“Who am I?” was the theme behind the hit movie series in the early 2000’s – “The Bourne Identity”.  The movie portrayed a CIA super-agent who lost his memory and had no idea who he was.  The whole series was a journey of a man endowed with great power but totally lost because he had lost his core – Who am I?

I chose this topic as my friends reminded me that I have not introduced myself to many of you since I took on my current position as the new President of BTS.  And so here is a brief introduction.  I was born in Hong Kong and left at 16 years old for the US where I studied and worked for 16 years.  God issued a calling to Asia when I was 30 years old.  Under God’s fingers (delicate guidance), the first stop was Singapore in 1989.  For the next 16 years, there was one driving desire, to be a force for good and for God in the Asian marketplace.  When I was 45 years old, I was the President of Asia for Liberty International (the Asian arm of Liberty Mutual in Boston) and God issued his second major call – to leave behind the corridors of corporate influence and to invest my life 24/7 in God’s institutions.  The first stop was again Singapore.  I served in this country as a pastor and briefly in Singapore Bible College for the last 16 years.  The answer for me to the question “Who am I?” – I am a sojourner on a journey to follow Him unto the ends of the earth.  And it has been a thrilling journey.

I chose the topic “Who am I?” specifically in the month of November because traditionally this is the month of Thanksgiving in the US and without realising “Who I am”, it is impossible to give thanks. 

Psalm 8:4 asks a similar question “What is man that YOU are mindful of him?”  Then in v.5-v.8 king David talks about how God is mindful of (i.e. how he cares for) man.  In v.5, God gave man a status that is a little lower than the angels.   In v.6-8, He gave man a dominion over creation.  Yet the identity of man can never be found in his status nor his dominion.  It can only be found in the 2 most repeated words in the Psalm – “you” and “your”.  These 2 words appear 15 times in a short span of 9 verses. 

In short, Psalm 8 reminds us that our identity is not found in our status and our influence; they are merely tools to point us to the source of our identity – God, the Giver of all good things.  The goodness that He bestows on us is meant to lift our eyes up to His heavens (v.3) so that we can see Him clearly in the company of brothers and sisters (our Lord v.1, v.9); and together we remember “Who we are?” – the apple of His eye. 

Dear friends, in the midst of this pandemic, remember to let the “goods” that we have remind us of the Giver, be reminded to “join our hearts and come back together” to worship him in His physical temple.  And in the process, rediscover “we are his beloved.” 

And in BTS, as we think of who we are, we are reminded that we are here to serve Christ by serving you, and to join hearts with you in serving the nations – together – “Oh Lord, OUR Lord, how majestic is YOUR name in all the earth (v.1)”.

Together for His glory,

Rev Peter Lin

President