In this Good Friday Reflection Series, Rachel Kwek shares a heartfelt reflection about what Good Friday means to her. She has also recorded an instrumental soundtrack to help us meditate on the Word and the Cross.
Hi! I’m Rachel, one of the BASIC youth leaders, and I lead a group of naughty fun-loving Sec 3-4s with Ming Shi. I just completed my uni graduating exams a few days ago, and the past months of studying have rekindled my absolute love for acronyms. So I decided to play on the common expression “T.G.I.F.” for this short reflective piece as we approach Good Friday.
I’ve been a Christian for quite many years now and attended many Good Friday services over the years. When I was younger, this thought came to mind each year – How different is this year’s service going to be from last year’s? How different can the message of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection be? I always wanted to ask my parents this but I think I didn’t dare to haha. But over time, I’ve slowly realised that Good Friday, or any other commemorative occasion, is never really about the day itself. It shouldn’t be about making that particular day special or extraordinarily memorable. Instead, the day is but a pitstop on a journey – and the journey itself ought to be our chief focus.
I’m not sure how many of you actually say T.G.I.F. on Fridays. Perhaps it’s a bit boomer haha. But I thought it could still be a simple framework for reflecting on what The Cross means to us individually and on a daily basis.
T: Think Back on the day / week / month that passed – what brought joy or pain?
G: Give Thanks for all that happened, whether joyful or painful – for it was all under God’s sovereign hand.
I: Invite God into our hearts; to mould and grow us in whatever season we are in now.
F: Fully Surrender our failings / fears to God; He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.
For me, The Cross is the ultimate representation of God’s love to us. In response, living out the significance of The Cross in my day-to-day life would encompass building my vertical relationship with God (personal walk) and my horizontal relationship with others (Christians and Non-Christians alike). This all sounds real good written down; but it’s so much easier said than done. It just takes a morning snooze to take away my quiet time with God, or a moment of impatience with family to cause hurt rather than show love. We all need regular pauses to reflect, repent, realign – so that the significance of The Cross hits us hard everyday, so we don’t procrastinate living how God has called us to, and so our fervour for Christ will be constant and not fluctuating in a yoyo-fashion.
I pray that my T.G.I.F.s in the coming months, especially as I transition to working life, will stem more from true joy in the Lord’s faithfulness through all circumstances, rather than a mere superficial happiness about surviving the week and catching more sleep on the weekends 🙃.
Here’s a short snippet of the song “As the Deer” that I often turn to when I find myself losing focus amidst busyness. Just a piano instrumental because I do not sing well and I decided to spare your ears 🙂
Reflection and Instrumental Accompaniment by:
Rachel is the youngest in a family of five and is about to start work as a doctor soon. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, but doesn’t mind time alone too, especially if it’s spent sipping a cup of coffee and people-watching. Rachel loves the outdoors and is very much looking forward to travelling again.