Johann Sim has been serving God in full-time capacity since 1999. He leads an adult zone as a Pastoral Supervisor and oversees the Greeters Ministry in City Harvest Church. His wife, Eileen Toh, is our Harvest Kidz pastor and oversees the Dialect and JAMs Churches too. They have an adorable son, Kairos, who turns 2 today!
Here, Johann shares with us the couple’s journey in selecting their precious baby boy’s name …
A few years ago, we chanced upon the name “Kairos” at a family gathering. I have a little nephew whose name is Kairos and his parents are Christians.
Eileen and I found this name very interesting and it struck a deep impression in our hearts.
When Eileen was pregnant, we pored over various names, searching for a name that was unique. We were rather drawn to names beginning with the letter “K”, such as Kyler and Kaylynn. More importantly, we wanted a child with not just a high IQ and EQ, but with the ability to interpret time and seasons and be able to do the right thing and at the right time!
So when we found out that we were having a boy, the name Kairos seemed like the perfect fit! We searched for the meaning of Kairos and here’s what we found. “Kairos” is an ancient Greek word meaning “opportunity” “season” or “fitting time.”
Another Greek word for “time” was chronos. A sequence of moments was expressed as chronos, emphasizing the duration of the time; an appointed time was expressed as kairos, with no regard for the length of the time. Thus, chronos was more linear and quantitative, while kairos was more nonlinear and qualitative.
The Bible says that the believer must take advantage of opportunities to serve the Lord:
“As we have opportunity [kairos], let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).
And we must be “making the most of every opportunity [kairos], because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).
And finally, “let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time [kairos] we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
With these references, we were very determined that this is the purpose and meaning for our child’s name! It is our prayer that he will grow up seizing the right opportunities to serve the Lord; able to do the right thing at the right time; and, that the favor of God and men will rest upon him. May our Kairos be truly highly favored!
