Occasional Green Pastures and Quiet Waters

I think at this crucial point in time, when many of us a devastated, and even angry at the alleged tricks pulled by the ruling party, where we feel that our hope for a better Malaysia is gone, that there is no longer the notion of justice in Malaysia, that we remember a few things:

1. Politics will never save Malaysia. Politics are done by politicians who are sinners just like you and me.
2. There will never be true justice here and now, because justice is meted out by sinners like you and me.
3. We find our true King, our true Politician in Jesus, who truly mendahulukan His rakyat by literally laying his life down for them. He is the one who has truly menepati-ed all His janji, case in point the whole Old Testament, and he is the only one who can make us ubah, for true change can only come by the Spirit and from the heart.
4. God has not abandoned us. Remember Romans 13, that all authorities in power are instituted by God. He allows governments to rule, good or bad, all for the good of his people, so that they may be come more like his Son, King Jesus.
5. God may or may not 'heal this land' next GE or any time on this side of heaven. What he does promise us instead, is a kingdom where Jesus reigns absolute, where there WILL be no injustice.

Therefore, do not be discouraged or sad. Find your comfort in knowing that your Father, who is able to raise the dead to life, is still in control of all that is happening, and that He has set aside for you something far greater than a clean and just Malaysia - a New Heaven and New Earth where Justice dwells.

[Edit 6/08/2013: I suppose it would only be fair to credit this post to Pastor Kenneth Lo from St Mary's Cathedral, since it was his sermon, which can be heard here that inspired this post.]

I have to admit: all this excitement about Bersih, about making a change, about politics, about the future... It makes me forgetful and confused as a Christian.


Social Activism and the Gospel
As Christians, should we be concerned about clean and fair elections, about who runs our country? Yes, we should. Our God is a God of justice (which we oft forget/ignore in favour of His softer side), and it should be at the core of our being too. Recently, I have been reading Isaiah, and God's justice is a big theme of that book. Take for example Isaiah 9:8-10:4, which was where I last stopped. Isaiah is seen here prophesying against the nation of Israel for turning away from God and revelled in injustice. For such insurgence, God uses Assyria to pull down Israel, punishing them for not loving him they way they should have as God's people, and for consequently not loving each other as God's people. So should we be concerned about social justice or the gross lack of it? Most definitely.


Here's the part which I always mix up. As much as social justice should be at the core of our being, as a Christian who gets angry when politicians are bullying the people who voted them into place, I forget that social justice is not the core of my being. Using the Isaiah passage to illuminate my point - God was first and foremost angry at Israel, not for mistreating their fellow Israelites, but for turning away from him, the God who had called them his own. Fast forwarding to the New Testament, Jesus answers Pilate, 'my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.' (John 18:36).


Following the Bible's bigger picture, you can easily see the pattern of a Kingdom of sorts, eventually culminating in the Kingdom of the New Creation. From the garden of Eden, to Abraham, to David and Solomon, and finally to Jesus, we see the idea of God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. The antithesis to that would be the Fall, and the Exile (for further reading, read Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy). My point is that as Christians, our ultimate concern should be the gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15), and not so much social activism, because though concerns for social justice flows out of the implications of the Gospel, it is not the Gospel. The line is narrow here, and it is all too easy to preach social activism instead of the Gospel. I have to admit, I often find myself doing exactly just that. Time and again, I have to remind myself that it was Jesus who died and rose again for my sins, and it is He who will speak for me at the Day of Judgement, not clean elections or upright politicians.


Politicians and the Gospel
I was there in the midst of the Bersih crowd. I was there when the plumes of tear gas crept amongst us. I am sure many of you were. I am also sure, just like I am, you are angry at the politicians from the ruling party who are somehow responsible in part for our suffering. We are mad, and rightly so, at their blatant acts of corruption, abuse of authority, and subversive tactics. Yet, as angry as we are, we need to stop and remember this:

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."-Luke 13:1-5

It seems Malaysia and the antics our government has been up to have caught the attention of Forbes, an American publishing and media company, whose flagship magazine is published fortnightly (Wikipedia, 2009).

http://utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0531&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=Rencana&pg=re_05.htm&arc=hive

While having my quiet time, I found this Psalm echo my very feelings on recent ... ahem... matters:

But the rock shifted due to overdevelopment of the hillside.

Not so wise after all.

The things people do to earn money.

The Chinese put melamine in their milk, we point fingers and ask why didn’t they have stricter rules, or don’t they have a sense of principle. At least with melamine, you don’t lose the roof over your head and have your belongings looted; you just suffer from a stone (easily removed) or you go to a better place (or not).

Well, with house prices hitting the millions, its no surprise the people in the construction business want to get rich too. People want houses with views, we’ll give them houses with views and conveniently forget to tell them that the ground isn’t stable. No one would be any wiser. Officials are easily bribed anyway…

I want to be a contractor to! Off to get my hair permed, and to buy a pair of bright yellow boots…