My Path of Theological Training

King-yan with his wife Wing-mui and his child Jeremy

　　Responding to God’s call to vocational ministry, my wife Wing-mui and I commenced our theological training together at HKBTS in August, 2016. Time flies, and now I am stepping onto the road of full-time ministry. Looking back at the three years that swiftly flew by, I wonder what marks has the God of grace left behind. To describe these three years, I would say that the path of theological training I traveled was one that was unknown and perilous, yet loving and fruitful. Had it not been for God’s keeping and protection, I dare say that I would not have been able to step onto this path.

The Unknown Path

　　“Unknown” was how I felt having to deal with changes in my daily life. From working full-time to studying full-time, I needed to establish a disciplined routine and adapt myself to a student’s way of living. Meanwhile, the requirements of different courses were extremely difficult for someone like me, who was never much of a diligent student. Besides, I had to get to know someone or something new in both classrooms and the dorm. The change in identity as a seminary student meant that I had to deal with expectations from others as well as myself.

The Perilous Path

　　There are “perils”: when spending more time focusing on God, I saw my true self including a sinful nature even as God taught me with His word. Although I became more knowledgeable in theology, that did not help me become more obedient to God. On the contrary, with the heavy workload of my study, and the competing demands from different aspects of my life such as studying, family, and services, I was prone to fall into the trap for pursuing mere academic achievement. With such a distorted motivation, my faithfulness for serving the church was eventually affected, and my family responsibilities were neglected. It consequently led to a breakdown in my relationship with God, and myself trapped in a vicious cycle of sin without even knowing. God finally became an object of intellectual study.

The Loving Path

　　However, God’s gracious hands have never left me on this unknown and perilous path. It is God who showed me my constraints. Having constraints is not a bad thing, and realizing one’s constraints allows one to be aware of one’s own incompetence. That said, accepting my own limitations was difficult as I had to face how incapable I was. But do not our own limitations help us see more of God’s grace? When we are faced with our inadequacy, is that not the time to humble ourselves and rely on God? Whoever can live without accepting God’s grace? Once I repented and turned to God, I gave up on the thought of being the lord of my own life, accepted my constraints and let God be my Lord again. I also prayed to the Holy Spirit to strengthen me, and to help me, by His grace, faithfully trust the God of creation, salvation, and hope. Thanks be to God, whose love I have been deeply immersed in, so that I could understand how beloved I am. I need not care about how others look at me. All I need is to turn my eyes upon Jesus.

The Fruitful Path

　　On the other hand, God put me and my family in this loving community of faith. He has granted me numerous companions, who keep me company while we learn to live together and love each other. Together, our lives were full of laughter and tears as we shared and prayed and learned to accept each other. I am grateful to God for all those who have walked alongside me; through their company I can see God’s presence. They fueled me with much power and made my journey on this path a fruitful one.

　　Last but not least, I must thank God for giving me my best companion and wife, Wing-mui. Her sacrifices and support let me focus on my study with a peace of mind. And it was through her that God gave us our boy, Jeremy, in 2018. May my family live up to what Jeremy’s Chinese name (“Living-Word”) reminds us, to live out His word.