S4 Bible Camp
Bringing together brothers and sisters from four institutions – SIT, SUSS, SIM and SMU – the S4 Bible Camp was held at Praisehaven Retreat Centre and Trinity Theological College from 2 to 4 January this year.
A significant learning point for me was during the workshop on Bible Reading, BR101, where we discussed questions like “Why do we read the Bible? What is the Bible? Why are the books written in a particular way?” I learnt that exegesis allows us to better uncover themes in the Bible and bring to the surface the intended message of the biblical authors, which helps us better live out the story of the good news. In this process, we are part of that story of salvation and the body of Christ in this current world.
Practising close reading at BR101
With this knowledge, an ongoing question I had was, how do I fit into the longer narrative of the living Word? Throughout the camp, I discovered that a deeper understanding of the Word is a relational development towards the living Word that is Christ himself. Stories are meant to facilitate encounter, an encounter with the one Most High.
The next question is this: when narrating the good news of Christ, how do I want to bring it across?
Learning through debate
In this reflection on my relationship with the Triune God, I began to think about the relationships the people of antiquity had with the living God. In particular, my mind landed on the term “friend of God”, a title that was unique to Abraham – and I pondered upon what it actually means to be a friend of God. I recalled Matthew 25:40, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” And isn’t this edifying act of doing good unto the Lord itself worship?
As BR101 concluded, we were reminded that everyone has a story, and this story contains life views, worldview and contexts that equally need the posture we give to Scripture. Two questions arose in my head. How may I interpret each person’s stories with patience and charity to reconcile that back to him? How did Jesus live out friendship?
SIT CF at camp (Jie Min is at the back, second from left)
Going back to Abraham, beyond the obvious parallels of sacrificing his firstborn and the crucifixion, what particularly captivates me was his intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah – a call for salvation. In that same way, our intercession for our friends unto the Lord is to me perhaps one of the greatest ways of worship to the Lord. By embracing His people, we are embracing Him. As we know via the gospels, Christ Jesus – through His radical acceptance of sinners, presence and intentionality with his disciples, humility and servitude to us, and sacrificial love through the cross – demonstrates what it means to be a friend. It is through this friendship that we can know the Father through Christ Jesus.
What better way to narrate the good news of Christ than through the living out of the Word? In this season, God has instilled in me a heart for His people and for those who have yet to know Christ. It is my desire to grow more in pastoral care, to tend His sheep, and to live out the gospel in humility each day on campus.
— Yeow Jie Min, SIT, Speech and Language Therapy, Year 2
