Dear…
‘That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend…the love of Christ which passes knowledge.’
Ephesians 3:17-19
“Larger than life” that was the advertising spew I happened to hear on radio yesterday in the taxi as I was on the way to meet a dear friend who is almost an octogenarian. The radio was promoting the aura of owning one of those luxury marque, but if you are nearing the end of your shelf life, does it really matter what possessions one owns? Would you prefer the old rugged cross and its promise of eternity with God our Father or the temporal treasures of the world, which might be fleeting, but our dalliance with it, will lead us to eternal damnation?
Just this morning, I spoke to another near octogenarian friend whom I have not communicated with for the past three months. He sounded rather off center, and much as he is not ready with the details, clearly, I sense that he is undergoing some form of serious, possibly life terminating illness. And that reminded me on the need to make good on my desire to call on another slightly younger friend, whom the doctor has given about nine months of life remaining. And I did call him, but he was not home, likely out for his treatment.
Just in case you are wondering, not all my friends are of the crusty version, but my prayer is that regardless of age, all will mature in their journey with the Lord our God.
‘Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.’
1 Peter 3:15
Much as most if not all know the brevity of life, it is still a rude awakening when the inevitable become a reality, when the finite sand in the hourglass of life cannot be flipped around to restart the time frame. That inescapable reality of not seeing too many sunrises is indeed burdensome, when one realizes one might no longer be around much longer to carry the weight of the world on one’s shoulder. Paradoxically, death does set one free from the worldly burdens, but it brings on a new uncertainty and fear of the unknown. And daunting it will be if we truly believe in the larger than life myths or facts of having to go through the many levels of torture in hell(for those who need a refresher, do pop by to the Haw Par Villa in Singapore). But for the Christian, there is life after death, in fact, eternal life after death. And your joyful new life will start not upon one’s physical death, but rather from the day one repents, and accepts the salvation given to all, and is responsive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
‘Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification.’
Ephesians 4:29
The past one week or two has been a testing time for me. Anger management is one area the Lord allowed me to have some practice on. And I guess, the years of taking time with our good Lord did ensure that I half passed. But any gloating over my ability to restrain my carnal self and let the spirit of God’s love lead me was thrown down the chute last night, when I snapped with “good reason” and corrected the subject of my anger with unbridled wrath. Sinned I have, but God is good, and He has not just convicted me of my folly, but He has taught me to learn to seek forgiveness and to let the healing process not dragged too long for sin to grow. We cannot change the heart of others, not matter how much we wish to correct an “obvious” recalcitrant, but we can allow the Spirit of God to transform us, and by that, God can use us to journey with a once recalcitrant heart, but now a repentant heart, as He brings about the increase. And this is not a larger than life idealism that the cynical world has long consigned to the same chute, for with God, all things are possible and God will use good as He transforms evil.
‘We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which Thou commandedst Thy servant Moses. ….If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations. But if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments, and do them, thought there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there.’
Nehemiah 1:7-9
God is love. And God is faithful, even if we are not. And much as God will not impose His will upon us, He will also not allow us to continue unabated in sin, and into eternal damnation. Throughout the Bible and in all Christian ministries and down to the daily living of a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is this constant reminder from God to all, who cares to listen, the call to turn away from the world and unto the Lord.
‘I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.’
Psalm 34:4
None is sure if the present increased tempo in the long running Greek saga will live up to its namesake as a Greek tragedy. But fear globally amongst investors have heightened a notch, and even Iceland is spewing more ash from its volcano, after a short lull, to provide the backdrop to the coming tempest. It is indeed more than a larger than life experience to have so many good quality blue chip stock prices drop in the high double digits(30-60%) last night, be it due to a genuine or deliberate error, for losses have become real in the parallel consequential panic in the currency markets. Lawlessness has not just permeated but gone further awry in our global financial systems.
‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.’
Psalm 34:6
It will indeed be nice if the “gods” that are supposed to reside on Mt Olympus will come down to save the Greeks from not just fearful investors, but from the hedge funds marauding like pack of wolves, in the once vaunted but now much weakened European Union. If what is happening now is reminiscence of the last Asian crisis, then more blood will be spilled, with the eventual reaction of the European Union being forced to be more authoritarian. Freedom of funds movements will be severely curtailed with a possible combination of exchange controls plus a host of other non-market rules that the European Union will impose(reminiscence of what the Asian countries did in the Asian crisis) to bring to a halt to the speculative attacks as well as restore sanity to the runaway panic, which is now steadily building up. We might be weeks or even days from that, but in the meanwhile, everyone is looking to the German Chancellor Merkel to ride in like a knight to the rescue of the coterie of damsels in distress, the dash rather than dashing Greeks, the somber Portuguese rather than the dark and handsome version, or for that matter, the limpid rather than languid Spaniards plus the shivering rather than suave Italians. And not forgetting the now quiet but still very frigid state of economic and financial stupor of the severely overstretched Eastern Europeans.
‘That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.’
Zephaniah 1:15
And what comes next, should nerves be temporarily halted.? Like the USA, we should expect the European Union to flood the world with a surfeit of Euros. Life will never be the same. The astronomical price just paid for a Picasso, what the Financial Times coined “the world’s most expensive bust” this bring a painting of Picasso’s mistress, might seem larger than life for a piece of paper with some ink on it. But life will soon take on mega bucks, as hard work and thrift get devalued, and many will scramble for real assets that can preserve or at least stem the rapid erosion of their purchasing power. Like the ex Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mathathir(who will feel justified that back in 1998, in the midst of the Asian crisis, his exchange control implementation that was much maligned by the self righteous West then, who now are likely to copiously follow suit), the other “M” ie Mr Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, will similarly feel exonerated that a loaf of bread should indeed be priced at Zimbabwe $1mio, for that might be where the world is soon heading to, if they continue their profligate ways. Protectionism, inflation, social unrest, xenophobia will increasingly be the color of a battered world, the perfect recipe for a repeat for the rise of demigods like Hitler, Lenin and Mussolini(of Italy), or maybe the Anti-Christ?
‘And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.’
Colossians 3:15
Horror stories with lots of blood and gore seems to sell better. Prayerfully, my little litany of what can come is not with that intent. It might matter to all of us who seek the temporal, but if our hearts are open to the Spirit of our loving Father, come what may, we know that He is Sovereign and when we experience to very sanctifying presence, when we seek Him, we will know that God is larger than life, no matter our present circumstances or station in life.
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(7th May 2010)
An afterthought - The age of lawlessness
As I pondered upon what has been an interesting day, at least for those involved in the rough and tumble of the financial markets, I was reminded of an article going the rounds today about the possible conspiracy of hands unknown, whose engineering of an unprecedented 1000 points fall in the Dow Jones Index, has directly benefited the alleged conspirators who must have made a killing on the much larger currency markets, where the blood truly spilled in reaction to the near collapse in the stock markets.
'Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does not harm to its neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
Romans 13:8
Does the pursuit of profit and personal gain justify the wholesale destruction of wealth and lives of the innocent? Clearly, a cursory observation of the financial upheavals of time immemorial has always revealed a latent driving force behind such implosions. the selfishness and greed of men. However in recent years, what seems different though is the scale and regularity of such destruction as well as the participation of a increasingly significant minority rather than just a select few in the past. And what is more galling is the indifference to their deeds when caught and the legalistic justification rather than the moral responsibility of earlier generations.
We are indeed in the age of lawlessness and this was the thought that the Lord has impressed upon me this evening.
How is it possible that the recent generation of movers and shakers of the developed world, with all their education and resources degenerate into bands of robbers and liars? Is it because their parents have lost their way, in turning away from the Lord. Dysfunctional families, the absence of the once ever present God in schools, in public offices, the instant gratification lifestyle and debauchery, the move away from Godly values as described in Galatians 5:22 and towards what the devil prescribe(Galatians 5: 19-21), we are now seeing the fruits of the disobedience of earlier generations, manifested in the now self centered adult lives of many in the developed world.
After the subprime in USA, the roaming gang of robbers and thieves in immaculate suits or expensive sweatsuits have now converged upon Europe. Soon it could be Asia. Can we stop it? I am not sure, but more importantly, we in Asia can avoid the same downhill slide in the family as ordained by God. The call now is for us as parents, to lead as spiritual heads of our households, with our spouses to turn to the Lord our God. To lead by example, our next generation and the generations to come, to ensure that they do not go down the same slipeery route as their once God fearing but now lawless counterparts in the West.
God is patient for our sake, but He will return to judge the world.
'But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no , not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man b. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be...'
Matthew 24:36-39
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