We just ended our Missional Month sermon series and it was apt that the closing song to wrap up the entire month was a song of vision and repentance – i.e., starting with the end in sight, closing with a call of repentance. I believe that our Deacon Ronald Wong chose this song intentionally, desiring to stir us up to be willing to go beyond our comfort zones and live sold-out lives for Jesus.
I cannot help but think that the whole month can be summed up in one question:
Do we genuinely love God and people?
Ps Ben Lee left us with a call to love God with all your heart and from there; to honour our parents and live worthily of our children’s honour.
Mr Sydney Witbooi shared stories of how God’s gospel of love transforms lives and how we need to be those authentic messengers filled with love.
Mr Marcus Chua gave us practical tips on loving our neighbours through A.B.C.: Attire, Behaviour and Customs.
Deacon Ronald Wong reminded us that Jesus had compassion for the lost. Do we have that as we carry out His mission?
Do we genuinely love?
It is no coincidence then that as we enter into Romans 14 these next couple of weeks, the exhortation to us is to love our brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ so much, that our own freedom and rights become secondary. In my own personal devotion time, Francis Chan posed two questions that really got me reflecting:
(i)How hard do you think about loving your fellow Christians?
(ii)How hard do you think about the lost?
I know I have a long way more to go in genuinely loving God and others. More often than I would like to admit, my love can be so flippant, swayed by the ever changing winds of my emotions and circumstances. What I need, what we need perhaps, is to take heart in Christ and press on in desiring to love. To keep our eyes and live in the light of eternity – when the King of glory will come down in fire – and in the here and now, to pray this song of repentance as we pursue and press on in Christlikeness.
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
By Adrian Ow, Assistant Pastor (YCKC Bulletin 4&5 November 2017)