Relationships

Yeah. It has been awhile since I last blogged something. Workload (or in my case, studyload) is catching up on me. But never fear, for my blog is not dead and this post is here to prove it.

Let me clarify definitions first before I move on. Relationships can be any human-human relationships. I do not mean exclusively boy-girl relationships. I clarify this because I made a comment on Facebook about relationships and one my friends asked me who was the girl I am referring to. So, yes. Relationships=human-human relationships (e.g. parent-child, boy-girl, friend-friend, best friend-best friend, cousin-cousin, etc)

As I look around and consider various situations, I try to find similarities between them. For example, what do Korean/Cantonese/Mandarin dramas, clubs and societies, and ‘yam cha’ sessions have in common? I see one thing in common between all: relationships.

In dramas, outwardly, most of it seems like power/money struggle between people. But why does drama has its appeal? Why do people want to follow the current drama series religiously? Besides the suspenseful plot, I would say that it is about relationships. In the drama, you see how people relate to each other and how they interact with one another. That itself makes a huge chunk of the drama’s plot. Of course, the situations in dramas are sometimes highly exaggerated and most only happen will happen in real life only under ideal conditions (which, according to physics jargon, means will never happen).

Same goes for clubs, societies, ‘yam cha’ sessions, mamak sessions, and so on. One can see that a lot of people love going for clubs and society meetings , eating sessions and so forth because of the interaction they can get by hanging around other people. To be sure, there are other reasons for going for clubs, societies, eating sessions, etc but one of the main reasons is for, to quote an often used equivalent in the Christian circle, fellowship.

As one can see around, relationships make up the core of human society. How we act towards one another, how we communicate with each other, etc all work in shaping the society around us. An example would be the situation in Malaysia now. There is a gap of trust between the politicians and the Malaysian society at large, and this in turn shapes the political situation in Malaysia. On a finer scale, there are some seeds of distrust between citizens of different race and religion. This in turn will start to affect how people treat one another and this generates an environment of insecurity at large (some people, in their articles and comments mention of another May 13 happening).

In conclusion, let me iterate what I posted in my Facebook a week back:

“No matter the technological advancement human beings have achieved from the past until the present day, relationships will still deteriorate…maybe at a slower rate compared to pre-internet days”.

So, yeah. All relationships are important. It makes up the core of who we are.

Ian

PS: To all my friends and family (in Malaysia, USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and any other country) I miss you all!!!! :) XD

Expansion of Torched Churches

Here is portion of Scripture from 2 Peter 3:10-18

¹⁰But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.^a]"

¹¹Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹²as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.^b]"That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

¹⁴So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Peter saw ahead that everything will be destroyed. And what did he say in response to what is to come? Lead holy lives; spotless and blameless. Preach the Gospel, spread the Good News! But what do we do? Many churches focus on building 'stuff' that will be burned down in the end. What has happened, ironically, is like a wake up call. We have let down our guard and fallen asleep. Now it is time to wake up.

As I said countless times, the 'stuff' is not bad. It is good that the people of God can gather reasonably together. But the 'stuff' shouldn't be the focus of our energies. What is the focus then? It is as it is written in the above passage.

Another one of my thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Ian

PS: Even though I am in Canada, I am not 'Canadianized'. My heart is for Malaysia, and will forever be. Born a Malaysian, die a Malaysian. I am greatly saddened and worried by the turn of events. Be assured, my prayers are with all my fellow brothers and sisters in Malaysia.

Torched Churches

I have been living under a coconut shell (katak bawah tempurung) for awhile until a few minutes ago. A friend MSN'ed that a church in KL was torched. I have mixed thoughts about this.

Firstly, it grieves me badly that things have deteriorated to this extent. What is happening to my country??

However, I am actually a bit happy that this has happened. Before you dismiss me as the anti-Christ, allow me to elaborate. Long enough have Christians been obsessed with buildings. Millions of ringgit overall have been poured into church buildings. Now, watch as the work of your hands is tested in fire. Does it stand? Remember also that the temple of Jerusalem is no longer around and it got burned at least twice if I remember (both times totally razing it to the ground).

Some may say "This is the work of Satan! blah blah blah". Indeed, Satan has opposed God since a pretty long while back. And it is possible that he incited those people to do what they did. However, the fact that it actually happened meant that God had allowed it. Remember that although Satan is the prince of the air, he is still under control by God (read Job). So, if God had allowed it to happen, surely there is a reason behind it. I won't claim to know the mind of God (who can?) but one possible reason is to shake Malaysian Christians awake. His previous shakings were not heeded much. So, will Malaysian Christians heed it now?

This is my first barrage of thoughts. Will edit if anything comes to mind. Please..feel free to comment.

Ian

Christmas/New Years Update

Yeah…I know. New Years and Christmas have long past. I did not update my blog because of two reasons. Firstly, I was lazy and procrastinated. Secondly, I went for a trip to Ottawa and Montreal. I was away from my computer for 6 days because of the trip. So now, let me present to you the long overdue update. Haha.

It has been an interesting year for me. The main event for the year 2009 was my departure to Canada for further studies. And yes, I am still in Canada. :p What can I say about this major change? Indeed, many events seemed to push me into this direction. For some, they say that this is a sign from God for me to go into this direction. I tend to believe that since it was no mere coincidence that the application to Canada and to the University of Waterloo was smoothly done whereas applications to universities in Malaysia and USA ran aground. But sometimes I ask: was my decision to rash? Did I make a mistake in taking this risk? After talking with people and thinking about it, I realized that there was no turning back. The chess pieces have been moved. So, I just have to do my best and face the challenges as they come but at the same time to enjoy the opportunity of actually being able to study overseas. Even if I do encounter tight spots on the chess board, I have to make the best decision I know of for that situation.

You may be wondering why such thoughts come to mind. The style of studying and testing is so much different from what I am used to in Malaysia. The final exams were shockingly different and difficult. And indeed, I have a pressure set on me by myself: the pressure to succeed. As I mentioned before, the endeavor of going to Canada to study has a lot of risk. Failure seems out of the question. It is in this atmosphere and environment where I understand what it means to depend on God and to trust in Him. The choice to go to Canada was mine to make and I chose this path. But regardless of the path I chose, the LORD is ultimately still in control. What lies ahead of me? I do not know. How would he use me in this place? I have not a clue. I am away from all things familiar to me: family, friends, church, food, weather, etc. The one thing that has not changed the slightest is that God has never left my side. Whether I am in Malaysia or in Canada, the LORD is always with me, never-changing, never-failing.

Today (4^th Jan 2010) marks the start of the new Winter 2010 semester, my second semester in the University of Waterloo. I plan to study not only harder but smarter than the previous semester. Knowing better how they do things around here, I can adapt my study habits to match their style. By the way, the Malaysian style of studying is not effective here.

I’ll stop here for now. I try not to bore all of you with endless walls of text. Haha. I will post any more thoughts in Part 2. Hehe.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Ian