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[News & Resources ] >> [Articles & Testimonies] >> [Perspective] |
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Topic: When Death Occurs in the Family I was asked by our Deacon Vincent Lim to share some thoughts on death in the family and I wondered why he asked me. Maybe it's because I am an undertaker. I see death everyday. But frankly, death is a topic I fear to think about because I have siblings, their families and other relatives who are still not saved. It is my prayer to the Lord that my sharing will be an encouragement to each one of you. I want to reflect on "WHEN DEATH OCCURS IN THE FAMILY LET THERE BE NO REGRETS." What will be my regrets? My regrets would be: 1. I have not shared the gospel. Through my personal experience, I find it easier to bring friends to know Jesus than my own immediate family. Nevertheless, I still have to put in effort to work on them. Today, I want to share my testimony of my late father who passed away 5 years ago. My late father heard the gospel since YCK Chapel started Family Nights where we invite our non-English speaking relatives to hear the gospel message in Mandarin or in other dialects. He accepted Jesus and said the sinner's prayer three times. The first one was in 1992; the other two times in 1998 while in hospital after he was diagnosed with cancer. We panicked at the news of his cancer. Without my knowledge, my brother-in-law Freddie brought one church elder to share the gospel with him in the morning and I brought our former Pastor Wilson Yeo from Chinese Gospel Hall in the afternoon. On both occasions, he prayed to accept the Lord. But each time after he accepted Jesus, he was under great spiritual attack, and because of this struggle he regretted and backed out. One day my father said this to me, "Why must you keep pressurizing me to believe in your God?" I told my father it is because I love him. I went to the Lord and complained to Him about why all this must happen. What had gone wrong? The Lord spoke to me. "Yes, you love your father but it has to be according to my standard of love." I tried to bargain with God and told Him all the things I had done for my father. But God said this to me, "It's not good enough." Finally, I decided to obey God and follow His Ways for the sake of my father's salvation. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be a blessing to him. I thank and praise God, it was through God's guidance that I began to appreciate my father more and love him as he was. Our relationship became closer and occasionally, he would allow me to pray with him. Three weeks before my father passed away something wonderful happened. The church elder who led my father to receive Jesus as his Saviour came to our home to pray. After praying for him my father raised his hands three times to praise and thank the Lord in teochew! This affirmation was such a comfort to me. My doubt about my father's salvation was immediately removed. My father was truly saved. Later that same day, he was admitted to hospital and his speech started to become incoherent. While in hospital, the church elder suggested that he should get baptised. My father was conscious but could not speak. So, he used the squeezing of hand method to give us his consent to be baptised. On the day when my father was baptised, although he could not speak, he kept raising his hands when we sang choruses at the hospital ward. What a wonderful sight to behold. One week later, the Lord took him home. Can you see how good and faithful God is? Today, as I think about if, I still am amazed how God works. He is good, really, really good. Glory goes to Him. When death occurs in the family let there be no regrets. Do our part and God will do His part. Can we make a difference in the family? To close, I would like to quote from Brother Chai Kee in his article "Can we really be a blessing?" - written almost exactly a year ago in the YCK News bulletin 25 July 2004. He wrote: "We make a difference not on our own - only when God makes a difference through us". Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Mother Teresa must have prayed "Make me a blessing." Bonhoeffer's joy-filled letters from prison were a blessing to his fiancee, friends and family. For Mother Teresa, it's about blessing a particular person in a particular place because of a particular person called JESUS. So dear Brothers and Sisters-in-Christ, BEFORE DEATH OCCURS IN THE FAMILY, DO BE A BLESSING AND DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND THERE WILL BE NO REGRETS. LET'S PRAY Our Dear Heavenly Father, Burden our hearts with the salvation of our Loved Ones, that in this short time we are here on earth, we are transformed by your power through Jesus Christ our Lord so that our love ones can be gifted with eternal life. Empower us with the love of Jesus to be faithful servants and living examples of your love and grace to make an impact upon the lives of those around us. We pray all these in the Name of Our Precious Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. |
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