Vanity Fair

Most of you will be familiar with the contemporary American magazine of the above name.  It regularly talks about culture, fashion and politics.

I was very surprised to find the same name in The Pilgrim's Progress, a Christian allegory of one man's search for eternal life.  Allow me to side track for a while.  It is a wonderfully crafted story by John Bunyan that traces the difficult journey of one man's journey in salvation.  I'm about halfway through the book and already there have been many precious reminders and fresh perspectives into the faith we call Christianity.  Here's one of those lessons from Vanity Fair...

The main character Christian enters a town together with a friend, Faithful.

 

"...they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town isVanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair. It is kept all the year long. It beareth the name of Vanity Fair, because the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity; and also, because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither, is vanity, as is the saying of the wise, All that cometh is vanity."

"Therefore at this fair are all such merchandise sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honours, preferments, titles; countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures; and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not."

Amidst the psychedelic bedlam, Christian and Faithful were not liked by the people of Vanity for these 3 reasons:

1. Christian and Faithful (the pilgrims) were clothed with a different kind of raiment, from that which was sold at the Fair.

2. They spoke differently as people of Canaan, as compared to the men of this world that ran the Fair.

3. The pilgrims had little regard for the merchandise available.

In addition, they sought only to 'buy the truth' when asked what they would like to purchase.

Maybe it was the setting of the story, maybe it was because I was reading this along busy and colourful Orchard Road but I was alarmed by the story. There were so many, many of the merchandise available at Vanity Fair that I hunger for.  I asked myself if I'm distinct enough from the world that I live in that people know I'm a Christ follower, as Christian and Faithful were.  And then I realised something else.

I can look different and speak different.  (See Reasons 1 & 2)  External appearances are easy to maintain.  Yet I can't say that I have little regard for the merchandise available.  Conviction to do anything pleasing to God comes from having a renewed understanding that cleaves to my soul.  Perhaps as a Christian, I struggle with so many things because my understanding is 'separate' from me.  My understanding and I can live separately!

This is why I continue to sin with little regard for God - His will for me, His pleasure and His character.  This is why I continue to hunger for material/temporal things - spiritual things do not appeal to me because of the low value I attach to them.

Please pray with me that the Lord will be gracious and merciful, in transforming my mind to understand and for my soul to hunger deeply for the things that please Him. (Rom 12:2) May we be like Faithful, who suffered and died in the town of Vanity standing up for his faith, becaused he knew deeply, that there is no earthly comparison for the good that is waiting for him with Jesus Christ.  

I only wish I knew how to describe the incomparable way Christian and Faithful knew.

Waxing Lyrica*

On the issue of pain, I found this picture on a website that talks about a certain kind of pain that diabetic patients feel.  I can't even imagine what it feels like to be in pain like that.  

With the exception of cold cold days, I have been feeling much better these days, with the help of physio and rest. Interestingly though, the moment I stepped into my doc's office today for a review, I felt a familiar pain down my right thigh. 

Anyway, this is what she prescribed me. These are pills to lessen the pain that one gets from nerve irritation. Technically there's nothing on my nerves now, since the prolapsed disc has been removed of sorts.  Still, my body is hurting due to prolonged irritation of some nerves.

Hopefully this works soon because the side effects include drowsiness and weight gain!

And I really don't know why these pills are sold under the name 'Lyrica'. Sounds almost like lozenges for sore-throaters. 

Helium Balloons, Adjectives and Noun Premodifiers

I was so close to wheezing today that I just had to blog about it even though this blog was never really meant as one to document such things.

Last week I was out with my favourite naughty girl whose name is Ern See.  She's Moo Dean's and Sulian's daughter for those who know them.  I can't remember how but we were walking around with a silver helium balloon and I was telling her -  

"Ern See, this is a helium balloon.  It's not ordinary air inside.  That's why it's flying!" 

 I felt pretty happy to be part of her education process.  She repeated the word 'helium' quite many times.  It's not everyday a 2 year old learns about helium properties anyway.

Today I went out with her again and this time she had a pink ballon affixed to a stick, one that could not float on its own.  So I decided to test her.

"Ern See, is this a helium ballon?"

She looked smilingly at me holding her pink balloon and said - 

"No."

I was elated and very quickly followed up with a "Well done!".

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I heard a small voice from around my left knee saying -

"Uncle Randy, it is a pink balloon."

You just cannot beat the kids.

Our Good & Gracious God

Today, I met one of my oldest Christian student for bible study.  Tonight was really special and here's why.

I remember when I met him 3 years ago.  It was over a very strange lunch encounter.  Asking him to order lunch was very challenging because we did not know he was trying to save money and not eat.  The next 2 years were a combination of drum lessons, basic Christian foundation and discipline bible studies as well as trying to 'play catching' with him.  I use the term 'play catching' to mean that it was not easy to secure his commitment to service in Parts or to learn from the Word of God.  

Our Creator and Provider is indeed gracious.  He has never failed to allow me to continue meeting up with this dear student of mine.  There was one very sad episode where I knew the student was struggling but was not open to receive help but through prayer and continual care, the Lord allowed different staff in YFC to maintain contact with him.

Over this year, he asked for a break from serving with Parts, to concentrate on building his faith through lessons with a church mentor, to learn to serve God with a right perspective to his salvation.  What really encouraged me was him sharing the many lessons he has been learning.  I see his thirst for good Christian literature and tonight's bible study was actually a result of him wanting to learn how to do bible study, to grow to maturity in Christ.  This comes from a boy who was afraid to study the bible because he has a slightly weaker command of the English Language.  

Sometimes I wonder how much effort should I give to chase after a new student, to befriend him (with an agenda of course haha), to grow him in his understanding of his faith and the gospel and to involve him in service in YFC.  This is with the understanding that we have other students/volunteers to minister to as well as projects and programs that we are involved with.

A once very dear friend of mine once said that YFC people are very task-oriented.  It hurt but it got me thinking.  In fact I still think about the statement today, especially when I'm hurting and discouraged and tired and losing my focus and asked to seemingly 'sacrifice' so much for kingdom work.  Just why do I/we seem so concerned about doing things, at this intensity, at this level of commitment?

We studied the idea of worship from Gen 22 tonight and we read how Abraham willingly bound his son in preparation to slay him in obedience to God's instructions.  Isaac was very precious to him and yet Abraham understood that his precious son was provided by the Lord.  We are only able to give because we have been given much.  I think if we are truly God's people who love what He loves and are heart-broken by things that break His, we will look at the change in a person's life and never even remember our own part in 'giving' or 'sacrificing' to the Lord.

I think the wonderful work that our good and gracious God has done in and through me for this one dear student is affirmation enough to my questions about being 'task-oriented'.  Let me reiterate that it is our good and gracious God who is working. Let us never be shamefully audacious to ever think otherwise.

Bintan Bedside/Beachside Maundering

Yes,  I couldn't find a b-word replacement for 'rambling'. Oh well. Here's some stuff I penned down while resting in Bintan. Will share more as I remember more.

Rom 8:18-39 BUT FOR A MOMENT

Today, the world has several takes on the idea of suffering.

Some people, like my dad, wonder why a good God would allow suffering.  Some others remain apathetic in their own material security while many believe blindly in gods of this age in the hope of escaping suffering.  Some, choose to indulge in the hopelessness of their situation by giving up the use of their mental faculties, by giving up knowledge of what is good, ending in self-mutilation to render themselves numb to the pain of the circumstances they go through. 

On a side note, self-mutilation scares me.  When I see or hear of people who bear the scars of their self-imposed injuries, it strikes me as something very unnatural.  They have chosen to impose on themselves unnecessary pain in order to escape other kinds of hurt they feel.  As a fellow human being, I cannot understand the how and why.  Romans 1 tells us however, we ought not to be surprised by such things.  God has given people up to impurity, to dishonorable passions and to debased minds (v24, 26, 28) because they did not see fit to acknowledge God.

Contrast all of these to what the Word says about suffering, as Christians.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." ~Rom 1:18

The sufferings of this world and age, strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time. The sufferings of this world and age, strike no deeper than mortal flesh, has no effect whatever on our immortal souls that belong in the hands of God.

We need to understand the preciousness of the glory that awaits us.  The bible calls us sons of God reflecting immediately the relationship we share with our Creator God and Abba Father. (v19) As created being, we will be fully adopted as sons and our imperfect bodies will be redeemed. (v20) We will be like Christ, co-heirs with Him in the kingdom to come. (v29)

Yet, in the pragmatic world that we live in, we are terrified of suffering.  There is physical pain, tight finances, lack of time and in a very real sense, a struggle with not having what others have when we choose to be full-time disciples of Christ.  This struggle is real and perhaps this is why some are living in manner that suggests that our first and foremost calling as Christians is an option.  I would suggest that the option lies in how we view suffering.   

Christ our Lord knew about suffering intimately.  God gave Him up for us and at Calvary, Christ knew suffering that none of us will come close to understanding.  He was God and yet apart from God when the sins of the world was placed on Him to bear.  As Christians, we have a Lord that has suffered for us even before we were called to share in His sufferings. 

In this context, perhaps some of us may need to rethink what suffering is.  I personally find it hard to compare my ‘sacrifices’ with the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  (I find it harder to even use the word sacrifice to describe my feeble attempts to give up things for the sake of the gospel) But really, the big question is who would be afraid to suffer for Christ if we understand that He was before us and with us in suffering?

Paul wrote this section of his letter to encourage Christians to make a deliberate and conscious decision to pursue the future glory, not as people who seek to merit it but as people who have knowledge and certainty of the goodness that is to come.  Let us view the hardship, unhappiness and aches that continue to afflict us in the light of the glory to come, the glory of sonship.  Indeed, He has made all things beautiful in His time.  (Ecc 3:11) 

I'm trying very hard to think

We kid around in office a lot and very often, my brain is the subject of amusement. Please do not misunderstand. My friends are good-natured but really, I digest things really slowly.  I can sit in a meeting and be lost after ten minutes, trying to swallow what was said and try to regurgitate something helpful and intelligent.

Yet, as I grow in the Christian faith, I've been exhorted time and again to think, biblically about seemingly mundane or everyday things.  Also, I've been inspired of late by two books 'This Is My Father's World' and 'He Speaks To Me Everywhere', titles taken from the lines of my favourite hymn. They are collections of devotionals, written to Christians about the world and culture we live in today.

Hence, I have decided, against my better sense, to start a blog, to make sure I think and to practise my writing.  

Hopefully, it will benefit Christians who read this blog - that they may be strengthened in their faith and encouraged to think.

Hopefully, it will spark off something in the minds of non-Christians who stumble upon the blog.

Hopefully my pentium-1 brain will upgrade itself to intel quad core capability, before our Lord returns.

Till then, we live in our Father's world.  As we grow in awareness of God's character and standards through His creation, let us sharpen one another, as iron sharpens iron. (Proverbs 27:17)

Ministry Update November 2007