Dear COA Family,
Time flies. We are at the last Sunday of 2024 and ready to embark on a new year.
At Christmas Day Service last Wednesday, I shared about the deepest question that every person struggles with, whether they are aware of it or not.
And that question is: God, where are you in all of my pain?
This question is also the key to dealing with the subject of theodicy, or the study of the perplexing dilemma of why a good and loving God allows suffering to exist in the world. If you can answer this question, you have touched the central nerve of the struggle of humanity.
Yes, this question is not something that is merely academic in nature but also highly relevant and personal.
And it is important because if we ask the wrong question, we will never find the answer.
Many people I know stay on the fringes and refuse to delve deeper into the issues of their heart. Perhaps they are afraid of being brutally honest and therefore become totally vulnerable. They ask questions like “Why does a good God allow this to happen to me?” Or “Why doesn’t God help me?” Such questions skirt the issue and does not lead to any resolutions. This is because such questions place the responsibility and blame on God and fail to go deeper.
It is only when we open ourselves fully to God in a personal way that we can hear his voice speaking to us. That is where we become totally vulnerable to him.
Are you asking God the right questions today? May the coming year be one where we ask the right questions, and then hear his clear answers to us.
This would be one of the best wishes I can give to you for the coming 2025.
Blessings,
Revd Ian Chew