Eye-opening to the Alternative Lifestyle

There’s a Chinese proverb, “Men do not pass 8x8; women 7x7.” This saying comes from the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Medicine Manual, written in the 5^th century B.C.E. What does it mean? It’s about the pattern of physical changes in males and females. Men grow in an eight-year cycle and women in a seven-year. Let me explain by referring to the Internal Medicine Manual.

A boy changes his teeth when he is 8. By sixteen (8x2), he has the reproductive capability. By twenty-four (8x3), he is fully grown. By 32 (8x4), his body quality reaches its peak. By 40 (8x5), his energy starts to drop. By 48 (8x6), his hair begins to turn grey, and his skin begins to wrinkle.

By 56 (8x7), his legs become weakened and slow down. By 64 (8x8), his hair and teeth start to fall. That’s the end of his prime and productive years. (Yike, I’ll soon approach that age!) A man after 8x8 (or 64) is deemed old, not according to me, but according to the Internal Medicine Manual.

It also says that females change in a seven-year cycle. A girl changes her teeth by 7. By 14 (7x2), she has the reproductive capability. By 21 (7x3), she is fully mature. (Girls mature sooner than boys.) By 28 (7x4), she reaches the peak of her development. By 35 (7x5), her physical state turns downhill.

By 42 (7x6), her hair starts to turn grey. By 49 (7x7), she loses her reproductive capability. That’s the end of her prime and productive years. It’s the nature no one can avoid, according to the Internal Medicine Manual.

So, the saying, “Men don’t pass 8x8; women 7x7,” means men’s most productive years don’t go beyond 64, and women 49. If you are still active beyond that point, you are blessed. Many of you are far beyond that point and truly blessed to live in times like this to enjoy the longer and stronger golden years.

That’s physical, but how about mental and spiritual since humans have body, mind, and spirit? Mentally, we don’t have a pattern like that. Your mental maturity depends on how much you learn. The average person reads only four books after graduating from college. So, if you read more than four books a year, you are above average. Many brilliant people read about a book a week, fifty books a year.

Spiritual maturity is even more nebulous. You can measure your physical growth by age. You can also measure your mental capacity by taking an IQ test. How do you measure your spiritual maturity? It can be measured by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

However, there’s a caveat. Jesus said we are branches. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself without attaching to the vine. Jesus said he is the True Vine. He said without him, we can do nothing. (Jn 15:5). It’s a strong statement, warning us that a branch doesn’t even have life without attaching it to the vine.

An atheist told me, “Well, I don’t need God or Jesus to live by love, joy, peace, patience, etc.” I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but then I discovered his life behind the scenes was a big mess. So, fat chance! Communism is the largest experiment to bear the fruit of the Spirit without the Spirit. They do good without God. History shows they failed miserably, building a utopia without the creator. I don’t have to elaborate since it’s well-recorded.

Branches don’t have life unless it’s attached to the vine. Furthermore, the Bible says a branch that connects to a poor-quality vine bears poor-quality fruit. That’s why Jesus said he is the True Vine. It means other vines are not true.

You might wonder, “Isn’t it arrogant or insensitive to say he is the only true vine, and we can do nothing without him? There are so many religions out there.” Jesus said by their fruit, you will know them (Mt 7:20), meaning, “Look at the evidence!” Ignore him at their own demise. Good luck, utopians!

Today, we will explore how to become a branch of the True Vine. Jesus uses parables and metaphors because spiritual reality is metaphysical. We need physical analogies to understand metaphysical reality. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus uses another metaphor to describe how the branches emerge from the True Vine. He says,

“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (Jn 3:3).

To be born from above is like being born as a branch of the True Vine. It’s a spiritual rebirth. The initial outcome is seeing the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the alternative living. We live in a fallen world of suffering, but there is an alternative world, the kingdom of God, the Promised Land filled with the fruit of the Spirit, so we can live life to the fullest despite this fallen world.

To live in that kingdom, we must first see it. To see it, we must be born from above. So, today, let’s look at the mystery of this eye-opening rebirth that allows us to see the kingdom of God based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!