Skip to main content

The Purpose of Movement

 


I’ve been contemplating my decision to move out of Cedar for almost a year. Is this the right timing, and am I going to the right place? A previous negative experience kept gnawing at me every now and then, and I wasn’t completely at peace. It didn’t help that the last half a year at Cedar was absolutely wonderful, leaving me wondering if I should have stayed longer. 

God finally spoke to me during church camp. Much as I have been doing well and have been effective where I am, things are becoming “automatic”. Where I used to pray instinctively because I wasn’t entirely sure how to get through to a student, I have been more prone to rely on my experience as a first response, before going to God, if at all. When we are doing well, when we are in our comfort zone, it is easy for God to drop out of the picture, and we risk spiritual stagnation. 

In the comfort of the garden of Eden, lacking nothing, Adam and Even fell. In the safety of Pharoah’s court, Moses committed murder. In the glory of his victories, David gave in to adultery. In the wealth of Sodom, Lot was corrupted. 

On the other hand, it’s in the wilderness, on the move, in their moments of need, that great men and women of the Bible met God. At the age of 75, Abraham was called to move out of the comfort of his home, before he received the blessing to be the father of many nations. Joseph was displaced from his home, and it was in the desperation of his slavery and imprisonment, that the foundations were laid for him to later rise to be Pharoah’s No. 2. Paul, with the power of the Sanhedrin, persecuted Christians. But it was in his many missionary journeys that he truly received the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. 

As I move out of my own comfort zone, I become keenly aware of my own inadequacies. I rediscover the need for renewed grace from God, and experience new mercies, because I am again vulnerable. For His strength is made perfect in my weakness. God in Christ became like us, so that we in Christ might become like God. However, our journey to become like God takes more than beholding the image of Christ. It requires continuous training, and spiritual blindness can return if we are not careful. This church camp, God is saying to me, “It's time to go”, and He will go before me. It's time for me to move, so that I may continue in the journey of transfiguration. 

Jesus's call to "Come follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men" (Matt 4:19) is an invitation to leave our place of comfort to follow Him and go where He may lead. Jesus’s own ministry started when he moved out of Nazareth. In fact, he also said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matt 8:20). My master is on a permanent road trip. So perhaps I should be too.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pray without ceasing

Earlier this year, during the lead-up to Easter, I received a text from an ex-student from the class of 2021 who had joined the young adult cell I am helping out at, “Me and PT are praying for the cell thing, you’re on my list for tmr! Pls lmk how i can pray for you…” I first bumped into this ex-student when I found her crying near the music room over an audition. Never in a million years could I foresee this happening. In her words, “it’s almost like the roles are swapped.” At that time, I felt richly blessed, and utterly amazed by how God works.  I did not make much of that incident, except to remark to my wife that it was the second ex-student whom God had sent to surprise me.  Last year, I invited another ex-student whom I taught in 2008 to attend my cell group. I happened to share about the upcoming move to a new school and how uncertain I felt. The ex-student offered to pray for me, and I felt very touched. It was as if God understood caregiver fatigue, and was sending t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Till we meet again

Lyndon was my Bible Quiz coach when I was a new Christian in 2nd Coy, and laid the foundation for my spiritual life. When he later switched camp to 60th, I took over as 2nd's coach and battled my former mentor. It was friendly rivalry and we would share training materials. The boys probably didn't know about it, but must have wondered why the opponents behaved so similarly. The title fight was mostly just between the two schools every year, and the championship trophy stayed with KKMC, the sponsoring church for both coys, for 7 years.  Lyndon was also the first person who taught me about missions, and equipped me for my first mission trip to the Lahu. Being a blunt young man, I remember asking him why being so qualified, he chose not to be ordained as a pastor, but served as a Lay Ministry staff in church. He humbly replied that it was his calling to do so. And I soon understood why as I witnessed his gift in missions planning, equipping and keeping in touch with t...
Post a Comment
Read more