Many of us grew up in Singapore and know about the legend behind the 12 animals of the Chinese New Year (CNY). There was a great race and the fastest twelve animals were selected to be the symbols behind the cycle of 12 CNY. Yet many of us are not fully aware of the interplay between the first 3 animals in the legend – the mouse, the bull, and the tiger. 

The diligent mouse was the first one to get up on the morning of the race and led the race. Yet as she got close to the finish line, she was stopped by a raging river. It was crystal clear that she could not get across on her own and so she waited for the next animal. The powerful tiger who was the king of the animals came next but he too had to face the raging currents. Even though the tiger was a poor swimmer, he was full of courage. He jumped in immediately and slowly made his way across to the other side. Then came the bull, an excellent swimmer, and a compassionate companion. The mouse knew of the compassionate nature of the bull and asked for a ride. The bull conceded. As the bull overtook the tiger in the river and arrived on the opposite shore, the mouse quickly jumped out of his ear and became the first one to cross the finish line. The bull and the tiger came second and third. 

And so in the beginning of the 3rd year of the CNY cycle, I want to pray for you, my dear friends, that in this new year of continued pandemic: you will have the clarity of the mouse (ability to understand His heart in our situation), the compassion of the bull to carry others burden, and the courage of the tiger (based on faith in an unchanging God) to face the uncertain times.

But as I study Jesus’s prayer priorities in his longest prayer in John 17, I notice that he prayed for himself and his friends. But he did not stop there. His final prayer priority is seen in v20 – “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.” Jesus is focused on praying for the future spiritual generations to come. And so I would like to extend my prayer to our next generation: to have the spiritual eyes to see His kingdom and understand our world clearly; to have tiger-like courage to lead in this uncertain world with the certainty of faith; to be compassionate leaders that the world can see the glory of the Father.

And at BTS, we are doing our small part in praying and developing the next generation of leaders. The Ministry Emergence Programme (MEP) will be launched in May for the purpose of developing a “fresh generation” of laity leaders for our churches. Please pray for us and help us identify and recommend “emerging” leaders so that together we can witness the rising of a new generation of leaders.

There is a Chinese idiom that says: “The new born bull is not fearful of the roaring tiger.” Young bulls have a courage that is not grounded in clarity of the times. Our prayer is that the MEP will ground our emerging leaders with clarity that their courage is a compassionate courage tempered with wisdom. Will you pray along with us?

Rev Peter Lin
President