Including the Entire Letter of Judy Linton 林奐均 to her father Lin I-hsiung 林義雄

While many of the newspapers did include the entire letter that Judy Linton wrote to her father, Lin I-hsiung, just before he began his hunger strike, some news sources only included excerpts that might give a skewed understanding of what Judy Linton wrote. Here is the letter in its entirety -- both in English and Mandarin. This was written as a personal letter from Judy Linton to her father, not written with the media in mind.

--------------------------------

Dear Dad,

We never know what tomorrow may bring.  A wise person would never take any moment for granted.  Any time we meet anyone, it may be our last time.

With all of my heart, I hope for many more years of life together with you - that my children will have many more years with their grandfather.  I hope tonight is not our last meeting, but it is always a possibility.  You have had many years to write all your thoughts down to me.  Please allow me a little chance to say some things to you.  

You have always been a good dad.  And you’ve been a wonderful grandfather.  The only grandfather my five girls know.  Having your love in their life is making them strong, just as your love has made me strong through the years.  You do realize you play a very important role in their little lives, right?  If ever you feel weak and lose the will to persevere, would you please remember their five faces and fight to stay alive?  Your life will strengthen them.  To lose you would cause a great hole in their hearts.  Please fight to stay with us.  

Dad, I know that you are willing to die for a good cause.  That’s what makes you a remarkable man.  But since I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to say this again, please allow me to say now: “You are not yet ready for eternity.”  Dear Dad, if Heaven were made for righteous men, you would be the first person admitted.  I don’t know of any other man more righteous than you in all of history.  You live up to your name.  But entrance into Heaven is not through a man’s own righteousness.  

Dear Dad, you have read about all the different religions.  Almost all religions are the same.  They talk about ‘being good.’  But the Bible is different from all others.  The Bible says that no one is good.  Not even one.  “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law; rather, it is through the law we become conscious of sin.”  Meaning, the purpose of the ‘do good’ laws is to show us how much we sin.

I have heard you quote First Corinthians 13 many times.  “Love is patient, love is kind...”     It is a wonderful reminder of how to love others, and at the same time it shows us plainly how often we fail, especially with those closest to us.  How often have I failed to show patience and kindness to my own kind mother and sweet children?  

We cannot enter Heaven based on our own righteousness.  You have said in your own letters to me that you, too, have often failed.  No matter how ‘good’ we are in this life, “there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  The only righteousness God accepts “comes through faith in Jesus Christ.”  Meaning, faith is the righteousness with which we must wear to gain entrance into Heaven.  

It is midnight now.  I wonder if I should write more or stop.  This very morning, we celebrated Easter.  We celebrated Jesus’s dying on the cross and rising from the dead after 3 days.  Dear Dad, you have spent an entire lifetime following Jesus’ many good teachings.  As you now put your own life on the line for Taiwan’s democracy, could you please spend some time reflecting on why Jesus sacrificed his life?  Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, so that if you believe in Him, you will be forgiven, and you will be declared righteous by God Himself.  

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.“  

Dear Dad, as a gift to your daughter, please give me more chances to discuss life with you.

Love you so much,

       Judy

Easter Sunday

April 21, 2014

------------------------------------------

親愛的爸爸，

沒有一個人可知道明天會發生什麼事，有智慧的人就不會把任何一刻視為理所當然，每次見面都有可能是最後一次見面。

我全心全意希望還能有多年時間和你相處，也希望孩子們還能有很多年時間和你相處，我希望今晚不是我們最後一次見面，但今晚仍有可能是我們最後一次見面。你用了多年的時間把你的想法全寫下來給我，請你也給我一點機會向你說幾句話。 

你一直是好爸爸，也一直是好棒的阿公，你是五個女兒唯一所認識的阿公，她們因為生命中有你的愛而變得更堅強，如同多年來我也因為有你的愛而變得更堅強，你在她們幼小的生命中扮演非常重要的角色，我相信你懂這點，對不對？當你覺得軟弱、失去堅持的毅力時，能不能請你想想她們五個孩子的臉龐，繼續奮鬥，繼續活下去？你的生命會帶給這些孩子力量，失去你會在她們的生命中留下很大的缺口，請你一定要奮鬥下去，留在我們身邊。

爸爸，我知道你願意為理想而失去生命，這就是你不凡的原因，然而，我不知道自己還有沒有機會向你說一句話，所以請容許我在此向你說：「爸爸，你還沒準備好進入永恆。」親愛的爸爸，天堂若是給義人去的，你一定是第一個進入天堂的人，我在歷史上看不到一個比你更公義的人，你的名字中有「義」字，你也就是名符其實的義人。但人不是靠著自己的公義進天堂的。

親愛的爸爸，你涉獵各種不同宗教的書籍，其實幾乎所有的宗教都一樣，談的都是「行善」。但聖經和其他宗教不一樣，聖經說：沒有義人，連一個都沒有。「所以凡有血氣的，沒有一個因行律法能在　神面前稱義，因為律法本是叫人知罪」（羅馬書三章20節）。換言之，律法告訴人要「行善」，但這些律法的目的是要向我們顯明我們犯了多大的罪。

我曾多次聽你引用哥林多前書十三章：「愛是恆久忍耐，又有恩慈……」這段經文是很好的提醒，教導我們要如何愛人，但這段經文同時也清楚向我們顯明我們多常做不到「愛」的真諦，尤其面對我們最親密的人時，常常做不到。我自己有多常對善良的媽媽和貼心的孩子失去耐心、失去善意？

我們無法靠自己的公義進天堂，你在寫給我的信中也說過你經常失敗。不論我們此生多「良善」，「並沒有分別，因為世人都犯了罪，虧缺了　神的榮耀」（羅馬書三章22-23節），上帝接納的唯一公義是「因信耶穌基督」而來的，也就是說，我們進天堂所必須穿戴的公義就是「信耶穌基督」。

現在已經是午夜了，我不知道自己是該繼續寫下去，還是就此停筆。就在今早，我們剛好是慶祝復活節，我們慶祝耶穌死在十架上後，第三天從死裡復活。親愛的爸爸，你一生都遵循耶穌許多美好的教導，現在你已為台灣的民主冒了失去自己生命的危險，你能否在此刻花一些時間思考耶穌為何要犧牲祂的生命？耶穌死在十架上是為了替你的罪付贖價，這樣一來，你若信祂，你就會得赦免，上帝也會親自宣告你是義人。 

約翰福音三章16節：「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的，不致滅亡，反得永生。因為 神差他的兒子降生，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫

世人因他得救。信他的人，不被定罪，不信的人，罪已經定了，因為他不信 神獨生子的名。」

爸爸，我有一輩子的時間可以好好的思考你所寫給我的每一封信，謝謝你。同時我還有很多生命中的話題想要跟爸爸討論，請你一定要留更多機會給我們彼此交流喔。

Love you so much,

奐均

復活節

4/21/2014