Pastoral Letters

Will tomorrow be better?

September 18, 2022 Author:Elder Liu Kerh Li
The Russian-Ukraine War has been raging on for more than half a year. The Ukraine army has recently been fighting back to recover a lot of lost territory. Will the war end soon? For now, many are unsure that the war would truly end in the near future. The world’s energy and food crises also grow increasingly serious due to the war in Europe. Combined with the effects of climate change, food shortages are likely to have a more widespread impact. Extreme weather brought on by global climate change is already a common occurrence. While the countries around the world are taking steps to reduce carbon emission to slow or even taking steps to reduce carbon emissions in an attempt to slow or even reverse the effects of climate change, the immediate energy crisis has forced some countries to restart coal power plants or revert to other high-carbon energy resources. The fact that many countries are powerless in the fight against climate change casts more doubt on us escaping a serious climate catastrophe. On the other hand, the threat of the pandemic is still too great to ignore. Even though we have almost returned to pre-pandemic days in Singapore, the global pandemic has yet to pass. We are also not sure if the pandemic will return to Singapore. Aside from the pandemic, our society and families also face different challenges. An ageing population and various health and social issues are occurring to us or those around us. In the world and before our eyes, we face problems of all magnitudes. We can’t help but wonder if tomorrow would be better. Perhaps we should be so pessimistic. Has not the human race survived one disaster after another for thousands of years? Even after the baptism of disasters, we gain wisdom and ability to overcome them. Therefore, we should actively fight and join hands to overcome the problems before us. Problems will definitely pass. Hence, tomorrow will be better. It this so?

The Bible exhorts us in James 4:13-17, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” As Christians, how should we view the future? We must first admit that the future is not in our hands because we simply cannot predict the future. Thus, we must admit that we can only plan to the best of our abilities. Whether or not things would work out is in God’s sovereignty. Therefore, Christians should still actively prepare for tomorrow and the future. At the same time, we need to learn to entrust it all to God, trusting that God will guide. Even if His guidance may not be what we expect, we trust it is for our greatest good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). With God in control, even if a big catastrophe comes, we do not need to worry. God will protect us in all situations. Even when death comes, it only means the start of a life in heaven. “Will tomorrow be better?” The answer is “every day is good; tomorrow will be better”.

But for those who have yet to believe in Jesus. Tomorrow will only be worse. Jesus has prophesied that the world will come to an end one day, and as the end draws near, it will be preceded by many signs. “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:6-8). The current world situation is developing as Jesus prophesied, with increasing chaos and problems. All kinds of signs are telling us that our world is heading towards the end. On the other hand, as our lives pass day by day, we are also nearing death day by day. If someone is unclear where they would go after death, then death becomes a terrible but inescapable fact. Some say nothing comes after death. This is a self-deceiving statement. The Bible tells us that because humankind has sinned, there will be God’s judgement after death and punishment forever in hell. “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrew 9:27). However, we have the opportunity to choose another path: “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrew 9:28). Confess to Jesus that you are a sinner; believe in Him as your Saviour, and you will have a better tomorrow.

translated by Davina Seet