Devotional & Reflection

Week 4, Dec 2001

Wet & Wild Christmas
By Pang Hee Hung, Director & Trainer, Ezra Resources

A ray of hope flickers in the sky...

Some face the horrifying prospect of War in Winter elsewhere. Whilst some get to enjoy a White Christmas and go Wild partying. Others may get a Wet Christmas since it is so rainy these few days. But others face a financial storm. With the recent unprecedented retrenchments in the historically "secure" banking industry, some endure a Worrisome Christmas with a nagging sense of insecurity.

Having experienced this insecurity before, I can empathize with the many who received many encouraging Words from Well-Wishers but Wish God will do something about their predicament. I was meditating how I can bring God and theology into this gloomy picture. I sense that we need to Worship God in this predicament. Then one of my favourite Christmas songs came to my mind. It's Johnny Mathis' "When A Child Is Born."

A ray of hope, flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land, dawns a brand new morn'
This comes to pass, when a child is born

We have Jesus. This child, Jesus, gives us the hope. When we have faith, hope and love, and know the love of God, we know that there will be a "brand new morn.'" God will do something new in our lives in His time (Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland).

This reminds me of an observation. Sometimes when we sing carols, it becomes a sing along session. We sing the words but do not ponder and meditate over the theology of the words. We lose the meaning of the words. As we sing carols this Christmas, I want to encourage all of us to meditate upon the Words which should lead us to Worship God as we sing the carols. In fact in the Old Testament times, the people learn about God and theology from their songs e.g. Psalms. So worship God as we sing carols this Christmas. Do not let the singing be a merry-making ritual.

Reflect:
1. What part of our Christian life e.g. bible reading, praying, memorizing verses, thanking God for our meals, Lord's Supper, our marriage - has become ritualistic and lost its meaning?
2. How can we exercise faith, hope and love (1 Cor 13:13) this season?