business had failed. He was so sorry to hear that Ralph had died because of him.

He restarted his business and made a big fortune. He was looking for his friend’s daughter, that is, Sara.

Carrisford had an Indian servant named Ram Dass. One day the servant’s monkey went into Sara’s attic. The occasion brought Ram Dass to know Sara.

Ram Dass served food for Sara, even decorated her room. Thanks to the fellowship between Ram Dass and Sara, Carrisford finally learned that Sara was the girl he was longing to find. 

Sara took over her father’s immense inheritance. Sara left Minchin School with Becky. They lived happy lives together.

3. ‎Lessons

(1) What kind of person am I?

Sara did not lose her kindness, even when she fell into trouble. Think about the reason Sara met up with Carrisford. It was from her kindness for the monkey of Ram Dass, the servant of Carrisford.

But, Minchin was the opposite. She got a different attitude, depending on whether someone was rich or poor.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

It means that our kindness should be not depending on who they are. If we are kind only for our profit like a merchant, we cannot say the kindness is our nature. 

Do not lose my goodness, even if it gives me losses. That’s my first prayer from A Little Princess. 

(2) Isn’t your church like Minchin school? 

We hear about some churches operating like Minchin school. They welcome the rich and look down on the poor. Their priority seems to be money, not the Gospel.

Read Mark 12:41-44. It is about a poor widow’s offering. Jesus said, “This poor widow has given more than all the others...she has given everything she had to live on.”

Sara’s kindness reminds me of the poor widow. Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”(Luke 6:20)

If churches stay away from the poor, they will be staying away from Jesus. Let’s pray for our hearts to be open towards the poor. May my heart be not the heart of Minchin, but the heart of the Lord!