Rest & Reflection

Monday is my rest day. I catch up on sleep. I am well rested for the Lord grants his beloved sleep. "Rest here a while (in Ranau)." It has been a non-stop 2 and a half months. At least the AGMs are over for my church and we will begin real work soon enough. Yesterday I took over as Chairman of the church council, another added responsibility and burden. Now the ball is in my court. I will have to take it up and run with it. The leaders look to me for leadership. We have 7 elders, only two of them are younger than me, and one is already 70 years old. Most of them come from the generation that experienced the early 70s revival in Ranau and Taginambur, two of SIB strongholds. They are the second generation leaders, most of whom hold senior positions in the General Council and Executive Council today are from the second generation. Most of them are getting on in years and it is a matter of time the third generation takes over, those who came through the late 80s revivals as youths and they are now in their 40s.
I was born out of time, neither second nor third generation because I came to know the Lord in New Zealand in the early 80s and joined the church in the late 80s when I returned to Sabah after graduation. As much as I thought I would stay on in Singapore after my service with my former employers ended, I felt an irresistible urge to return "home" in my year of Jubilee. The Lord said, "Take a rest. It is your Jubilee. Use what you have stored up." Even for two years (49th and 50th) when Israelites rest on the sabbatical year followed by the Jubilee year they will have to rely on their former crops which the Lord promised would be threefold in the 48th year so that they have enough to see them through until they harvest the crops at the end of the 51st year. For me rest is work and work is rest for those who believed have entered into rest and their labours are in the Lord and not of themselves. I felt such a surge of energy yesterday in worship when we sang glory glory Holy is Your Name...