Dear….
‘Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?’
Ecclesiastes 8:6-7
For many of us, life is about upward mobility and how do we stay connected to the vibrant world we lived in, and how do we position ourselves to be carried forth by the varied cross currents, that hopefully will allow us to scale the heights of what men deem achievements and success.
How many of us truly take time to be still and know the will of God?
‘For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him…’
2 Chronicles 16:9
Just yesterday, on a lovely Sunday afternoon, lovely because we finally had some rain, after the stifling heat of the past couple of weeks, I found myself, with my siblings, heading back towards the suburbs, to exactly where some of you had the privilege to spend a blessed time with the children of the Chen Su Lan Methodist Home last November, when we did an event in conjunction with the Lord’s book “Reflections – A traveler’s muse”. Maybe less precise here, for it was not the Children’s Home that I was visiting, but its next door neighbor, a nursing home for the aged and incapacitated. As I stood at the balcony of the room where my uncle is residing, looking into the Children’s Home, it did strike me as paradoxical. Here in this nursing home, generously sprinkled in its grounds are many wheel chaired bound older folks, where a sense of despondency permeates and many while away their time staring into space, a blank look that reflects beneath its surface, a life that once was, be it of fullness or of angst. Contrast that to the young lives next door, full of possibilities, much as for many in their still budding lives, it has been no bed of roses.
‘The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under Whose wings thou art come to trust.’
Ruth 2:12
It has been years since I met my uncle. It took a while for me to match the haggard and shriveled stranger staring at me, to the jovial man I used to know, whose visual image from at least 15 years back was the last frame ingrained in my psyche. How time does take its toll on a once vibrant body, but more importantly, does the toil of life also inflict such damage on the soul and spirit of man?
Our bodily shells are temporal. And it will deteriorate with time, much as some still seek fruitlessly, the elixir of life. But will a follower of Christ be able to age with grace, and do they need to suffer the ravages on their bodily shell as well, with its concomitant pain? Or can the Lord just take us home when it is time, without the ailments of the aging process? And can a life of faithful obedience with its joy and peace provide the faithful with a different passage in their journey in this temporal fallen world?
‘The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.’
Isaiah 40:8
God did take a rare few just like that, without the need to go through the throes of death.(2 Kings 2:11 on prophet Elijah) Or would I rather be like Methuselah, the oldest man in the world, who lived nine hundred sixty and nine years before he died, and whose death marked the beginnings of the flood aka Noah’s Ark? Being carnal and less than perfect, I do wish that God will allow me to leave my bodily shell without too much pain when He deem that it is time for me, yet I also wish that it will not be time as yet. Confused or fickle minded I might be, but the good Lord has blessed me in so many ways, and save for an ache here or there, as I enter the end of my second quarter of my finite life, it has never been more joyful. And God is good, for the past couple of months, He has brought even more people from my past back into my life. And lest I forget, if Christ should return like now, both the dead and the living faithful will be carried up to the throne of God.
'For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.'
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
I was at a 25th anniversary reunion gathering with my old University mates last Saturday. The venue might be spanking new, but clearly save for the accouterments that some of us hang around our bodily shell, all of us were displaying the ravages of age. The long sightedness did not really help, for most had a difficult time recognizing each other, and thankfully, the year book from 25 years back did come in useful. It was fun and it was great time for reminiscence on our once youthful adult days, much as most of us have doubled in age and for some girth as well, yet for others, a depletion of their crowning glory, but I am sure the last twenty five years also brings with it the burdens and joy of life.
‘Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?’
1 Corinthians 3:16
It always bemuse me as to how precise our Dear Father is with us who seek Him. This was the verse I read this morning from the Daily Bread and it is a loving gentle admonishment from the Lord, to dispel any doubts I might have as regards this issue of wear and tear. Much as the devil might want us all to believe that youth is vigor and age is rigor, the latter best ended like a piece of discarded widget, where like my uncle commented to my sister, the nursing home is a place where all who enters wait to die, where their very wretched soul is imprisoned within a now derelict and non functional body.
‘To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord…’
Isaiah 42:7-8
Life or rather death need not be that way. A book I am currently reading, titled “None of these diseases - The Bible's health secrets for the 21st century by S.I McMillen, M.D. and David E. Stern, M.D”, written by a medical doctor, shows the wisdom of God’s words, that if followed, would have saved many of us, the ravages of our self inflicted illnesses(See Exodus15:26). We live in a sinful and temporal world. It does not mean that Christians will not fall sick nor die a mortal death. However, it is also an observation that if we live our lives the way God wills, life will indeed be one of joy and peace, rather than the cloak of stress that most wear permanently, and we will, in all likelihood have less of the life threatening toxins permeating from man’s understanding aka anger, worry, pride, bitterness, impatience and all that is bad for our body.
Just yesterday, I read an article on a recent study by doctors in Canada who linked a stronger heart to a cheerful disposition. Much as research has its limits, clearly, the countenance of a heart that is right with God clearly shows forth in a person and nothing in this world can take away that joy and peace and hope, or more correctly reassurance that come from knowing that the Spirit of God resides in our hearts.
Time and our follies will ensure that our bodily shell will succumb to the aging process. But our soul and spirit, if it truly and fully rested upon the spring of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, will continue to be refreshed, sustained and climb even greater heights of joy, in anticipation of the day the Lord will take us home. That is the hope, that is available to all, but sadly, is sorely lacking, once the distractions of a world once enamored with us, the non believers/non followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, leave us aside to ponder upon what once was, but now never again.
My sisters do a wonderful job in bringing joy to the down and out. I am still quite stiff and not very good at expressing simple love. And being a male is probably stretching that excuse a little too taut. Anyway, the last is reserved for the best, and my younger sister, the last to join us during this visitation, through her God given ease of personality, was used by our Lord to bring the smile back to a downtrodden soul, and the jovial uncle whom I used to know, by the grace of God, resurfaced and saved for a few symbolic representations of the ravages of age, the man of cheer I used to know emerged like a shining light from a cloud of despondency. What is impossible with man, is possible with our omnipresent and Sovereign God. And much as we must be willing to be used by the Lord our God to water amongst the many parched souls, and age is not the only determinant of that, it is God Who will bring about the increase.
And so, life need not be about us reminiscing about what once was, either for ourselves once the music in the carnival of life stops or for our loved ones now relieved of the physical vigor of life. There is still the effervescence and truly vibrant soul and spirit that mortality can never impact. Christ by his death and resurrection has broken the bondage of sin and death upon us. Joy and peace grounded upon the Lord our Rock is no longer a function of time nor our physical well being. Rather, it is grounded upon a heart whose place is solely for the Lord our God, and no matter the state of our bodily temple, the sanctifying love and presence of God will always ensure that it is perfect, till the Lord takes us home.
‘If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’
1 Corinthians 3:17
Let us not wait till our outward shell falls apart, before we realize that our inward man is truly malnourished and starved of the sanctifying love of God our Father.
'Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you, he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light...'
John 12:35-36
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(11 May 10)
Remembering George Bush Junior
The man is very much alive, at least as of now, much as Obama has taken over the limelight. But the headline caption of “Shock and awe” to describe the $trillion emergency package cobbled together by the European Union to bring calm to the burgeoning panic in the financial markets jolted my memory of a not too distant “shock and awe’ strategy by the then Presidency of George Bush junior. Junior did a much faster job than Bush senior in completing the takeover of Iraq through the awesome display of American firepower. But victory is fleeting and problems are plentiful and few looking at the mess in Iraq today, could have recognized the euphoria of the American victory just a few short years back.
Would Fortress Europe go the same way as Iraq, where papering over the real issues buy temporal relief, but longer term pain and very little gain, for there is only so much one can drown one’s problem by flooding the world with paper.
Watch this space or rather, watch the listing Britannia(ie good old mother England) where the wolf packs might feast on while taking a temporary respite from Continental Europe.
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