July 26, 2026 - INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE HEART

Abby Cheng

Back in 2013, I got a tattoo on my shoulder to celebrate finishing my first university degree. It's a simple line of script that says “Always keep the faith”. Our sermon text for today was an inspiration for the tattoo, but I would be lying if I said that verse was the main reason why I chose this particular phrase; the truth is, in hindsight, a lot less impressive. 

When I was in my teens, I got heavily into Kpop, with one group in particular called TVXQ. I put in a lot of effort, time, and money to support these five men and feed my obsession with them and their music (their looks were a nice bonus ☺). All bias aside, they were extremely talented and hugely popular in Asia. Unfortunately, a mere 6 years after they debuted, TVXQ split up in 2010 when three of the members left their company. The phrase “always keep the faith” became a motto for many fans after the split as we tried to convince ourselves that the group would somehow come together again. 16 years later and still no inkling of any sort of reunion for my beloved TVXQ.

I've learned that if I'm “always keeping the faith” towards TVXQ, or anything other than Christ, I'm setting myself up for bitterness and disappointment. It is God's perfect faithfulness that frees us to be faithful and steadfastly loyal to others and our endeavors. We can love people fully despite their capacity to hurt and leave us because God's love fills and strengthens us. We can do our best in school, work, and business despite the possibility of failure or lack of earthly success because we are working for the Lord. Praise God! “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lam 3:22-23