National Service has given me a treasureful of new experiences, and among them is the opportunity to interact with so many non-Christians over such a prolonged and extended period of time. It has been interesting to observe how even they, inevitably, live out their respective worldviews in and through their everyday lives. Perhaps I shall dwell more on this in the future.
In the midst of it all though, I made a very interesting discovery. It started when a girl in my dorm fell sick, and so I sang her some of her favorite Christmas songs from my hymnbook, including Silent Night, Holy Night and Joy to the World. (She is not a Christian but has attended Christmas services before.) Despite my admittedly soft singing voice, a few of the other girls soon heard it and asked me to sing some more. So I sat there singing hymn after hymn for like about half an hour. I felt quite awkward really, especially since I thought the whole thing was going nowhere - and my throat was getting coarse.
When I finally stopped, one of the girls commented that the songs gave her a very calming and soothing feeling. Another said that the songs had caused her to think, to which all the others readily agreed. Being Chinese-educated, they didn't really understand what I was singing, but somehow the hymns had had such an amazing effect on each of them.
I was astounded. It is common knowledge that hymns have long since been abandoned and held in contempt with among the majority of Christian youths today. Churches in the city attempt to draw new young believers by offering rock music during worship service, and have met with some measure of success. But perhaps we should rethink the value of hymns, even unto our own generation.
Admittedly, most city youth cannot be expected to appreciate hymns, but as for the more kampung youth out there who have been brought up in a more or less traditional family background (and who are no less in number compared to city youth), surely the essence of hymns are not that far removed from the culture they grew up with. Most of them have not been exposed to the rock culture that so pervades urban life and still find pleasure in pure, melodious music. And I'm sure we can all agree that anything that might help cause youth in our day and age to stop and think is more than welcome.
Thinking, by it's very nature, draws us toward the more fundamental things in life, and it does not take long for anyone who really thinks to arrive at the most important questions, namely Who made me? and What is the meaning of life? At the very least, this will be the first step of many that might well lead them ultimately to the very feet of Christ. Hymns may just be one of the many ways to set the ball rolling. Perhaps it's time we redeem them for a higher purpose, not only as powerful instruments for praise and worship, but also as fertile seeds planted quietly but surely into unbelieving hearts.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A thought on Easter
All Glory, Laud and Honour is one of my favourite Easter hymns. It's one of the many hymns that evokes in me a passionate and personal reflection on what the Lord has done for me on that special day. -but I must confess that this Easter, I feel void and indifferent towards the cross. The fact that a second Adam, Christ, came to die for me did not impact me that much at all. Strange.
My mind wandered during the sermon. Why was I so dispassionate about my belief; worse still, on such a sacred and holy day?!!
Was it because I lack the touch of the Holy Spirit, working in my life? I have always long for the ecstasy my friends of the high church regularly convey. They always portray a God so close, so visible and real. Me? Sometimes I find it so hard to even open my mouth during worship.
I rule out that there must be more to what God has to say or do in my life. It does not mean that someone who is in-tuned with his feelings shows a good indication that his life is right with the Lord and that he understands what the Good Book has said or is saying.
I am convinced that this lack of enthusiasm for my faith is due to my indiscipline attitude to go back to the Word. Paul's word in the gospel is a very good indication on where I think; no, I should; be heading
1Corinthians 15:2 -By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
I have often discounted the Bible for all it has to say. I am a person who always go back to the Bible ONLY for self-help. I search for words of inspiration and words of comfort when I fear, cry or anger; and cry, fear, and anger I do a lot. The Hymnal has always been the ONLY book closest to my heart, that it has always and ONLY shaped my depictions of Christ and His character.
I guess, it is time to pick the Bible up and read it for all the right reasons. If the Hymnal itself is such a good book for personal reflection, imagine what it would be most wonderful to know from the Bible of His love, so free and sure.
So, i guess the call for me this Easter, is to understand and appreciate what the Lord has done for me. -and the only way to do so is to go back to the source of our faith, the Bible!
I look at the candles' flickering flame. How I wish my candle will burn brighter than before if only I could understand, more than to see and feel, my Christ, on Easter, had done for me.
-Yung Xiang-
My mind wandered during the sermon. Why was I so dispassionate about my belief; worse still, on such a sacred and holy day?!!
Was it because I lack the touch of the Holy Spirit, working in my life? I have always long for the ecstasy my friends of the high church regularly convey. They always portray a God so close, so visible and real. Me? Sometimes I find it so hard to even open my mouth during worship.
I rule out that there must be more to what God has to say or do in my life. It does not mean that someone who is in-tuned with his feelings shows a good indication that his life is right with the Lord and that he understands what the Good Book has said or is saying.
I am convinced that this lack of enthusiasm for my faith is due to my indiscipline attitude to go back to the Word. Paul's word in the gospel is a very good indication on where I think; no, I should; be heading
1Corinthians 15:2 -By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
I have often discounted the Bible for all it has to say. I am a person who always go back to the Bible ONLY for self-help. I search for words of inspiration and words of comfort when I fear, cry or anger; and cry, fear, and anger I do a lot. The Hymnal has always been the ONLY book closest to my heart, that it has always and ONLY shaped my depictions of Christ and His character.
I guess, it is time to pick the Bible up and read it for all the right reasons. If the Hymnal itself is such a good book for personal reflection, imagine what it would be most wonderful to know from the Bible of His love, so free and sure.
So, i guess the call for me this Easter, is to understand and appreciate what the Lord has done for me. -and the only way to do so is to go back to the source of our faith, the Bible!
I look at the candles' flickering flame. How I wish my candle will burn brighter than before if only I could understand, more than to see and feel, my Christ, on Easter, had done for me.
-Yung Xiang-
Saturday, April 10, 2010
What I do, Who I am.
My name is Joshua Teng, I am a Christian student who graduated from d'Nous Academy (Cycle 3 Stage 1) in the year 2009. I once thought that I could do things to define who I was, or more accurately, that the things I did made me who I am. In a sense, I was right; in a greater sense, I was not.
For the past three years, I was actively involved in public speaking. I had always felt that it was the thing I ought to do - something that I was made for. In many ways people affirmed that. It only ever made me more zealous to speak.
One of my friends never understood, until recently. She never understood why I had to participate in competitions. Why I had to subject myself through all the pain and torture and all the work. More importantly, she believed that it was in some way causing the entire act and art of speaking to turn more superficial.
Although I never told her this, I had this answer in mind: It is the passion that God has put in me. I remember what Eric Liddell (The Flying Scotsman) said:
"I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure."
Liddell was a Christian and a sprinter who won the Olympic Gold for the 400m sprint event in the Paris 1924 Olympics. He also broke the world record.
What Liddell was saying is that we all are made in our own certain way. Some people in his day may not have seen how living a life as an athelete made him a good Christian. Many people expected him to be a missionary like his parents (he eventually became a missionary to China) but he kept on running. People may have thought of him as selfish and self-serving. I think not. God has put in us our own passions and giftings by which we may impact the lives of people around us. It doesn't matter how "weird" giftings are or how odd they may be. Never doubt how God can use them. I believe that when we truly do what we were made to, we feel a great sense of satisfaction and pleasure and of course, peace.
Lesson 1: God has made us who we are and in this He has given us the passion for certain things and the pleasure when we do them.
However, I recently discovered that I was not as good as I thought myself to be, or as others had told me I was. That began two days ago and reached its climax just hours ago. The blow is indeed devastating and heart-wrenching. But it is the truth.
I do not possess charisma nor am I really witty. I do not possess a smooth, deep voice, my words do not glide. I cannot persuade but am easily persuaded. Maturity and diligence I do not have. Don't mention creativity or ingenuity. Talent is scarce. I am not a confident person as some of you may already know - I don't even have full confidence in what I want to convince you about.
When the rubber hits the road, when all falls apart, I always realise one thing: what am I doing this for? Many a time, I believe, I lose myself in what I do. That is the greatest danger. A danger I am keen to avoid.
However, I digress. I will never be the best, nor do I think I should aspire to always or ever be the best. It is at times like these - when I am fully aware and sober - that I realise that there are many things that I ought to be doing.
I think about my relationship with God and how I fail, the most epic of ways. I think about my family, and how I neglect them in such times; how I turn to them only when I need help. I think about all the pressure and stress I place on others - their anxiety and worry.
It is at times like these when I realise that the value of my existence does not lie in what I do or who I think I am. Instead it is because I am "made in the image of God" (Gen 1:27). This is the reason why even the most worthless of lives in the eyes of the world are loved in God's eyes. What people see as trash, He sees as treasure. What we cast away, He draws back.
What else have I to say?
I am deeply encouraged to remember that the Lord says: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3) Knowing it makes that significant difference that I am indeed, not who I think I am, but who I am made to be.
In one of his sermons, Ravi Zacharias points out that what we do or what we see ourselves as does not make us who we are. Instead, who we are truly depends on what God sees through his eyes. It is who we ought to be. (paraphrased) That is the definition of our self. Who is it I ought to be? The likeness of Christ.
This I know: I am a child of God. (John 1:12-13) Not because I deserve to be one, but because He has graciously and mercifully allowed me to. You can be a child of God too, you may even already be one. It is in believing and being consciously aware of who you are in His eyes and who He is in yours. I truly wish to live this sort of life, not only in full awareness but in full and total acknowledgement of that very fact. That, to me, makes all the difference. Not what I do.
Lesson 2: What/who truly defines you? Is it what you think it is, or what really is?
I have more to say, but there is a time for everything. I apologise for my incoherent thoughts. Today's post may be slightly emotional, but I believe that this is what the truth is. I hope that somehow or in some inexplicable way I have ministered to you, or made you think. Forgive me, if I may be wrong and of course, you are free to disagree.
Coming back to the point, however,
perhaps the crux of what I would like to say today is this:
My name is Joshua Teng, I am a child of God, being formed into His true likeness. Nothing else matters as much.
For the past three years, I was actively involved in public speaking. I had always felt that it was the thing I ought to do - something that I was made for. In many ways people affirmed that. It only ever made me more zealous to speak.
One of my friends never understood, until recently. She never understood why I had to participate in competitions. Why I had to subject myself through all the pain and torture and all the work. More importantly, she believed that it was in some way causing the entire act and art of speaking to turn more superficial.
Although I never told her this, I had this answer in mind: It is the passion that God has put in me. I remember what Eric Liddell (The Flying Scotsman) said:
"I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure."
Liddell was a Christian and a sprinter who won the Olympic Gold for the 400m sprint event in the Paris 1924 Olympics. He also broke the world record.
What Liddell was saying is that we all are made in our own certain way. Some people in his day may not have seen how living a life as an athelete made him a good Christian. Many people expected him to be a missionary like his parents (he eventually became a missionary to China) but he kept on running. People may have thought of him as selfish and self-serving. I think not. God has put in us our own passions and giftings by which we may impact the lives of people around us. It doesn't matter how "weird" giftings are or how odd they may be. Never doubt how God can use them. I believe that when we truly do what we were made to, we feel a great sense of satisfaction and pleasure and of course, peace.
Lesson 1: God has made us who we are and in this He has given us the passion for certain things and the pleasure when we do them.
However, I recently discovered that I was not as good as I thought myself to be, or as others had told me I was. That began two days ago and reached its climax just hours ago. The blow is indeed devastating and heart-wrenching. But it is the truth.
I do not possess charisma nor am I really witty. I do not possess a smooth, deep voice, my words do not glide. I cannot persuade but am easily persuaded. Maturity and diligence I do not have. Don't mention creativity or ingenuity. Talent is scarce. I am not a confident person as some of you may already know - I don't even have full confidence in what I want to convince you about.
When the rubber hits the road, when all falls apart, I always realise one thing: what am I doing this for? Many a time, I believe, I lose myself in what I do. That is the greatest danger. A danger I am keen to avoid.
However, I digress. I will never be the best, nor do I think I should aspire to always or ever be the best. It is at times like these - when I am fully aware and sober - that I realise that there are many things that I ought to be doing.
I think about my relationship with God and how I fail, the most epic of ways. I think about my family, and how I neglect them in such times; how I turn to them only when I need help. I think about all the pressure and stress I place on others - their anxiety and worry.
It is at times like these when I realise that the value of my existence does not lie in what I do or who I think I am. Instead it is because I am "made in the image of God" (Gen 1:27). This is the reason why even the most worthless of lives in the eyes of the world are loved in God's eyes. What people see as trash, He sees as treasure. What we cast away, He draws back.
What else have I to say?
I am deeply encouraged to remember that the Lord says: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3) Knowing it makes that significant difference that I am indeed, not who I think I am, but who I am made to be.
In one of his sermons, Ravi Zacharias points out that what we do or what we see ourselves as does not make us who we are. Instead, who we are truly depends on what God sees through his eyes. It is who we ought to be. (paraphrased) That is the definition of our self. Who is it I ought to be? The likeness of Christ.
This I know: I am a child of God. (John 1:12-13) Not because I deserve to be one, but because He has graciously and mercifully allowed me to. You can be a child of God too, you may even already be one. It is in believing and being consciously aware of who you are in His eyes and who He is in yours. I truly wish to live this sort of life, not only in full awareness but in full and total acknowledgement of that very fact. That, to me, makes all the difference. Not what I do.
Lesson 2: What/who truly defines you? Is it what you think it is, or what really is?
I have more to say, but there is a time for everything. I apologise for my incoherent thoughts. Today's post may be slightly emotional, but I believe that this is what the truth is. I hope that somehow or in some inexplicable way I have ministered to you, or made you think. Forgive me, if I may be wrong and of course, you are free to disagree.
Coming back to the point, however,
perhaps the crux of what I would like to say today is this:
My name is Joshua Teng, I am a child of God, being formed into His true likeness. Nothing else matters as much.
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