Does Anything Matter? Why a Christian should still care in a world of despair
Book Synopsis
Are you grappling with self-doubt or feeling disheartened about your work or ministry? Do you question the purpose of your daily tasks or the impact of your acts of service, compassion, or justice-seeking? Do you ever wonder if your efforts to care for, serve, visit, pray with, or assist others truly make a difference?
You’re not alone. As a father, husband, bi-vocational church elder leader, mentor, lawyer, workplace leader, preacher, writer, missions mobilizer, social service practitioner, advocate, and friend, I too wrestle with the heavy burden of perceived failure in fulfilling these roles.
So, what keeps us going? How can we persevere in faith, discipleship, vocation, and ministry? Why should we persist in embodying justice and mercy in a culture riddled with division, conflict, existential despair, climate anxiety, and even talk of species suicide? What can we cling to when hopelessness threatens to overwhelm us?
In this book, I intertwine insights from Scripture, theology, philosophy, theoretical physics, and personal experience into a comprehensive reflection. My hope is that this work will serve as a comforting companion to fellow pilgrims navigating similar struggles.
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Endorsements
This book contains the honest reflections of a true optimist – someone who has put skin in the game, tasted of the misery of this world, and in spite of (or rather, through) it has found a hope that really matters. This book is a word in season for our generation. It speaks to the intellectual and to the activist; to the world-weary and to the humble child seeking to live faithfully.
Read with care.
Rev Ng Zhi-Wen
Board Chair, Habibi Singapore
Pastor at Zion Bishan Bible-Presbyterian Church, Singapore
Ronald Wong’s book delves into existential questions with poetic clarity, intertwining God, spirituality, and the daily Christian life seamlessly. From cosmic mysteries to everyday moments in a café, he weaves a narrative that draws readers deeper into understanding faith in a world filled with challenges. Each chapter and paragraph is a journey that enriches the soul and fosters a closer walk with God. Dive in and savour the goodness of his insights!
Dr Goh Wei-Leong
Co-Founder, HealthServe
Global Board, OM International & Chairman, Mercy Teams International
International Christian Medical Dental Association
Christian Medical Dental Fellowship (Singapore)
Through this book, Ronald extends a gentle invitation to weary travellers to pause, and ponder life’s meanderings, with all its associated questions of struggle and purpose. His wise words open a window for us to catch a clearer glimpse of God’s goodness and presence within the world, with honest musings drawn from his own experience that breathed fresh insight while tending to old questions. In reading and reflecting, I found myself challenged and encouraged, and moved to continue this journey with hope, whilst also craving a plate of hokkien mee.
Prarthini Selveindran
Fellowship of Evangelical Students Singapore
Post Tenebras Lux (After Darkness, Light). That was the motto of some ancient Christians as they rediscovered God in a seemingly hopeless world. Ronald Wong makes the same journey, through his own life, faith, study, and experience. I recommend you read this book devotionally, allowing it to direct you to a place of honest prayer with your Maker. And perhaps afterward, to a grilled cheese sandwich.
Rev Dr Dev Menon
Pastor, Zion Bishan BP Church
Author of The Rest Race and The Pattern: Discovering God’s Design for Marriage
The question “does anything matter?” is deeply relevant for this present age where our understanding of personal value and vocation is so unmoored and untethered. In this book, Ronald JJ Wong vulnerably reflects on his varied experiences across different arenas of life, ushering the reader through a tender, meditative journey to answer that question. Winsomely thoughtful, biblically mature, and gracefully poetic — this book will shine a gentle, guiding light onto the reader’s path. It is my pleasure to commend it with enthusiasm.
Ps Leow Wen Pin
Chairman, Koinonia Inclusion Network, Singapore
If you’ve ever felt discouraged by all that’s going on in the world and wondered why what you do matters, this book is for you. Through biblical scripture, practical applications and vulnerable, riveting stories, Ronald will take you on a journey that infuses you with hope to live with purpose for Christ, in a world filled with despair. A beautiful, poignant read.
Dr Tam Wai Jia
Founder, Kitedreams Global
Many Christians live in two worlds: one sacred – during the weekends, and the other secular during Mondays to Fridays. God being the Lord in the former, but conspicuously absent in the latter. What Ronald Wong’s book demonstrates, however, is that God is the Lord of every nook and corner of His Creation, not just over our churches and weekends. He does so elegantly by weaving together reflections on a myriad of his passions and interests: from nature, social justice, quantum physics and poetry to cheese sandwiches, Christian discipleship, mental health and how to be good neighbours. The net result is a poetic tapestry that reminds all Christians to seek to live integrative lives faithful to God.
Dr Lai Pak Wah
Principal and Lecturer,
Church History and Marketplace Theology
Biblical Graduate School of Theology
In this book, the author who is a lawyer, a philosopher, a poet, a preacher, an activist, a science geek, a nature lover, a father, a husband, a preacher, and an octopus(?!) grapples with perplexing questions of life. Ronald Wong has always been regarded as an astute intellectual, able to grasp and articulate difficult theoretical concepts. In this book, he reveals that he is also a contemplative feeler. I love his personal anecdotes and can identify with several of them. This book made me chuckle, led me to ponder in awe, and moved me to tears. Most importantly, this book made me feel I am not alone with all my questions, doubts and despair as a believer and minister of Christ. I will read it again.
Rick Toh
Lead Pastor, Yio Chu Kang Chapel
Does this book matter?
Those of us who traverse life with heavier steps will likely find Ronald’s wanderings a familiar landscape.
Equipped with the lamp of God’s word, strapped up with tight theology, leaning on the staff of philosophy, taking bearings from theoretical physics, (and not forgetting a backpack filled with personal vignettes which include stringy cheese toast), Ronald guides us through the thickets of doubt, over the bogs of despair, across the cliff of hopelessness, and finally, onto the precipice of clarity. Fittingly, here, we get on our knees and praise our almighty triune God when we behold the glory of His hand. Like life, the journey through the pages is not simple. But it will be fruitful, by the grace of Christ.
If you are a sojourner, you need to read this. If you resonate more as a seeker, then perhaps, you need to read this even more.
Wilson Chan
Managing Director, Skillseed
Our efforts – to do good, raise the next generation well, improve the world – can feel so futile with uncertain outcomes. Ronald helps us all to grapple with this reality with clear-eyed insights from Scripture, powerful personal stories and revelations from science. This book will deepen you, if you let it, shifting you to a new space of faith, hope and love.
Jenni Ho-Huan
Pastor, Author, Founder of To Really Live
At the climactic end of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Freddie Mercury, hardly audible are the words, “Nothing really matters to me”. Ronald Wong asks the question, “Does anything matters?” and brings together philosophy, science, theology—and personal experience—to make a case for a world “not of God playing dice, but of God conducting an orchestra at cosmic scale to His symphony”. For all the reasons to doubt and despair, this book offers us hope that we and what we do matter, just as every part of the orchestra contributes to the divine symphony.”
Rev Dr David Wong
General Secretary, Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore
There is much in the news and on social media today that can lead a person into despair, existential and otherwise. In response to these challenges, Ronald J.J. Wong brings us through Scripture, theology, philosophy, theoretical physics and his own personal experience to help us make sense of the world we live in. As he does this, he challenges us to respond in faithful discipleship, remembering who we are in Christ and living the “post-resurrection New Creation life.” And he shares relatable ways of being faithful that lead to fruitfulness. Indeed, he helpfully suggests that “when a Christian does a small act of love unto the Lord, … it is a foretaste of New Creation for the person who experiences that love.” I commend this book to thoughtful readers who want to believe that everything we do truly matters to God.
Rev Ivan Tan
Pastor, Fairfield Methodist Church
Ronald Wong is both an observer of life and an activist. This book is an intersection of both these aspects of who he is, as he asks the big questions of life – do I matter? and if I do, how do I keep going on? Weaving together scripture, theology, science, and metaphysics in no particular pattern, as well as his photographs and prayers, he suggests and inspires answers so that we can live meaningfully every day.
Dr Kwa Kiem Kiok
Lecturer in the areas of mission and intercultural studies at Singapore Bible College
I’ve known Ronald for years and it’s no surprise to me that I share the sentiment of all he has written in this book. And yet, his personal stories, words and contemplations in this book have to be one of the most honest I’ve ever heard from him.
By his honesty, I am reminded of our common human experience; the ordinary human pain of existence which often leaves us with the confronting question: ‘Why bother (with what we do)?’ But this a difficult question to recognise in our lives, let alone admit to asking (deep inside) – perhaps especially for those who have already made firm commitments in various arenas of their lives, and who may believe that simply asking that question demonstrates a lack of faith.
As Ronald reminds us through this book, it is not.
The articulation of our struggle, our tension, and the pain of what is unspoken in our hearts is healing in its own way. Much like the friend I’ve found in Ronald, this book is indeed a “comforting companion” to explore and navigate these difficult terrains with, so that we can continue to find hope, and strength for the days ahead, and to remain faithful to the end.
Jonathan Cho
Lawyer, Elder (Bethesda Frankel Estate Church)