We have been so blest by God the Father who has given us Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer. He did this way before He created the world! When He created us, He knew that we will sin, yet because of His great love for us, He adopted us into His family through the work of His Son (Ephesians 1:4-6). As I was reflecting on this passage and also on the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17, I was struck by the words – “lavish” in Ephesians 1, and “listen” in Matthew 17.
God lavished His grace upon us through redemption in Christ and adoption as sons and daughters of the living God. What a privilege and mind-boggling truth this is!
The awesome God who wrapped His glory around the 3 disciples, commanded them to listen to His beloved Son. The disciples fell on their knees awestruck, fearful and dumbfounded. To listen is to obey. God the Father commanded the disciples to listen and obey Jesus Christ. The disciples saw 3 people at the Mount of Transfiguration: Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Peter wanted to build 3 tents for them, as if all 3 were of equal status! God the Father made it very clear that Jesus Christ alone is His beloved Son and He alone must be worshipped, loved and obeyed.
Everyday you and I hear many voices calling for our attention. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to obey His words and live counter-culturally (as taught in the Sermon on the Mount). We are called to go against the very things that the world craves for, to do the things that the world scorns and to be a people that the world despises.
“May we as a church encourage one another to outdo each other…”
YCKC’s mission is to “glorify God by living the gospel…” so that we can bring many people to Christ and His kingdom. How are we doing in fulfilling this mission? We praise God for the Celebration of Hope that many of us were involved as we prayed for our loved ones and invited them to the meetings. We saw God at work in the lives of thousands of people. Next month is Missional October and YCKC’s 65th anniversary. God has placed our church in this neighbourhood and He is calling us, His disciples, to glorify Him by the way we live and conduct our lives in this place. Are we good salt, adding flavour and retarding the process of decay in this sinful world? Are we bright lights, pointing people to Jesus Christ, as the Way, the Truth and the Life? Are we earnestly praying for the lost among our family members, friends, colleagues, schoolmates and neighbours? I trust we are!
Because I have been a recipient of God’s lavish grace, He has been impressing on me to pray for several of my neighbours in Sembawang where I have been living for the past one year. God surprised me in connecting me to some of them in the last couple of months. I will continue to pray and see how God will give me divine opportunities to share the gospel even as I continue, with His grace, to live the gospel amongst them. My prayer is that I will listen to Jesus more intentionally and obey His voice so that I can glorify God in my life and actions and have the joy of leading some of my neighbours to Christ in His ‘kairos’ time.
May we as a church encourage one another to outdo each other (in a good way!) by loving God, loving His people and showing compassion for the lost so that many more can enjoy this redemption and adoption as sons and daughters of the living God.
By Dr Violet James, Associate Pastoral Staff (YCKC Bulletin 8 September 2019)