May 2009

Dear Evangelites and Friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Recent events have aroused two often-heard comments from Christians in Singapore:

• “It will be more and more challenging to be a Christian.”
• “It will be more and more difficult to bring up children and build up families in the way of God.”

The Bible in the very beginning has already forewarned us to expect such ills. We read of these from the biblical record of the birth of pagan society in Gen 4:17-26.

After he murdered his brother Abel, Cain was sentenced by God to restless wandering. No one could kill him, but he would always live with his guilty conscience, never feeling at home and safe.

Though Cain was a rebel against God, he prospered! As the population grew rapidly, Cain built a city (v. 17). It was a self-protection measure since he lived in fear of being hunted down by others. At a deeper level, it was rebellion against God who sentenced him to wander the earth. Cain defied God when he built a city to settle down with his own people. It was a pagan city in that people there lived apart from God and in the absence of His guidance.

But the city prospered. That pagan society was marked by growth, expansion, construction of roads, homes and buildings. Life was full of hustle and bustle as the wilderness was cleared away and the first city in biblical record was laid out.

As years rolled on, subsequent generations in that city became increasingly corrupted. A descendant of Cain by the name of Lamech decided to marry two women. He violated God’s original design for marriage to be between one man and one woman. He became the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible. Apparently, such acts were tolerated and seen as a sign of sophisticated liberation.

The godless delusion continues. That pagan society prided itself on making great progress—from agriculture to fine arts to industries (vv. 20-22). The people were challenged to think, to create, to develop, to experiment, to dream, to dare, and to explore new fields.

In the midst of all this apparent advancement, we see a frightening decline in moral standard. Lamech killed a young man who injured him—it was a life for a wound. And he even had the audacity to sing that he would get revenge 77 times if anyone would try to harm him in return (vv. 23-24). Lamech boasted that he could even get away with murder! His generation marked the height of self-indulgence and unrestrained violence. They left God out of the picture.

However, God did not leave Himself with no witnesses. Seth and Enoch came into the picture. They took their faith in God seriously and sought Him through prayer and worship (vv. 25-26). In those dark days, a faithful remnant stood up and said, “We belong to the Lord. We live by His values. We follow His Word!”       

From the very beginning, the godless generally lead the larger society. Yet God never leaves Himself without a witness. Christian witnesses need to understand that never will the society be entirely Christian, but with the Christian influence, it can be better when believers …

• build godly families;
• proclaim the Lord’s Name;
• live as salt and light in the larger society.

The world will not love us because of who we are and what we represent in Christ. But may the Lord’s words strengthen us: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (Jn 15:18); “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).

Church history has revealed that those who had stood up for Christ were often hated and wounded by the world. It is still the same today. But may He help us press on to make a difference for Him, starting with our immediate sphere of influence. And if we are hated and wounded for doing this, may we be comforted that we are loved and exalted by Him who has died for the world. Indeed, He had been there before—as He stood before the hostile crowd, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” They judged Him to die that day. He would return to judge them one day. Victory will belong to the Lord in the end.

The theme of this year’s church camp is “Discipleship in Real-World Living.” My prayer is that it will be a time of renewal and restoration as we pull away from the hustle and bustle of the city to draw strength from the Lord and encouragement from one another. We all need it in times like these.

I look forward to this time together with the Lord and you.

A Fellow Pilgrim,
Pastor John

Tel: 6749-2990 (O) 9789-2414 (HP) Email: johnyuencw@gmail.com