A Curse Word

Ending my 10th week in NUS, I have found a new curse word that seems to make people feel more uncomfortable. The word is 'rest'. 

It isn't hard to understand why students are seeing 'rest' as a word that we don't mention, or even think of it in the first place. Just look at the number of assignments due, the number of assessments, the social pressure that you must do well to earn a respectable job upon graduation. It is easy to pack our schedules with work that we forget about rest, or give excuses to not rest.

It might good to zoom out and take on a macro perspective. It has become a 'culture' in Singapore that the importance of rest is diminishing. Top down, the government continually preaches the importance of good education and competition so that we can stay ahead of competition. Parents often want their children to be better than other children of the same age in all aspects, which explaining the booming and thriving tuition business in Singapore. Students flock to schools to prove that they can be better by scoring more distinctions in their exams, not so much of the networking and building of friendships. How about rest? Do our generation know what is rest?

I take a full day of rest every fortnight, spending my time doing things I like and reflecting, with minimal influence from work. A time away from work allows me to find my footing before I drift too far off. Rest is important for balancing work and life, it is vital for spiritual well being. 

It will be hard to change the culture, but the best thing that we can do is not follow the culture. Knowing what is more important and having the trust in a God who keeps his promise has allowed me to take a break in peace, for I know that he has the ultimate control over all things. Be in this world, but not conform to its values. Live as light in this dark and fallen world.  

The Preeminence of Christ

It has been three weeks. I humbly admit that it hasn’t been an easy time. I am learning to embrace my emotions and to cope with the fast pace of how things are moving. Over and over again, I have to remind myself of the purpose of things and continually seek God for guidance. It isn’t going to be about pride. Pain is real, suffering is real, death is real, and God is real. God did not say that men don’t cry, or there won’t be any suffering at this time, if I think I am suffering. But God promised eternal life and salvation to those who turn to Jesus Christ. 

It is a process of humbling myself before God. It is a time of bravely putting aside things of this world for the sake of Christ, knowing that we have our treasures laid up in heaven, not on earth. Yes, but what does that actually look like in our lives? How do we as sinners live a life worthy of God?

There is only one answer, Jesus. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ should rule our lives and whatever we do or think about, they only glorify Christ. Nothing else, no one else. I am confident of saying this because of the very person of Jesus, every single part of Him and who He is. 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.Colossians 1:15-23, ESV

Staying calm in the midst of rush for grades

It's exam day, and inevitably, people discuss about how much they have prepared for the exam and hope to beat the bell-curve, or how hard the paper was after the exam. Some talk about how badly it will reflect on their CAP, and how much more time they want to spend studying.

Where is our hope? Good grades can land you in a good paying job in the future, earn you some pride, or even friends. It is practical, I have to admit. But there is something more important in life. Grades do not earn you a place in heaven, nothing that you achieve in this world can, except for trusting in Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter if I perform badly during exams, because I know that God has good plans for me and there is something greater than I am looking forward to than a first class honours.

The Incomparable Challenge

Not enough evidence to prove its truth. Christians are hypocrites. Usually when you hear about people rejecting Jesus, they are one of these two reasons. I am sure that there are more. But what exactly is the reason for rejection? It is none other than our pride. Pride affects both Christians and non-Christians.

In the Book of Luke, Jesus was preaching at the town of Nazareth, where he was brought up. He read a passage from a scroll written by the prophet Isaiah, saying “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me, to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) The crowd was initially in awe of what Jesus has said, basking in the glory of God's grace that He has sent someone to set them free from their sins. But all they wanted was actually signs and miracles, which Jesus has performed again and again outside of his hometown. Shortly after, they realise that Jesus (a person whom they have watched him grow up and stay in the carpenter's shop) was saying that they are poor, captives, blind, and oppressed. Jesus was telling them that they are spiritually bankrupt, and they are so sinful that they can't do anything about their sins. And they needed a saviour to get them out of this state. What Jesus has said was offensive to them. Their pride was making them furious. They have rejected God's grace, that was available through Jesus. 

Jesus then draws up two examples from the Old Testament. First, he spoke about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16). During that time, there was a great famine. God sent Elijah out to a faraway non-Jew region to a widow. Elijah asked the widow for bread, but the widow only had a handful of flour and some oil to spare. Elijah gave her a promise from the LORD, telling her that ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.' The widow was in a desperate state and realise her need, and she trusted God. Indeed, God kept His promise. From here, we see that God's grace is extended to all, regardless of who we are.  

Next, Jesus spoke of Elisha and Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-14). Naaman, a non-Jew, was a leper. One day, he went the land of Israel because he heard that the lord is with a prophet, and he could heal Naaman of his leprosy. When Naaman reached Israel, he was expecting some signs from God. But what he received was Elisha telling him to wash himself in the Jordan river seven times. He was furious. His servants, being wiser than him, and told him to do as the prophet Elisha has said. Putting aside his pride, he went down to the Jordan and did as told, and he became clean. Again, we see that God's grace is for all. And it is necessary for us to put aside our pride. 

Do we recognise our spiritual bankruptcy and see that we need urgent treatment that is only available through our gracious God? We need to let go of our pride in order to be rescued. The problem does not lie with Jesus or the bible. We are the problem. As Christians, a lot of times we want to take control of our lives and overlook what Jesus has done. The best way to love, I think, is not to keep the gospel to ourselves. But to keep praying and trying to reach out to more people so that they hear of God's grace and recognise their spiritual bankruptcy. Christians, look at yourself. It is not about what you do ultimately, but put your trust and hope in Christ and what he has done. Nothing is more important than that.