Faith in God's faithfulness

Dear cell, one of the cell members recently shared with me on question one of our workbook, how do the thoughts and ways of man compare with that of God’s? I find the views expressed illuminating and provoking. One of the points shared about God captured the essence of what it means to be Christian. The point was that God is the rock of offense. With uncanny insight, the cell member said that God offends all of us. Of course, this standalone statement appears offensive to most Christians; but it was elaborated further. The explanation came as such, “Any Christian must surely know that God is love so how can He possibly offend us? He offends us when He chooses the lowly and despised to do His work. He offends us when He breaks into our well-established world, shatters our comfort zone and as one author puts it aptly, “God offends the mind to reveal the heart.”


You can take “offence” to mean God’s testing so as to separate “the wheat from the chaff.” Or, it can mean, for me, God’s chastisement, His discipline. In line with this interpretation is Job 5:17-18, “Blessed is the man who God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds but He also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.”


Many Christians forget that following Jesus means suffering with Him. The discipline of suffering is the key to the discipline of obedience. This, I know, I have to explain. But first, let me challenge you with this statement: Show me a man or woman who is willing to and has suffered for God, and I will show you a true Christian worth his salt. When they say, God’s love will not let us go, it means just that. God will challenge us to change, correct us whenever needed and mould and shape us continually - however resisting we are to his masterful hands. The more we resist, the more painful the process will be for us. Therefore, God’s love will not let us go…unchanged, unwrought, unrepentant. Ultimately, we will know when God is done with us. When we see no more of ourselves, and all of God, then we will know that the process is near completion and our obedience is near perfection.


No earthly parents I know will knowingly allow their children to grow up a rebel; childishly unheeding and immature. It hurts the parents more to see a child growing up wayward or deviant. When the opportunity avails itself, earthly parents spare not the cane. And we all know that the cane brings on the pain. But however painful the discipline may be, it is one that our parents know they cannot do without. Hebrews 12:10-11 is a worthy savor for your thoughts, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”


This is where the mind of God becomes hard to fathom. God’s discipline sometimes seem unremittingly excessive, and at some point, very harsh, painful and intolerantly perplexing. To those going through trials in their life, the cell member has this thought for you…God is good but He is not nice. Again, this statement is provoking and rather serious; but truth, as true believers know it, is usually served with no apology. Becoming a Christian is not like joining a country club. The membership, as a Christian, does have its privileges but not in the way country club members would have it. Jesus has called us to think carefully the cost of discipleship. Although there is no membership fees, Jesus’ disciples follow a strict regimen of abstinence, self-denial and a whole lot of cross-lifting. If I may sum up the “fine print” of being a Christian, it should read, “…if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) So much for divine niceties!

Death is the ultimate price for being a Christian. At the same time, it is its own ultimate reward. I know death is too morbid a thought for most Christians to ponder upon, especially during this CNY season. But to a man who is prepared to die for God, even to the most gruesome end, what reservation does he have to suffer for God? All eleven disciples of Jesus knew the cost and they gave their lives for God regardless. Such acts are rare nowadays. Even professing that you are ready to die for God is not advisedly popular in today’s Christian circles. The prosperity gospel, as Brother James puts it, is off-putting to say the least. Nowadays, Christians have their limit as to how far they would want to go with God. I call this limit, the “inconvenience barometer.” Our offerings are no more than what Cain would have given to God. The best offerings are usually left for ourselves and we give God our leftovers, sparing only those harvests of effort and time that inconvenient us the least. And here is the real issue of suffering for us Christians: the more we are prepared to die for God, the least our sufferings for Him will cost us. And the least it costs us, the more we rejoice in suffering for God!


Our own sufferings will cost us most, even to the extent of us giving up our faith and salvation, when we are least prepared to carry the cross daily, to deny ourselves and to follow Jesus unconditionally. How do we see our own mortality? How much weight do we give it as compare to the reality of Jesus’ promises of a heaven that knows no guilt, no pain and no shame? Simply put, if we value our mortality more than the life thereafter, then we would readily trade our belief and faith for transient relief should the inconvenience that we experience as a Christian exceed that which we are willing to bear. And believe you me, Christians who believe for belief’s sake and know not the depth of God’s love or the price of Christ’s sacrifice are easily swayed by doubts, temptations and deceit. Their foundation is seriously compromised and their faith is built on sinking sand and not upon the Rock of Ages.


I see our walk with God as two-stage. The first stage starts with the ceremonious altar call or when we utter the sinner’s prayer. This is where we as Christians learn to be Christ-like. This is a learning process and we are most vulnerable to waver. At this stage, we still have remnants of ourselves. We are still independent of God – still try wanting to do things our way, still wanting to understand God with our carnal mind, and still clinging on to sins of the past.

The second stage comes through years of discipline and learning. It is the stage of Christian maturity. This is the stage where our faith is most resilient, our knowledge of God the deepest and our trust in Him is almost weather-proof. This is also the stage where Christian martyrs are made of. Although we cannot say that we have arrived, we can proclaim that we are effectively dead to ourselves and alive with Christ. It is at this stage of Christian maturity that we are most effective in doing His works. When our self is gone, our independence goes with it too. We become empty vessels for God’s filling. St Augustine once said, “God always pours His grace into empty hands.” It is when we truly let go and let God that we are then able to deal with the issue of suffering in a world where a loving God is still in control. Somehow, our faith remains unwavering even in the midst of pain and suffering. Our joy is secured in the face of adversity. And our hope mysteriously grows stronger when hopelessness exacts its toll on our spirit. At this seemingly invulnerable stage, we are able to say what Job said, “Even though you slay me, I will still trust in you.”

So, in the end, to a matured Christian, to a Christian who had his fair share of trials and tribulation, to a Christian who has died to himself, the question to be asked is NOT, “why is there still suffering in a world where God is all-loving, all-just and all-powerful?” The question asked by this exclusive group of matured Christian is, “Why not?” Why not suffering when its duration is but temporary and its reward eternal? Much intangible benefits can be reaped from suffering as James 1:2-4 puts it, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your fait develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” True joy can only be savored through trials as 1 Peter 1:7-8 puts it, “These (all kinds of trials) have come so that you faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine a may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Finally, as we die to self, we come alive to his resurrection power. On this last point, I will allow Henri Nouwen to take us home with this quote, “In the kingdom, you can only heal if you have first been wounded; you can only lead if you have first been a servant, and the way we are wounded to heal, humbled to serve, is when we allow nails to be driven through ourselves, so that we die, and God’s resurrection power is unleashed through us!”

So, in summary, two kinds of faith distinguish two kinds of Christians. While the immature Christian asks, "Why? the mature Christian asks, "Why not?" While the 1st stage Christian exercises bubble-gum faith, that is, the kind that burst when under pressure, the 2nd stage Christian exercises resilient faith - one that grows stronger despite the pressure. And lastly, while babes in Christ wallows and finally gives up in the midst of a trial, the authentic Christian rejoices his way to the cross of ultimate sacrifice. In the end, asking the right questions when facing your crisis can completely change the direction of your walk with God. So, here's a thought for your digest this CNY: Have faith in God's faithfulness and not yours.

Have a God-inspired CNY!

2009 greetings

Happy New Year to all. Thanks for all your support for the past few years. Our cell has indeed grown in ways we can all be proud of. Let’s intensify our effort and do not be weary in doing God’s work as it is a depression-proof investment for eternity and the “dividends” you get is personal intrinsic growth (that is, growth of character and spirit). Let’s make 2009 a year of radical changes. Let’s smile more. Let’s give more. Let’s love without self agenda. Let’s stop over-thinking. Let’s eradicate the one and only roadblock to being the person God wants us to be: monotony.

Let’s deal actively with monotony. This is a self-defeatist attitude. Or, what I call a “wallpaper” life. We must be wary of living our life in an autopilot mode. This mode of living can happen to anyone of us. It creeps in like a bad virus and stays with us without us even knowing it. A wallpaper life is an uninspired life. People who live such a life are numbed to availing opportunities. They are so stuck in the insidious groove of monotony that they remain average joneses all their life, not amounting to anything, and are just maintaining the status quo.
Monotony can strike in all areas of our lives. We become victim of monotony when we see our work as a task to be completed. We busy ourselves just so that time could pass us by. We go through the motion of work without aspiring to make it meaningful. This is also a punch-card mentality. We punch in and out of work and return home just so that we can do it all over again the next day and the next day is no different from the day after that.

In our services and worship to God, we jump over the same mechanical hoops. We become Sunday Christians. We warm the pews, karaoke a chorus of “feel-good” songs, listen obligatorily to sermons from the pulpit and return home paying token efforts to living out biblical values. The modest efforts usually pale in comparison to the excitement of our first conversion at the altar when our fire for God seems almost unquenchable. Somehow, along the journey, we become distracted and lost sight of why we became a Christian. The fire was doused out by us and what was left is cold wet offering to God.

A philosopher, Fredrick Nietzsche, once said, “He who has a why to live for can bear with any how.” To fight monotony, we need to inject our life and activities with renewed meaning. This has to be done on a weekly basis. We need to recharge and revitalize ourselves. Some of us have been living for years on an autopilot mode. For me, I have been living on two gear shifts: auto and manual. And I am far from satisfied with it. I write this letter to remind myself that this year 2009 has to be a year of difference. If not for my own sake, it has to be for my family and your sake. I do not want to go on in my work and spiritual life on a mechanical mass-assembly line system. I do not want to live this year just like the year before it, that is, going through the motion of Christianity, paying lip service to Christian principles and working just for the pay cheque.

There has to be something more than just attending church every weekend and singing a few songs before the message is preached. There has to be something more than just wearing my tie and coat and advocating for clients without empathizing with their daily struggles to make ends meet. How about you? Are there areas in your life you wish to do a little better? Is there room for improvement? The answers to these questions are obvious. I do not think we would say “no” to them. Unless our life is perfect or subjectively deemed perfect, we can definitely do better in almost every areas of our life. Of course, I am not advocating that we drop everything and go to Africa to spread the good news to the tribes and villages. Neither am I saying that we quit our job tomorrow and apply for jobs we have always dreamed of doing. For me, I always wanted to be a journalist or a writer. But the time, in my view, may not be right to zip up my argumentative mouth for a notepad and pen.

Ultimately, I want to live my life with no or as minimal regrets as possible. You should aspire to do the same. In relationships, I want to do my best to leave a positive legacy for my children, spouse and friends. In my work, I want to get out of my personal ego-seat and go to the other side of the fence to see how my words and actions impact my client’s lives for God. At work, it is not just about getting by, making it to the end of the month or meeting the year end quota or sales. It has to be about lives and how I influence them for the better. In my faith, I want to exercise Christ-likeness. I want every areas of my life to be saturated with the character of Christ. I want to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bearing with each other and forgiving whatever grievances I may have against one another. (Col. 3:12-13) Ephesians 3:17-19 put it well, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all fullness of God.”

Here is a practical suggestion to gradually removing the roadblock of monotony in your life: making radical changes to regular daily task. Let us make 2009 a year of dedicated and committed efforts to live without regrets. Let’s be radical with our efforts to change every aspect of our lives starting with the most routine, most basic and most simplistic. Let’s not jump the gun and fight grand demons before we can wield the sword. Let’s not run before we can walk. For me, 2009 would be a year whereby I would read to my children. This may not sound great or radical but to do this consistently, without exceptions and with the sincerest efforts, my first struggle is with the demon of inconsistency. I want to make a difference in my children’s lives and I have been inconsistent in reading to them. I gave a lot of excuses for breaking the consistency. So, the radical change here is a long and enduring commitment to stick with it and seeing how my consistent efforts influence their lives over the years for the better. The reward is not immediately visible but I believe it is quietly accumulating for the grand payoff at the end of their adolescence.

In my faith, I want to internalize the word of God. I used to be very ambitious when it came to memorizing scriptures. When I was in doing my National Service, I could recite about 200 scriptures at one go. But I realized that it did me little good spiritually. It was rote learning and not life transforming. Essentially, I had not spared the time to meditate and put them to practice. As Ephesians put it, I was unable to comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the meaning of the scriptures. So, I remained very much untouched by the word of God.

A wise man once said, “it is dangerous to learn truth at a faster rate than we can practise it.” It is also said that if you read too fast, you believe too little. This was my personal experience in the past. Therefore, the radical change in this aspect of my life is to take my time to digest scriptures and to apply them in my life. In turn, I want to use them to impact lives. I want to start with my wife first. I want to live a more patient life. I want to be more gentle, self-controlled and positive. I want to build relationships. And if I can’t demonstrate Christ-likeness to people closest to me, then I would only be a hypocrite if I demonstrate Christ-likeness to others. So, it starts with my wife and children and spreads out to everyone else and not the other way round.

2009 has to be a year of change. Beloved, is there a book that you have always wanted to read? Or, a trip to some special place that you have always wanted to go with your family? Is there an aspect of your character that you have always wanted to change for the better? Do you wish to have more control over your temper, your finances and your time? Is there a sin you are dealing with that hinders you from growing closer to God? If there is, this is the time to take full responsibility and to make the commitment to change. Nothing says it better than to start to make changes at the beginning of the year. Share with your loved ones about your radical commitment to change your life for God and make sure you make the consistent effort to follow through. Let’s work together to sharpen one another in the cell group, meeting regularly and upholding each other in prayer and faith. Let’s make 2009 a year to remember. Let’s make it the year of our turnaround. Let’s make it a year we can look back and say, “That was the year I decided to follow Jesus.”

Let me inspire you with a passage taken from Victor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, “…the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him? “No thank you,” he will think. “Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud of, though these are things which cannot inspire envy.”

So, let us attack the problems of life actively. Make every day count for God. Let’s jot down “I’ve done my utmost for God and family” on the back of every successive leaf of the calendar as we tear one page off and prepare for the next. Let us live consciously and mindfully and be able to stand back every night knowing deep inside that our accumulative choices for the day have drawn us a little closer to God and a little further from our self.

Have a really good year…this time, it will be different from the last.