The End of an Era with a Promise

Yesterday marks the last day of mourning for our beloved founding father - Lee Kuan Yew.

I did things that I didn't expect would come out of me. I queued 9 plus hours, cried and paid every single attention to any news of the state funeral or of any of Lee Kuan Yew's contributions.

I saw things that I didn't see in this period of mourning. I saw the silent majority of the Singaporeans standing up against the minority who makes negative remarks and criticisms against our founding father. I saw the love and graciousness of Singaporeans as we queued to pay our last respects to him at the Parliament House. There were people singing National Day Songs such as "Home" to cheer us on in our wait. There were people who work tirelessly over the night to make the queue more organized and less tiring for us. There were parents who distributed snacks and water together with their children to allow our wait to be less painful. No one was impatient, no one was complaining and no one was angry at what we had to go through to pay our one last respect to our founding father.

Truly, we stand strong as Singaporeans in a crisis and I thank God for showing me that this nation is unbreakable. And I thank you for giving us a strong and efficient government that led us in such an emotional week with great poise and demeanor even though they mourn as we mourn.

Thankyou God for allowing me to appreciate Singapore so much more today. I still remembered complaining about many things I didn't like about Singapore before I went for exchange. Well, the fact of the matter is that as long as we are of the world, no country can reach perfection and Singapore is more than enough for me. Today, God, I give thanks to you for bringing up this nation by giving us a great leader.

Some doubt the future of Singapore without our founding father. I think that it is a needless doubt. If God can bring such a great leader as Lee Kuan Yew to Singapore, God would rise up a new generation of leaders to lead Singapore in the next generation.

And as we enter the coming week and as we look towards Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, there is a greater leader we can give thanks for - the leader Jesus Christ. Unlike anyone of us who will one day pass on, there is hope in Him because He is fully God and Man. His ministry still goes on today from 2000 years ago.

"If God is for us, and if God is God, then it is true that nothing can succeed against us. He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will infallibly and freely with him give us all things — all things — the world, life, death, and God himself." - John Piper

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

-Romans 8:32