Trip to Brugge & Amsterdam

Just got back from a 4 day trip to Brugge & Amsterdam, and here are some traveling budget tips for these places. As usual, go before you're 26 years old and if you're a student in the EU because you can get free entrance to some of the museums and many things can be cheaper!


--Try good flemish food!Recommend restaurant is: De Vlaamsche Pot (address: Helmstraat 3-5, 8000 Brugge) Tel:050 34 00 86. Key dish to try: Flemish beef stew (this is big enough for 2 people!).
--Biking is a fun way to explore the city



--Best time to go: roughly end of March to early May. Why? Because you can catch a glimpse of the sea of tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens! The garden is only open for a set number of days each spring so check before you go!
--local waffle like treat: stroopwafel (two wafer like biscuits with caramel in the middle)
--The 24 hour (costs 7 euros), 48 hour or 72 hour Tram/bus/Metro pass is worth it! This is called a GVB card and can be purchased at the GVB office opposite the Central Station. You'll be using it a lot to travel during your stay in Amsterdam and it is more worth it than paying 2.65 euros for a one way trip. I think if you're under a certain age, you can possibly get some kind of cheaper rate or student discount.
--Make sure you catch a 3 hour free walking tour from the tourism office at the Central Station! There are 2 walking tours a day: at 11am and 1pm. The company running this service is called Sandemans free tours (www.neweuropetours.eu). The guides appreciate a tip if you are able to give one at the end of the tour based on their service.
--To get to the airport Schipol, you can take a bus 197 from central Amsterdam city. It costs 4 euros one way and the GVB card cannot be used on this bus.

Love that awakens the heart to thee!

Reflections on Beauty

What is beauty? Is beauty merely in the eye of the beholder, or is there an objective sense to it? Can beauty be created or can it only be reflected? Is beauty substantive? Where can we find beauty and how is it ultimately related to God?

We all recognize beauty when we see it, but many find it hard to articulate what is it's essence. As i reflected on this topic, i became increasing convinced that beauty is like a window that allows the glory of God to shine through. Beauty per se does not nourish the soul, it is the eternal quality that shines through the window of beauty that nourishes us. Beauty per se is not substantive, it merely opens a window allowing certain substantive qualities to enter in.

That is why beauty is so elusive. In the film 'american beauty', the schoolkid (i cannot remember his name) was enthralled with a piece of trash (a plastic trash bag ) dancing in the wind. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. But on any other day if he were to see the same piece of trash it would hardly be considered beautiful. Only when the trash bag moves in a certain way, dance in a certain rythmn, sway to a certain beat, is the window of beauty open, allowing certain eternal qualities to shines through, awakening the hearts of anyone who witness it. But on other days when it is just a regular trash bag, the window shuts tight.

It is intrinsic in the nature of man to be drawn towards beauty. But often we mistaken the window for the source of beauty itself. The window of beauty takes many forms (a scenary, a face, a picture, a painting, etc) but there is only one source shining through all the windows, God. Man in his foolishness tries to capture beauty by keeping the window for himself. But it is not the window we desire, it is the qualities that comes through the window that we truly hunger for. And these qualites are nothing less than the glory of God himself.

Man cannot escape his desire for God, even his desire for sin is a reflection of his desire for God.

"One thing have i asked of the LORD, that will i seek after : that i may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple" Ps 27:4

My Trip to Yellowstone!

Over the summer i took a 8 day trip to Yellowstone National Park. The place was absolutely breathtaking! In a sense beauty nourishes the soul and on this trip i had my fill. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the friendship, the fun, the sun, the beauty, the laughter. In a way it reminded me about all the good things in life, the way life is supposed to be. C.S. Lewis commented (paraphased by me) that 'the closer we come into contact with legitimate pleasure, the closer we come into contact with God'. My soul is refreshed by the beauty and goodness of life and for that i am thankful. Indeed, earth is cramped with heaven!

What is beauty?

Picnic by the lake!

Pika! One of the many friendly animals that greets us every morning

If this Christain ministry thingy doesn't work out, i may consider going into modeling..

From the left : Wai Ling, Me, Ivan, Simona, Chin Ai and Carrissa

If only LA's scenary is anywhere near Yellowstone's..

Our campsite! Well, not really.. This picture was taken outside a motel in Utah, we have forgotten to take a picture of our tent in Yellowstone so decided to take this 'make up' shot!

Deer crossing the road!

The ultimate Road Trip! The ride from LA to yellowstone takes around 2 days, had lots of fun in between

Taken at a lake near our campsite

As the deer pants for the waters, so my soul longs after thee...

Pretty much any random photo shot in Yellowstone can be a postcard. This picture is taken at Mystic Falls. Breathtaking!

One of the many scenic places in Yellowstone.

The Christian Romantic

"How do you fit the stone in the shell?" This is the driving question behind much of C.S. Lewis' writing. The stone represents reason and rigorous thinking, the shell represents the deep longings of the heart. The entrance of sin resulted in us becoming divided people, the heart is isolated from the head. How then can we unite the passions of the heart with the hard thinking of the head? How can we reconcile romance with the intellect?

C.S. Lewis, arguably the most influential Christian Romantic of our time, suceeded marvelously where many had failed. Central to Lewis' writings is the idea of the "awakening of the longings of the heart", there are deep and undeniable existential longings intrinsic in every human heart. As we journey through life certain experiences trigger the awakening of these longings, leaving its indelible mark on us in the process. The longings may come thru many different channels, the sound of a tune, the arts (movies and dramas), beauty, etc. These longings differs significantly from other longings we are familiar with (e.g. food and shelter) in that the longing in itself is pleasant, even when the object of our longings is not met. That is why so many people indulge in nostalgia, which essentially is the pleasant sensation of longing (though we often are not sure exactly what do we long for).

Lewis remarks that the sure mark of an unliterary man is that he only read through great books once. Such a man is concerned primary about the plot and main points of the book but is unconcerned about entering into the world within the book. On the other hand, the literary romantic will read thru the same book ten or twenty times (e.g. Tolkien fans) , because the world within the book awakens their deep longings and they long to return to that world and be a part it. In the deepest recesses of our hearts lies a profound longing for another world, a world that all great stories points to.

The difference between a Romantic and a Christian Romantic is the object that his heart is tethered to. The longings of the heart is universal, but we often mistaken the channel the longing comes thru for the object of longing itself, as a result, we mistakening tether our hearts to something other than the true object of our desire, God. We long for God in the deepest recesses, we are created to run on him, that is our nature. But in our sin, we are out of touch with what we truely desire.

I am not a Christian Romantic, but i want to be one. Often when i examine my own Chrsitian life, much of my disappointments can be summed up in one phrase : Lack of Zeal. I lack Zeal because i lack passion for God, i lack passion for God because my knowledge of God has not connected with the deep longings of my own heart. I have not come to the point where all of my heart's desire is consummated in Christ. The stone did not fit in the shell.

John Stott commented that :

“The highest of missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God…), but rather zeal – burning and passionate zeal – for the glory of Jesus Christ… Only one imperialism is Christian… and that is concern for His Imperial Majesty Jesus Christ, and for the glory of His empire.”

“We should be ‘jealous’… for the honor of His name- troubled when it remains unknown, hurt when it is ignored, indignant when it is blasphemed. And all the time anxious and determined that it shall be given the honor and glory which are due to it.”

Burning and passionate Zeal for the glory of Christ is what is ultimately lacking in my life. It is my prayer that God will continue to awaken my heart to Him, and may i find all the deep longings of my heart drawing me irresistablely to the One i was created for.

I'm back!

Hi all, i'm back! It has been months since i last updated my blog, and that's largely due to my buzy work and exams. But its summer vacation now and i can finally catch my breath and update you guys.

The past semester was great, i've enjoyed my classes and learned much in the process. Perhaps the greatest highlight is my friendship with Robert Saucy. Saucy is the distinguished professor in Talbot and he's such an awesome guy. Saucy is easily one of the most influential profs in Talbot, yet he is completely down to earth, humble and approachable. Over the past semester i've managed to meet up with him personally on several occasions and just pick his brains and learn from him. Everytime we meet, i would bombard him with a whole list of questions, and he would patiently answer all of them with great sensitivity and respect (on retrospect, some questions are pretty stupid). I am greatly encouraged and edified by Saucy and i pray that he will not be retiring anytime soon. The good news is that i will be taking another class from him next semester, and i'm looking forward to it already.

The most surprising class i had was 'Normative System of Ethics', with a course title like that, i wasn't really expecting much from it. Moreover as Christians, we have a pretty good idea of what is ethical and whats not, do i really need to take a whole class to teach me what is right and wrong? How wrong i was, this class opened up a whole new world for me, the world of Augustine, Aquinas and Aristole. Growing up as a Christian, i was always given the impression that greek philosophy is really screwed up, it is the fountainhead of heresy and perversity. In sermons, greek philosophy is always tied to gnosticism, Platonic Dualism, paganism and everything unbiblical. Naturally, as a Christian i was very anti greek philosophy, the only problem is i had never read any classical greek philosophy. When i finally had the chance to read Aristole for the first time, i was blown away. Aristole's view of ethics was both profound and insightful, i've came to understand why both Augustine and Aquinas have such respect for this pagan philosopher. No doubt, there are errors in Aristole, but there is also a great deal of good. Aristole's vision of the ethical life had great influence on Aquinas, Augustine, C.S. Lewis and more recently John Piper. Piper's teaching on desiring God is partially the Aristotilian vision of the good life. In summary, this class has been life changing for me, it caused in me a paradigm shift regarding Christian living and flourishing. It confronts me with the question, 'What kind of man do i want to be?'

Christ and the lonely heart

So why are we so lonely even when we have Christ? I want to thank my buddy for his thoughts on this matter. I think he made a good point that there is an inbuilt human desire to enter into an intense human relationship that transcends mere friendship. In the creation order, such an intense human to human relationship is only possible between husband and wife ( Sorry Brokeback Mountain fans ). Hence loneliness in this sense is the inability to fulfill the desire for that kind of relationship.

It is equally crucial to highlight the fact that although Christ does not replace the desire for a Soulmate ( at least not in this life time ), He is the very basis for a Soulmate. Because in a fallen world, such an intense human to human relationship is not possible. Only in Christ can the effects of sin be reversed and make possible such a relationship.

Another important point is that Christ is actually present instrumentally through our Soulmate. When i am interacting with my Soulmate, there is a sense that i am also interacting with Christ, since my Soulmate is both created in the image of God and indwelled by the Spirit of Christ. This point cannot be emphasized enough. The reason why we are drawn to our Soulmate is precisely because God is present instrumentally thru her ( This is true even for non-believers ). If our Soulmate does not bear the image of God, we would not have this intense desire for them in the first place. The desire for a Soulmate reflects our desire for God, because our Soulmate bears the reflection of Christ ( However marred it may be ). Obviously Christ and our Soulmate are two different entities, but in a way Christ himself is present in our Soulmate and we are drawn to the beauty of Christ reflected through our Soulmates. We intensely desire to enter into that deep relationship with her because of that divine beauty.

It is also worth noting that the glory and beauty of God is reflected not only when there is godly character, but also when there is aesthic beauty. A pretty face, a charming smile, a slender figure all reflects the glory of God in a similar way that a majestic mountian speaks of the greatness of God. It only becomes problematic when we are too fixated on aesthic beauty and neglect the more important and fundamental glory of Christ-likeness in our lives.

One might raise the question, so why do i need a Soulmate, when i have the real thing, Christ himself. That is a good question and to answer that we have to keep in mind two things. Firstly Christ himself is infinite, subsequently, no one can fully experience every aspect of him, but we can experience different aspects of his glory and beauty through different channels. God in his divine wisdom has place an important and fundamental aspect of His glory in marriages, hence there is a particular aspect of his glory that can only be experienced in Marriages and no where else. Secondly, we need to remember that this is a fallen world. No matter how spiritual we are, we only see the Lord Jesus dimly through veiled eyes. And because in this age we only get to experience the veiled glory of Christ, there are times where His glory is more vivid in our Soulmate than in our prayers. However, the Scriptures declares that there will come a time where we shall see him face to face, there will dawn a new age where the glory of the Messiah will fill all the earths. So vivid and radiant his glory will be that there's no need for the sun, his glory will light the world! Hence with the coming of the new Jerusalem there will no longer be marriages, for all will be married to Christ and behold him as he truely is.

From this i think a few practical application follows :

1. There is no real dichotomy between the desire for a Soulmate and the desire for God. Our deepest desire is God and His glory. However, in this present age, there are aspects of that glory that can only be experienced through a Soulmate and Marriage. Hence even as Christians we still long for that particular aspect of God's glory and beauty which is experienced only in Marriages ( Such as sexual union, child rearing, unreserved intimacy, etc.). However it is also possible to desire God without knowing that we desire Him, as a result, in our sin we fail to acknowledge God as God. That is idolatry. As Christians we must have a right orientation to our lives in regards to a Soulmate.
2. For those who choose to be single, does it mean that the desire for a Soulmate will always be there? In a way Yes. But the good news is that with the first coming of our Messiah, there are aspects of the glory of Marriage that can be experienced in the church (although not all of it). It is possible to have a substitute family in the church that comes close to a Marriage.
   

A sad day for humanity

Today is a low day for humanity...
Evil have triumphed, darkness prevails...
Wicked men cheering the fall of truth...
Beauty, Justice, Goodness all trampled upon...
We should just go to bed early tonight, the world has changed...

Chelsea lost to Barca...

I'm coming home!

I will be returning back to Singapore for my sister's wedding from the 17th - 24th of March. I would love to catch up with all you people. Leave me a note or email me if you want to meet up. Take Care friends!

Why are we so lonely even when we have God?

St Augustine made the famous remark "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee". Many Christians will no doubt nod their head in agreement with the great man, but is this truly how we feel deep within us as those who profess to have found God, or more accurately, have been found by Him.

This post is sparked by the exchanges i have with one of my friend. One of the themes running through the exchange is the deeply felt but often denied existential struggle of loneliness as Christians. This struggle rears its head in different ways, sometimes thru the deep longing for a Soulmate, sometimes thru unexplanable bursts of insecurity and fear. Other times it takes the form of a fleeting moment of nostalgia, or an adulteress affair. Whatever form it takes, it leaves us longing, longing for union and wholeness.

Why as Christians do we still struggle so deeply with loneliness? This is not suppose to happen!! Christ has come into my heart, i am adopted by God the Father, the Spirit has made His dwelling within me. I am suppose to be able to agree with the palsmist and say "The Lord is my shepherd and i shall not be in want"! But when people in church are asked what spiritual gift do they desire, few will answer 'Celibacy, for the gospel!'. Why can't God satisfy the longings of my heart? Why are there quiet feelings of envy, bitterness and cold resentment when we attend another friend's wedding? What does it mean to find rest and satisfaction in Christ? Why is it so elusive? Am i too unspiritual? If i could climb higher up the spiriuality ladder will i find rest from my inner torments? Is St Augustine wrong??

I wish there were easy anwsers, but i suspect there are none. I would like to hear what do you think? How do you deal with the struggle (if there are any).