The God of Judah (4)

Remember

Galatians 3:4 "Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain."

Some say the basis of faith is experience, some say it is the knowledge of the Word, yet some say it is the relationship with Jesus. But I say there is a position of remembrance. Remember not because we want to busk in past glories and lick our past wounds; remember only because there is value in doing so. Selah, why did Jesus command and subsequently so many churches go to the elaborate extent of creating a ritual "do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me". 

In the desert, the Israelites needed to remember; in his destitute, David needed to remember; prior to his execution, John the Baptist needed to remember. Remember comes from a point of deep processing- remembrance is experiences processed, knowledge internalized, convictions formed. When we remember, God reminds us to use whatever experiences we have had before as a basis to learn how to expect, what to expect, how to trust, and how to hang on. Above all, it gives us a clear view of how we have come through each episode- that is God who carried us through. I like Galatians 3:4 which asks a rhetorical question: "have you suffered so much in vain?" Essentially, it is saying this- hey, do not lose sight of your purpose! Remember why you begin, remember why you did what you do, remember your reasons, remember you convictions. Things may not seem as you might have expected them to be, but most of all, remember- I am Your God, I am promise-fulfilling, My love will never fail. Strength should arise; hope should arise.

The ministry of remembrance has received so little attention and emphasis that nowadays it has been reduced to the form of birthday celebrations and anniversaries. Nothing wrong with that, except that we lose sight of the pain and the sweat, the tears and the blood, the euphoric victories, the significance, and perhaps the spiritual significance. Strength doesn't arise, hope doesn't arise; all we have is a few hours of sing song, feel good, and maybe some blessings. People nowadays grow adverse toward the concept of sufferings as questions about why would a good God allow suffering grow in volume, so much so that we forget (fail to remember) about the victorious march through the battlefields. 

As such, conferences continually create momentary spiritual peaks, revivals don't last beyond a generation, mission trips saw people fleeting through like butterflies. Yes, there is room for explorative trips, but if we say we are committed to missions, we are dealing with lives; and we don't drop lives and pick up lives as and when we feel like it or as and when we are convenient to do so. Parenthood is not like that, and that is definitely not how we deal with God's children. 

Yet, people forget. In a society obsessed with efficiency and immediacy, we have to get on with lives very quickly. Missions that have very low visibility suffers the most because these quickly become irrelevant, and very quickly we lose connections. Once in a while, we remember our friend from afar, but in truth it feels like puppy love. We were once connected, but now we are really quite separated. Many grew cold about this because we could not sustain- the forging and ripping apart of relationships hurt a lot- and some became fearful of returning onto the fields. On the other extreme arms, superficial relationships are forged. Experienced mission-goers (NOT missionaries) give advice with good intentions, warning the team against forging deep relationships/friendships with the people. "You make them hurt, the separation won't be easy, you create a reliance…" But truly, how is a relationship ever genuinely forged if we put up barriers? That, is a clear sign of misalignment when the task of preaching the gospel overshadows the heart of loving the one. 

In Asia, it is extremely easy to forget. Competitions come alive, and every thing is practically vying for our attention. How much capacity do we really have to REMEMBER? Many trippers come to the conclusion that this is the point of returning to reality- to the everyday Singaporean life, the system that has served us so well. How sad… That our reality is as such, and we willingly but reluctantly made it so. The oxymoron is intentional because that is precisely the kind of attitude many of my generation embrace- we don't like it, but we do nothing about it. 

Controversially, I remain skeptical about how many came along to use God as a reason (excuse). It's a different season in life, God has called me else where, I sense God telling me no… While I do not want to downplay the works of the Holy Spirit in our midst, I am generally disappointed with how so many of us are so ready to come into that kind of conclusion, when more often than not such remarks were based on life situation: school has become busy, I got no time for missions; it's my final year, I can't commit; my parents are objecting, so God is closing that door for me; I have a holiday planned and it clashed so it's out. I re-emphasize- that conclusion IS legit, but that kind of readiness is not. If we say we have been touched, if we say we have been transformed, if we say we have encountered God, it baffles me badly when we could give up that supposedly very precious portion of our journey with Him. 

Really, the reason is only because we have forgotten (failed to remember).