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Recently, my wife started to favor the Kimchi fried rice. So, she experimented several times at home and of course, my kids and I have no choice but become guinea pigs. 🙂 To be honest, it is not too bad and my kids love it. My wife usually likes to venture new things and new / wild ideas, some of you may have already known it. To me, I used to think the fried rice is kind of “cold rice reutilization” – no wonder some people called it “cooking cold rice (炒冷飯)” because it is usually done on “left over” rice and seldom people would do it on the newly cooked rice. Besides, cooking cold rice would sometimes imply “there is nothing new” analogously.

This lets me think of a conversation at my working place:

“So, what’s your point?” one of my colleagues asked. “My point is we don’t need to re-invent the wheel, we can build upon what we have.” My other colleague answered.

This is a scene in one of our meetings at work. Normally, to reinvent the wheel is meant to duplicate a basic method that has already been created or proven by others previously. Cooking cold rice would be similar to reinventing the wheel if we look at from “there is nothing new” perspective. But it could mean differently if we look from “the wheel” perspective. Fried rice needs to have “rice” as a base and the other ingredients are just add-on. Similarly, the wheel is the originally proven method and it is the base for other things to build upon.

Now let me point you to another perspective, if I may – what is the “rice” or “wheel” in our belief? Based on Apostle Paul’s teaching to the church of Corinth,

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 因為那已經立好的根基，就是耶穌基督，此外沒有人能立別的根基‧(1 Corinthians 3:11)

Therefore, it is clear to us the foundation of our belief is “Jesus Christ”.  Then, the next question would be “what kind of “fried rice” you are cooking?” Because it is ultimately important as Paul indicated:

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 若有人用金，銀，寶石，草木，禾楷，在這根基上建造‧各人的工程必然顯露‧因為那日子要將他表明出來，有火發現‧這火要試驗各人的工程怎樣‧人在那根基上所建造的工程，若存得住，他就要得賞賜‧(1 Corinthians 3:12-14)

Last Friday, we were studying the 2 Timothy 4, Paul confidently declared that:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 那美好的仗我已經打過了‧當跑的路我已經跑盡了‧所信的道我已經守住了‧從此以後，有公義的冠冕為我存留，就是按著公義審判的主到了那日要賜給我的‧不但賜給我，也賜給凡愛慕他顯現的人‧(2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Do we have the same confidence that he had? Can we become a tasty Kimchi Fried Rice in the future? This is a question worth to ask ourselves, my dear brothers and sisters….