Introduction
The open-ended nature of this final assignment provides aplenty freedom and space to discuss a large range of issues explored in the past 3 weeks of STEP e.g. the various denominations in Christianity, the ideologies and practices of Presbyterian theology, and the history of John Calvin. However, given my doubts about being familiar and well-versed enough to examine these dense fields, I have instead decided to write about certain lessons and revelations from these topics, and how they can be suitably applied to my own walk with God.
The Relevance of the Protestant Reformation Today
Frankly speaking, the idea of studying our Presbyterian roots never spoke out to me - before starting STEP, the names of Martin Luther and our Roman Catholic church origins were vaguely familiar, yet I did not really see the need to know much about them. The entire trajectory of our Presbyterian history seemed too complex and heavy; besides, I would rather take the effort needed to study the past and invest it in my own relationship with God at this present moment instead. However, having been consistently exposed to figures like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Guillaume Farel throughout the past 3 weeks eventually shed light on the importance of studying our Presbyterian history. As Aidan Chambers puts, “History dies without the present. There is no future without the path made to it by the past”, which served to highlight to me how the Protestant Reformation was a catalyst that sparked a revolution and birthed a whole new denomination and organization of Christians i.e. without it, we Presbyterian wouldn’t be here today. It is important to know where we came from and how we started, for it shapes the structure of the church as well as the differences in emphasis in doctrine. It essentially answers how and why we worship the way we do. Even seemingly mundane things today like the kind of worship songs we choose, how often we take the Holy Communion etc are practices and ideas that have been influenced by our history. Tracing back to our past has also led me to a deeper understanding and appreciation of my faith, in which I can say: I am proud to be Presbyterian, and I take pride in worshipping God the way I have been taught to.
Biblical Counselling - Everyone is Broken
Pastor Gideon Teo’s concept of “the three trees” was particularly interesting because it is fundamentally based on how everyone is a “bad tree” in the desert, but we are given shelter and the opportunity to flourish in this “heat” through the redemption of Jesus Christ. I like this analogy because it reinforces how everyone is a broken sinner, deserving of death on this earth - but Jesus has also promised that we are deserving of a second chance, and it is the duty of the elected (i.e. all believers) to lead and guide those who are still lost to the Cross. Biblical counselling is an optimal way to share the gospel with someone who is going through a rough time and to assure them there is a way out, but I personally find it difficult to share God’s Word with my non-believer friends. When they are opening up about their struggles for advice, I tend to withhold myself at the fifth step - the part where one comes to Christ for repentance - out of fear of judgement and rejection, e.g. in a distressed and difficult situation, perhaps the statement “Jesus can help us” may not be the practical or rational advice that my non-believer friends want to hear the most. In this sense, I feel it would be useful if the biblical counselling talk could explore more about how we can comfort our non-believer friends in a sensitive yet effective manner. Perhaps it is also duty on my part to reconcile my fear of judgement and rejection, to boldly live out my mission as a servant and “let [my] light shine before others, that they may see [my] good deeds and glorify [my] Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).
At times where the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, we can only pray that God opens up a window of opportunity to share His good works and love to others who have yet to see it; and in such times, may He give us the right words that we speak with empathy and grace toward those who are hurting, and steadfastly proclaim our faith all the same.
Linguistic Context and Language Differences
The many language translations of the Bible allow God’s Word to be disseminated and understood across the world. Initially I did not give much thought to this, but the talk at Trinity Theological College underscored the need to account for the Word in its original context. While only a few of us understand Greek/Hebrew, we must nevertheless consider the idea of translation as pivotal - it can either totally change the meaning of a word or verse, or help others understand God’s Word in greater depth. Given how the Bible is the best-selling book of all the time with more than 5 billion copies distributed in 636 languages, I find comfort that God’s Word has indeed withstood the trials of time and distance; truly, the “grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:25). We may all speak and read different translations, but the love in the Bible we’re reading about remains the same. We may all worship and praise in different languages, but the God who hears our prayers is constant.
This realisation also reminds me of the psychological phenomenon that language shapes the way we think (Boroditsky, 2018). Coming from a English presbytery myself, it was surprising to see so many fellow Christians from Chinese presbyteries in this STEP programme. It was an eye-opening experience, perhaps even somewhat of a culture shock, to watch and hear worship and prayers in Chinese simply because the expressions used were foreign concepts that I was not familiar with when it came to prayer and praise. Language is essentially “central to our experience of being human, and the languages we speak profoundly shape the way we think, the way we see the world, the way we live our lives” (Boroditsky, 2018). This fact is highly apparent to me given how I am so familiar with praying and worshipping in English that to suddenly do so in a different language made me feel awkward. It also does not help that I am not extremely fluent in Chinese, such that when I tried to pray in the language I immediately felt that the God I was talking to seemed distant and unfamiliar unexpectedly. It was as if there was some intangible barrier preventing me from conveying and expressing my true sentiments to God. While I had understood how language makes up a deep part of us being human, it never occurred to me how it could be so fundamental in our experience of God to such a large extent. Ultimately, this just serves to illustrate how everyone worships and praises God in our own distinct way.
Conclusion
Reflections aside, STEP has been life-changing in the sense that it has opened my eyes to understand and appreciate my faith to a greater depth. Being surrounded in a community of like-minded friends was also a comforting encouragement to persevere in my own journey with God. Even though everyone is facing their own struggles here, we are all walking with each other through the darkness, toward the hope and light at the end of the tunnel. The past 3 weeks have indeed offered a glimpse into what awaits in heaven - I’m thankful for STEP and this kingdom family, these brothers and sisters of Christ brought together and bonded by the love for Christ and wanting to serve for our Heavenly Father’s glory.
Works Cited
Teo, Gideon. “Biblical Counselling”. STEP 2018. STEP 2018, Singapore.
Trinity Theological College lecturers. “The Importance of Theological Education for Church Ministry and Social Engagement.” STEP 2018. STEP 2018, Singapore.
Polland, J. (2012, December 27). The 10 Most Read Books In The World [Infographic]. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-top-10-most-read-books-in-the-world-infographic-2012-12/?IR=T
Lera, Boriditsky. TED. (2018, May 2). How language shapes the way we think [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k
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