9 & 10 Aug 2025 (Pastoral Page) LIVING OUR HOPE

by Dn Leo Fu

Here we are, we're in this together

Our spirit's forever, look how far we have come

Here we are, no matter the weather

Through the storms and changes, wave your flag in the sun

Here we are, through the fire

We can live our hopes and dreams

Here we are, this is what home means to me

I find National Day songs tend to have an implicit eschatology. By this, I mean that they tell a story about where we have come from and where we are headed. It is a story that speaks of identity, belonging and hope, and it is meant to inspire us as Singaporeans today.

What comes to mind when we hear the word “eschatology” are probably apocalyptic scenes of the world coming to an end. But eschatology is not just about the “end times”. It is about how God will bring all things to its intended fulfilment – from creation to new creation. As we read in Revelation 21, it all leads to the new heaven and new earth, when God says, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

The Church is called to be a people who live out this story. In fact, we are to be living anticipations of God’s final restoration of all things – of that day when God will dwell with his people, and there will be no more tears, pain or death. As Paul says,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5.17-20 ESV)

This means that God’s future for the world has already broken into the present in our lives. We are signposts to that future. We are ambassadors, and our lives and communities are like embassies of the new earth in which Christ reigns.

So the Christian life is not static. It is not as if we have booked an advance ticket to heaven, and in the meantime, heaven has nothing to do with us or our lives. Rather, the future glory exerts a pull on us, affecting the shape of our lives now. And that shape is to look a lot like Jesus. This is what the Discipleship Pathway (the webpage will be ready soon) is all about. “Discipleship is a journey towards becoming more like Jesus.” We ask, “What’s my next step?” because the Spirit is always drawing and moving us towards that future when God is all in all (1 Corinthians 15.28). It is not about us making an effort, but about being caught up in the unstoppable movement of the divine Spirit and the power of Christ. In Paul’s words:

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own … I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus … our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3.12, 14, 20-21 ESV)