Day 7 was really a good time of fellowship. We changed our Satay by the Bay Day to a Frisbee game at the Botanical Gardens. I was really glad that most of us were there to spend quality time with each other (although some of us had thought of catching a movie instead hehe..). After sweating buckets, we went to Food-for-Thought for a wonderful dinner.
After having a wonderful dinner, we started chating a little. Our group was pretty small, only Nicholas, Adriel, Grace and I, and we asked each others’ opinion on random questions posed to us by our friends, or people we knew. For example, the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Can non-Christians display the fruits of the Spirit i.e. Love, joy, peace etc?
Of course, the answer is no. Then the next question was, why? What's the difference? Of course we had a wonderful discussion but what struck me was not so much about the answer but rather where these questions came from.
This particular question was posed by one of our Secondary 1 Sunday school students. The question was "Why do you say that only Christians can have the fruits of the Spirit when non-Christians can love, find joy and peace?" Most of us, being leaders in our ministries would be constantly exposed to these kind of questions while we serve (especially those who are teaching). And I believe that it is our duty to guide them in the right direction to find out the truth. And we can only do this if we ourselves know where to and how to find these answers. Most importantly, how would the answer have an impact on how live our lives as children of God?
We will never be able to be fully prepared for every question that would be coming our way however, the way we engage these questions reflect our understanding of the Bible as well as the way we live every day.
Interestingly, Rev. Tan Tiong Ann was talking about Christian Living the very next day. Many people just look at facet of Christian living as doctrines, looking for instructions. Hence, we fail to appreciate the totality of Christ.
Most of our understanding of Christ seems to stop at His death and resurrection from the cross. What we need to be reminded is that He lived up to what the Father wanted, practically perfect in every way. We are called to be united in Him and He in us, and therefore are also called to keep and uphold the abundance that Christ has given us.
We should not be creating a false dichotomy between theology of Christ and practical living. Our understanding of who Christ is, IS the foundation of how we live. It is reminder for me about how my perception may actually hinder what I learn. The next time I feel that a particular passage isn't speaking to me, perhaps it would be time to look closer, what does it tell me about who God is, how this would change my way of living. Knowing that the Holy Spirit works through me is encouraging and gives us power to never stop living as Christ did.
Joshua Xie
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