Illume

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By Eugene Seah, 23, Singapore

It was almost midnight. I was waiting for the tram in a Melbourne suburb. There were only two persons at the station—a mysterious hooded teen and me. With my chin held high, I psyched myself up for potential danger. I was prepared to take flight at the first sign of menace.

However, we entered into a friendly conversation. He was 17 and living away from his parents with his girlfriend. He has dropped out of school and is now working full time. As the conversation continued, I asked how he intends to spend Christmas. He replied that he was going to have a few drinks, cook up a meal and buy some nice clothes. When asked if he attended church during Christmas, he said that church was not all that fun to him.

I, on the other hand, grew up in a typical Asian Chinese Christian family. Since young, I was taught to study hard, to not drink or smoke, and to attend church regularly.

It sets me thinking. Do I view people through the lens of my upbringing? In what ways does it distort my perception of them? Am I prejudiced toward some people simply because they do not share the same values and belief as me?

This incident taught me to look beyond the surface, to not judge a book by its cover so to speak. Additionally, I was reminded that we ought to hate sin but not the sinner. We ought to speak out against immorality and harmful behaviors, but we should not write a person off because if God hasn’t done so, who are we to think that we have that prerogative. Instead, our job is to do the loving and praying for true transformation is not merely a change of externals, but a spiritual rebirth. Only God can transform lives!

Apostle Paul’s words humbled me. He said, “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. . . . Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin” (1 Corinthians 1:26-30).

Recognizing God’s grace upon our life, let us bring the light of Christ into this world of darkness—not as a
pompous self-righteous person, but as a sinner saved by grace to another sinner still in darkness.

Seek. Learn. Illuminate.