Friend of God

This song kinda popped into my head last night and spent some time actually reflecting on the lyrics. Basically, the whole idea about being a friend of God.

For a long time I knew about the God-Mortal and Father-Son relationship. Recently I discovered the Lord-Steward relationship that exists. I have thought about the Friend relationship every time that we sing that song in church, but never in any real depth.

In any case, this morning i was at a retreat and we sang 'I am a friend of God'. Decided then that I should spend a bit more time thinking about it and write about it here. The phrase 'Friend of God' is actually used to describe my namesake in the Bible, Abraham.

James 2:23 - And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about friendship is loyalty. Along with loyalty, a good friend is always dependable as well. God is definitely both loyal and dependable. What about us then? Are we loyal to God and can God depend on us to act in accordance to His will? Often the answer is no, but God is gracious enough to forgive our transgressions if we realise the wrong we have done and make an attempt to change.

This brings me to the next point about friendship. I'm sure if you take a moment to consider friends who are closest to you, the realisation that the two of you share a lot of things in common will soon arise. In the same way, if we are to be God's friend, then our heart's desire should be in line with His. One should not just blindly accept God's commands and try to follow them. We must first understand why doing some things are not right and then ask God for the strength to break out of our sinful ways.

The most important aspect of friendship is communication. Acquaintances only become friends after you spend a considerable amount of quality time with the other person, conversing with them. God speaks to us. Whether we take the time to listen to his soft,still voice is something we have to decide on our own.

Can you imagine how superficial a friendship would be if you only contact your 'friend' when you need them to do something for you? God is ready to listen to us at any time but, when we pray, we should not solely be telling God what we need Him to do for us. Our conversation with God must go deeper than that. We should pray with the aim of knowing God better.

So let us say that we are loyal to God, our hearts are in sync with His and we have deep communication with God on a regular basis. What will be the result of this friendship? Besides having close fellowship with our Heavenly Father, which in itself is awesome, the bible reveals one more result.

John 15:15 - I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

A matter of mentality?

Proven: S'pore maths good for US students


I first read the above article in the New Paper on Sunday. Basically, it talks about how U.S. kids, using our Singaporean textbook, have shown improvements in their math grades. Who even knew that our math textbooks were being exported? I certainly didn't.

Know what else I did not know? Our Sec 2's and Primary 4's have topped the International rankings for achievement in maths and science a whopping 4 times! I felt so proud though i do know that my year probably wasn't one of the years who were awarded this recognition.

It got me thinking though. If our young kids (i feel so old saying this) show so much promise, should it not translate to more success in the outside world? I am not saying that Singapore have not been achieving anything in the last decades or so. On the contrary, our progress is admirable. I will always admire Creative for taking $100 Million from Apple in a legal suit.

All the ipods out there have to thank creative for their origin! Why it is not Creative but Apple which sells the most amount of Portable Music Players (brings back memories of project work) remains to be seen? Somewhere between the conception of the idea and implementing the idea, Creative got lost.

I would be even more delighted if their pay cheque came in from the shopping malls instead of from the court room. Is it just signs of learning? Perhaps next time a Singaporean company will get it right and become a global giant? Or is it our mentality preventing us from taking things to the next level?

We all embrace Corrinne May as a "Singapore-Made" Singer. Yes, she grew up here. The facts remains though that she is now a citizen in Los Angeles. She felt that the only way to further her music career was to "defect" over the US. Is it true that you can't remain in Singapore and become a superstar? Or is it a matter of mentality?

When I talk to my friends, many want to migrate overseas to work. Singapore isn't "big" enough for their dreams to be fulfilled here. Is it just a case of the grass being greener on the other side? Or do we feel shackled by the chains our own minds have locked us in?

I do think the day will come when Singaporeans will win Nobel Prizes, Grammy's, Emmy's and whatever award the west has come up with. I do think that we need to take another look at our education.

Is loading children with maths and science the route to success in the outside world? Unless one intends to be a teacher, a scientist or a mathematician, only a basic grasp of the above subjects are necessary.

I believe our Primary education is fine. What I do not understand is why does a student have to score for maths, physics, chemistry and history for O levels if they just want to pursue a course in Mass Communications in Polytechnic? Why is a student with As in Physics and Maths not allowed to get his course of study in Engineering due to his/her failure in Literature or Geography.

The scenarios above are hypothetical, but I do have friends who have not been able to do a course they would have probably excelled at because of their O level grades.

Another thing to look at is the admissions criteria for our Universities. I do think that the playing field for JC Students and Poly Students should be level. I was a JC kid and yes i managed to attain a place in a university. I do feel for those who slogged it out for 3 years in Polytechnic only to find that the local University is not offering them a place to continue their studies.

For those with lots of capital, overseas uni is readily available. Those who do not have this luxury, they enter the working world, sometimes prematurely. The ONLY reason that I went to a Junior College was to buy time. If at 16 I knew what I wanted to do for a living, I would have gone to a Polytechnic. The assumption that students are in polytechnic only because they could not get into JC needs to be dropped.

I am convinced that we have lost a host of creative and talented students to overseas colleges. A significant number will choose to live out the rest of their life there, just like Corrinne May.

The key to unlocking our rigid mentality is education. Until we let each and every child recognise and grow the God-given talent that he/she has, the potential Singapore obviously possess will continue to waste away.

I am waiting for the day when Singapore produces a show which streams world-wide, or an artiste who releases a number 1 hit or even a soccer team which qualifies for the World Cup (i'm allowed to dream, aren't i?). Till then though, I shall endeavour to support our locals as much as I can. Be it buying creative earphones or attending a local comedy act, I will do my part to grow our local talent pool.

Wonder if anyone else will follow...

Rooted in Love

The below is actually a post in my Quiet Time blog which i just revived today.


Eph 3:17b - And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,...."

ref Matt 13:20,21 - The one who received the seed that fell on rocky ground is the man who hears the word and receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble and persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

I've read the parable of the sower and heard many sermons about it. Every time, I just assumed that having no root just means having no real foundation. That isn't wrong, but the question is what foundation is required? Foundation in God's Word? No, many have studied the bible religiously and have still fallen away, Pharisee's not the least of such people.

Rather, what is required is a foundation in God's love. We MUST be rooted in God's love, and our roots must go deep. It is only when we are empowered by God's love that we can overcome the trials that this world throws at us and come out stronger. Since we fall away from God, we would be unable to bear fruit.

This brings me to the second point. Without first drawing from and experiencing God's love, we would be unable to love those around us. If we have never experienced real love, how are we supposed to know how to fully love anyone else? Yes, we have experienced love from those close to us, but even this is imperfect love. When we draw on the Father's love, we can reflect some of His love to those around us. It is only when people see this unconditional love of God through us that they will give Christ any real thought.

So how do we send grow our roots deep into God's love? It is widely accepted that the soil in the parable of the sower is a metaphor for the state of our heart. If our heart is a rock, we block out God's love for us. Here lies the problem, we are sometimes have our hearts so closely guarded in the fear that we will get hurt that we block out things which are essential to our growth. In this case, we block out God's love, which he offers freely to us.

If our hearts are made of good soil, our roots can easily penetrate through and reach God's unending supply of love. Release your fears to God and open your heart to Him. Let His love flow right through you. You will find rest in His arms and shelter under His wing. In this conditions, we will be fruitful.