Dear…
‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.’
Romans 15:4
“The only thing certain about tomorrow is that you are a day older.” This is an interesting one-liner I pick up from an article written by two eminent French academics in their prognosis on the resilience of the stoic Japanese and how the aftermath of the earthquake could actually be a positive in re-igniting the ebbing vigor of the moribund economy of the past twenty years.
Is tomorrow better than today? For most, especially in our Asian society, it seems to be the case. Children are told to work hard for a future good career. And for the working adults, most strive at great risk to their physical and emotional health and increasingly many give short shrift to moral values as they also strife, placing greater weight on self interest rather than common good, where the end justifies the means, to achieve a perceived better future.
Chow Yun Fat, in the 1986 cult gangster movie “A better tomorrow” literally took this misconception one step further by shooting to eternity all his enemies. Was he happier for it? Not sure, but at least, this ending was within the control of the scriptwriter and Director. What about real not reel life?
‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost….Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.’
Romans 15:13,33
When we profess ourselves as Christians, we are not just acknowledging our sins, but have committed to repent and to follow Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit, to be a holy and living sacrifice to be made ready for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. And God’s commitment to us is a life of inner peace and joy, in all circumstances, on Earth, and eternity in Heaven with Him.
‘Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching……Be ye also ready: for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.’
Luke 12:37,39
And because no one knows when Christ will return, or even when we could be taken home, the command to us is to live every day as possibly the last day and to live it well, as God leads, knowing that much as the day is evil in our fallen world, the grace of God is suffice for the day.
And here lies the disconnect for most of us.
God, for many professed Christians is often an accessory that complements our scheme of things as we pursue the desires of the world. And at best, a genie to call upon when trouble necessitates the need to look to Him.
Might not seem like a fair statement for some of the more pious Christians who feel that they have allocated God a larger share of their time and resources. But partnering God is not good enough. God looks for an obedient and faithful heart that is prepared to follow and surrender all to Him.
‘Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.’
John 12:35
Every natural disaster is not just a more profound reminder of the brevity but also the vagaries of life. Expect the unexpected is a good start, but more importantly, if you are blessed to still be with me on this sharing, it is not yet too late to make that commitment to turn to God with your all, before He takes you home. And like the people of Israel of the past, God has forgiven our sins, but we have no further excuse to keep sinning and we have no room to ask God to come back tomorrow, if He calls you home today, just because you had never prepared for His return.
‘And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart…’
1 Samuel 12:20
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(31st Mar 2011)
Ora et Labora
‘My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’
2 Corinthians 12:9
Like the Apostle Paul, all of us who truly seek to follow Christ in our every moment will know that God will still allow us to go through storms, for adversity strengthens our inner being. And like Paul, much as we rather the “thorns in our flesh” be removed, as God reminded him and all of us who seek to be like Christ today, that in our weakness we will indeed see the full glory of His power. And indeed, much as our hearts are desirous, our flesh is still weak, and God today reminded me that He knows my limits and He will divinely intervene in my life to ensure that I not moved away from Him and He has done that for me twice in the past one month. And on that, I am thankful, for His intervention ensures that much as I still have a choice not to heed, a heart that has looked to Him always, will definitely follow and in doing so, save myself from a much more painful correction from my own folly.
What about the rest of the world that do not know Him? And what about others profess themselves as Christians, but deliberately choose not to follow Him? Today might be a little more muted in terms of news breaking events, but as I reflect on the past few years, especially the past one year, there are not just disasters aplenty but each one is of a mega scale( Aceh earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Szechuan earthquake, Myammar cyclone, Iceland volcano, Pakistan floods, Queensland floods, Europe snowstorm, Chile earthquake, Christchurch earthquake and now Sendai, Japan).
But like most, I suspect these are intense but fleeting memories, as new disasters take pride of place in our hearts, or simply, we are distracted by other delusions of Satan’s savory offerings, that few take time to think more deeply about the brevity of life and what it means if truly God is real and you are called home today, literally with your spiritual pants down?
'But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.'
1 Corinthians 11:28
Just this Sunday morning, our good Lord woke me up at 7.30am with this deep recollection of my long forgotten old school motto from St Joseph's Institution, part of the La Salle mission schools, where I spend a large part of my formative years. "Ora et Labora," that is, "to pray and work. " Indeed, the times are now with us where End Times intensified would mean the world will face even more earth shaking events going forward and in greater regularity. And even I complete this God given thoughts, I am reminded that with the leak of radioactive water into the sea, the food chain at least in the Pacific Ocean is increasingly being poisoned. The ACS school, (a place where I have been very blessed to be involved in my adult life) motto "the best is yet to be," is indeed the promise that God will bring the best out of our spiritual man, as He allows circumstances to refine and transform us unto His likeness. But, there is a need for a response from us now, more than ever before, and that need is for all who profess to believe in a Sovereign God to "WORK" with our all in following His will today, and always girding that desire and effort in PRAYERS and supplication always.
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