In Remembrance

Painting by Tong Chin Sye

Singapore has lost a preeminent leader and father figure in Mr. Lee Kuan Yew who died on 23 March 2015, at 91.  His death marks not only the end of an amazingly fruitful life but of a remarkable era.

I was born in 1959, the year Singapore became independent from British rule, the year Lee Kuan Yew and the People's Action Party (PAP) pushed for self-governance.  His governance had shaped my national as well as personal psychic growing up. I have lived away from Singapore for longer than I have lived there, but the qualities that were instilled in me growing up in Lee Kuan Yew's young country as it forged its way against all odds are still alive and strong as I live my life here in the United States.  The emphasis of seeking equality for all people, "regardless of race, language or religion" still loom large in my heart.  The belief that hard work pays off regardless of one's beginnings and the sense of patriotism, loyalty, and implicit trust of authority are hard for me to shake off.  This is because I grew up in a country, though fraught with uncertainties, had a government that  genuinely cared for its people.

Many criticisms had been levied against Mr. Lee, some rightly so, but the man must be credited for doing many things right.  All we have to do is to look at the countries surrounding Singapore.  The contrast is astounding and testifies to his forward thinking policies, strictness, commitment, and love for his nation.  It is nothing short of remarkable that Mr. Lee should be able to inspire a people with such diverse ethnicities and religions to stand and work together to build a nation.  And it is nothing short of a miracle that a country with no natural resources whatsoever, short of its people, should within such a short span of time emerge from the chaos of Japanese Occupation and British rule to become one of the leading nations not only in the region but in the world.

I am grateful to Lee Kuan Yew for having been instrumental in providing me with an excellent education, an education that is equally available to everyone in the country, regardless of race or social standing.  I am grateful for the freedom of religious worship for all--for making it possible for me to worship at my church, for my grandmother to raise her joss-sticks at her temple, for our family friend to pray at his mosque, and for my science teacher to celebrate Deepavali without fear of retribution.  I am even grateful for his oftentimes swift and sometimes harsh crackdown on any hint of dissension that could create civil unrest.  I am grateful for the stable economy that provided ample work for my family and friends; for an economy that thrives on proper legislation and not corruption. I am grateful for the excellent healthcare system that took good care of my grandparents and parents in their twilight years.  I am grateful for the affordable housing that is home to many of my extended family and friends, and now my daughter.  I am grateful for the strict law enforcement that allows us to walk the streets in safety, and the strong military that keeps us secure at home as the neighboring nations contend with ethnic strife and dog us with persistent threats.  All in all, I am grateful to Mr. Lee for governing with such wisdom, benevolence and integrity, thus allowing his countrymen to live with much dignity and security.  Such security and accomplishments should never be taken for granted.

Mr. Lee's death brings to mind the end of a generation that had witnessed a horrific World War and self-centered colonial rule--a hardworking, long-suffering generation that took neither national security nor any achievement for granted.  Along with Mr. Lee and my parents, the majority of that generation has passed on; there are few that are left to remind us of the struggles of the early years of independence when Singapore could have easily gone communist or imploded with ethnic or religious strife. But instead, it thrived and grew beyond expectations because of the dedication, intelligence, foresight and passion of men and women like Lee Kuan Yew, whose love for country and countrymen took precedence.

Singaporeans from all walks of life grieve the death of Lee Kuan Yew, thousands braving the hot sun, standing in line for hours to pay their last respects.  Their devotion and sorrow are palpable.  They have lost not only a great leader, but a father figure. The difference between Lee Kuan Yew and other world leaders, I believe, is that he led his people not so much like a politician but like a father, a very strict but devoted father.  He had poured his life into his country and his people know it and feel the urgency of his care.

My hope for Singapore is that the qualities that Lee Kuan Yew and his generation had exhibited and  instilled in my generation, of dedication, hard work, equality, ethnic and religious freedoms will live on for many generations to come.  That honest, righteous, and fair legislation will continue to rule the day and not be corrupted by the influx of the super wealthy and the contradictory cultural norms of recent immigrants.
                           
I thank God that He was gracious to this tiny country by molding a man to become its leader during its crucial formative years, to provide Singapore with Lee Kuan Yew to lead and govern with wisdom, compassion, integrity, and equity.

Proverbs 20:6-8

6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
    but a faithful man who can find?
7 The righteous who walks in his integrity—
    blessed are his children after him!
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
    winnows all evil with his eyes.

Proverbs 14:34

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

An Afternoon with a Beloved Professor

Painting by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

I attended a luncheon recently that featured Dr. Sinclair Ferguson as its keynote speaker.  Dr. Ferguson was my Systematic Theology professor back in the day.  I had him for the Intro class, Doctrine of God, Doctrine of Man, and even Doctrine of the Church.  What a privilege it was to study under him. He is a God-fearing, brilliant theologian with a big warm pastoral heart.  A rare combination!  It was a joy to see him that afternoon, to sit once again, even for so short a time, under his profound tutelage.

His message that afternoon gave me much to ponder, as do many of his teachings. He taught out of Romans 8:29-29, a very familiar passage on the surface yet packed with nuggets of truth that would take a long time to mine.  It is a passage ever so crucial to our Christian walk.

Here are some nuggets that stood out to me this time.  I am weaving some of my own reflection into Dr. Ferguson's teaching, so not all that I am about to write is what he said at the lecture.

In v. 31, the Apostle Paul asked "What then shall we say to these things?"  This first interrogative pronoun What is then followed by a string of the interrogative pronoun Who.  Who can be against us? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?  Who is to condemn? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  I don't know about you, but I had not given the Who much thought before, concentrating more on the list of terrible circumstances like tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword.

Who then is the Who?  Satan is the obvious answer.  Because we are so entrenched in our material world, it is easy to forget that there are forces in the invisible world hard at work to bring about either good and evil.  I think if we were more mindful of how much is going on in the invisible realm, we would be more grateful for the good that surrounds us, and less taken by surprise by the evil that confronts us.  In this passage, we are reminded that we have an enemy who is perniciously out to  destroy the enjoyment and assurance of our life in Christ.  He will throw at us distressful and painful circumstances to try to undermine our assurance of Christ's love.  But we are to remember that in all our trials and sorrows, we are more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus who loves us immensely as to die for us.  Our ability to triumph over our sorrows and hardships does not come from our own inner strength but through Him who loves us.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Instead, all things, even the wiles of Satan, are being worked  together for the good of those who love God and are called by him for his purpose (v 28).  And the "good" according to Dr. Ferguson is that we are being transformed to be like our Lord Jesus.

I have often taken the phrase "all things work together for good" in v. 28 to mean that God will work  all things out for good in the end, maybe not in my lifetime, but in the life to come or when Jesus returns.  For instance, all injustices will be put right in the end. I am currently working on a short story exploring that concept.  I certainly believe there is much truth in that.  It certainly gives us hope when we see evil triumphing.  However, to think of  all things working out for good  as first and foremost being transformed to be like Jesus is a new take to the verse for me. But if you really think about it,  it makes good sense.  Isn't to be molded like Jesus the ultimate "good" for all believers?  All else pales and appears temporal in light of our being changed to be like our wonderful Big Brother (the firstborn among many brothers/sisters).

I leave you now with this important question:  Do you, do I, really want to be transformed to be like our Lord Jesus?  Let us seriously think about that and not be satisfied with the expected surface  answer.

Romans 8:31-39

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.