Dear...
'That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.....that ye may know what is the hope of His calling......And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe according to the working of His mighty power...'
Ephesians 1:17-19
"The Shepherd's ministry is to experience, and then impact, by the Holy Spirit, the revelation of the Lord." These are indeed wonderful words not just of wisdom, but experiential enlightenment from a half century journey of walking and responding in faith. I am not referring to myself, for being only a youthful 50, my desire for the Lord did not start from the day I was born, it took a long 40 years more. But rather, these are indeed Spirit led words shared by my mentors, Paul and Bunty Collins, who after 50 years of faithful service, are being used by our Lord to even greater heights, to shepherd the future shepherds in His Kingdom.
"Once upon a time" is the de riguer opening for most fairy tales that many of us were brought up on, though not too sure if fairy tales are in vogue any longer?
But the brutal truth of life is far from a fairy tale, and more inclined to a recurring nightmare for some, and for most a recurring migraine, for we live in a fallen world.
'I will give Thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise Thee among much people.'
Psalm 35:18
My mum will be 80 next year. But lately she is full of praise and thanksgiving for the mercies of our great Lord. Much as our bodily shell cannot shed away the inevitable wear and tear from the passage of time, she is gratified that our Lord answered her prayers. Our family doctor told her that she no longer needs to be on medication for diabetes, which is wonderful news having been subjected to this horror of horrors disease for so many years. My mum was a late starter in this journey of faith with our Lord, but in the last decade of her coming to the faith, our Lord has nurtured and transformed her faith, thanks to the faithfulness of my sisters and niece and her willing response.
'And again, "I will put my trust in Him." And again: "Here am I and the children whom God has given me.'
Hebrews 2:13
As a family, I know God has wonderfully moved us closer in the spirit of unity towards Him. What about my neighbors??
Last evening, thanks to the efforts of my ex colleagues from one of my previous employ, we had our first get-together in 16 years, at least for me. And to make it meaningful, we spent time in a home for the aged located in the midst of a public housing estate. I have come to learn that whenever I have a sense of dread before an activity, where clearly activities of such nature are truly in line with the call of our Lord, in this case to love our neighbors, I must learn to submit and be a willing participant much as I might feel some discomfort, for God will more than show me His purpose.
'...Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do......'
John 5:19
"What do we do in a home with 26 old ladies?' Our good Lord reminded me that God is love, and what better way to be like Christ than to show genuine love and interest in till now strangers in one's life. I took the liberty of approaching the two lovely ladies (see photo) who happened to be the first who caught my eyes, and engaged in my "long left in the cupboard Hokkien dialect." To give is to receive, and indeed, much as I believe that not just these two new acquaintances of mine, but all the old folks and the youngsters which is the rest of us, had a great time and look how relax we were(see photo).
'By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments.'
1 John 5:3
This home we visited is run by a church, but not all the residents were believers. Similarly, not many of us who attended yesterday were believers. But love was the glue that kept everyone together, and love is a good start for God is love. A relationship built upon love will give both parties a reason to learn more about each other, our past, our present and our future plans.
As a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, I have experienced the revelation of God's love and the truth of His words many times. And I would love to share that story that He has and continues to write upon my very heart and it is more than a fairy tale, for the ending will not just be happy, but throughout our finite life on Earth and into eternity, if we are willing to trust in Him. And I will like to encourage whoever God places in my life, to hand over the penning of their life's story away from the devil to our Lord Jesus Christ.
These thoughts I have just shared, and in the realms of meanderings in the past 8 years, is not just my story, but yours too, for God is faithful and He has already written a wonderful story for your life, and it is for you now to lived out that story, by letting go and letting Him. And this is true, for you will experience what I and countless other men and women of faith have experienced, when we acknowledge Christ as the author and finisher of our faith.
And God is indeed wonderful in the way He affirms. Of the two ladies that I had the closest affinity to yesterday, one of them turned out to be from the same "kampung" or "village" that I spent the first 6 1/2 years of my life in. I was too young for her to notice then, but strangely I do remember her, once we cross checked our past. She claims to be a sprightly 93(though I think she is closer to late 70s) and a visitor to the home. No visitor has a bed with their name tagged on!!
How lovable these ladies are, shrewd as ever, and having a great time teasing "gullible youngsters" like us, and such simple fun are what gives them great joy, now that the long highway of life comes near to an end for them. Yet, it need not be, for death is not the end as the devil loves to beguile us all with that lie, for there is still eternity to work on. And on this, one sad misconception amongst many of us, Christians included, is the tendency to invest in the lives of the young and healthy, thinking that they have a life ahead that we can invest more productively in. Not realizing that Christ loves us all, and that while mortal life is indeed finite, there is eternity still to be worked on and we must not neglect the old or those who are not in the mold of the normal healthy child.
And indeed God always affirm in more ways than once. I also found out that this home was chaired by a dear friend of mine till recently. What are the odds of finding an old neighbor who one hardly knows amongst a bunch of 26 ladies and what more to find her in a home that one has a friend involved in, without my knowing till yesterday?
All things are impossible with men, but always possible with our Lord, for indeed He is the author and finisher of our faith and that is indeed the indescribable joy and peace that God bless the willing with
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(4th Sep 2011)
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