Don't Be Afraid

Fear.

Which characterizes Scooby-Doo without his Scooby Snacks.

Evolutionists might say that fear is a vital and crucial experience for living things to survive (This is not to say all of them say this, but some do, and all kinds of people call themselves "evolutionists" these days). The logic is simple: fear is motivation to ensure the self-preservation and continuity of that living thing. 

I don't agree. In fact, I'm fairly convinced that fear is what cripples us and holds us back. I might even bring this further to say that, having our fear taken away would make us thrive and prosper  under the right circumstances.

I recently read this article which contemplates the origins of students' fear of failure. The writing style is to me a bit ponderous, but the message is pertinent and timely. Give it a read - it'll apply to you in some way or another as nearly everybody in this world has either been/will be a teacher, student or a parent at some point in time.

The article really struck me like lightning. I really ask the Lord to help me examine the inner workings of my heart and mind, as it will manifest in the impact I have on my students. What fears and insecurities linger on? How can I cast them away before they perniciously seep into the innocent children under my charge?

I want to be a teacher that motivates through acceptance, approval, adventure and a sense of wonder, not fear. 

I must really set it in my mind that I will not see a '"C" student' as any less precious as the child prodigy producing the works of Shakespeare. 

Neither should I use my own achievements at their age as a yardstick to measure them.

Something that the Elder/Apostle John once said comes to mind: 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

The Fullness of His Glory

It's been a busy day, but I managed to read something good. The article is about how an awe for God and an appreciation of His glory transforms our approach to life. But there was one particular line that struck me:

"If you are not committed to loving gospel community, you will minister out of frustration and discouragement, displaying God's glory in an abstract form, but not in its living, life-changing vitality."

Quite obvious, so why don't we realise and understand?

The Doctrine of Family

Have you heard of what a "doctrine" is? If you haven't, Dictionary.com says that:

doc·trine [dok-trin]noun1.a particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated,as of a religion or government.

Does it make sense? Perhaps what I would say is that a doctrine is a particular truth that we hold on to which not only governs our understanding of things but also our actions. In other words, your so called "doctrine", if held properly, will be so obvious from our behaviour that sometimes you don't have to mention it aloud.

One interesting "dok-trin" that we Christian fellars have is about family. We call God our Father and Jesus, who is God's son also calls us his brothers (and sisters) (Hebrews 2:11). That makes us all family.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15)

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. (Ephesians 2:19) 

This doctrine means that even if I've never met Ah Kau, Jack, Djibundu, Maria or Doriasamy before, the fact that they are Christian would mean that our first time meeting should be something like long lost siblings. We are family even before we first met physically, because we share the same Father and same Brother.

You might say that is quite daft to be in a family of hundreds of millions, but this doctrine is very real to me and I can tell you why.

Firstly, it is in God's word, and every time I try to challenge something in God's word, I normally lose one. The track record suggests that it is true, but I realise this reasoning might not be compelling to you.

So, the second reason is that I experience this doctrine firsthand, and it is in fact a big part of my life.

Tiong Clan at the Airport, Minus Youngest Tiong

Let's begin with my hometown of Melaka, which we like to call "the birthplace of everything". When I think of going back, the first people I would think of is my biological family, of course. However, our Tiong clan is also subsumed within the bigger umbrella of my church family.

Those who have heard me talk about MGC can testify to the affection I have for the church family there, and right now I think it is only my calling to Kampar that keeps me 300 kilometres north. The situation is not always cotton candy and popcorn but when the chips are down you just know we will stand together for what's right.

Two live specimens from Melaka. No creature was harmed in the shooting of this photo.

My "family" in Kampar has always treated me as a member from day one. Sure I may sometimes be the annoying, out-of-town, outlandish whippersnapper who can't string together two words in Cantonese but I think the uncles and aunties do see me as a son, and the younger folks as a brother. On my part, I genuinely think of them as family too.

Kamparians in a Kampar restaurant.

Recently, I had to go to PJ alone for some course over 5 days. I don't know anything about PJ and wondered where I could stay. Somehow, most my friends in PJ are ladies and it might be a bit weird for a guy to stay at a girl's place on his own for a whole week. That's why a family in PJ opened their home to me and in doing so, further strengthened my belief in this "doctrine".

The lost boys and lost girl having dinner in PJ.

My young brother chilling out on the beanbag.

Two other guys and I had the privilege of staying with them over that week, and it is definitely one of the fondest memories of my year. I am really grateful for the bonds we have made and really look forward to our future interactions, and watching the three lively and friendly children grow up :)

There are many others I have not included in this post just because there are too many to mention, but they have all made an indelible mark on my heart and played a role in shaping me into who I am today.

My prayer is for everybody to be able to experience these kind of deep and giving bonds, and I praise God because I know that this would not be possible if we did not have the same Father and Brother. It all comes back to Jesus :)