I have 2 grand uncles staying together in Muar, they are twins.
They are quite old, in their 60s or 70s I think, They are not married, so no children as well.
They live in a small double storey house, there are a few old tables and chairs at the ground floor, I don’t know if you can call those “furniture”. The place is not dirty, but on the whole it just looks so dull and inanimate. And almost every time I see them, they are wearing short pants and singlet, and that really short hair that will spend you no time to tidy up, and only need the minimum hair shampoo i guess.
Well…They make furniture for a factory , they don’t earn a lot, but at the same time they make some investments. My mum and their boss say they are honest and thrifty people.
T o be honest, I have always thought they are those kind of people who are “not modern” and maybe, “outdated”: work, eat and sleep, continuing the routine without any entertainment, or maybe listening to radio, the only possible entertainment I can find in the house. And, uhm… and I don’t really think they go out with friends or socialize as well.
No, I don’t despise them. But I thank God a few years ago they got to know Christ, they started to attend church, they found the purpose and the hope of life. It was really thrilling to me. Just after a few years later (last year actually), one of my grand uncles passed away.
When I came home to Johor Bahru last week, for Chinese new year, my youngest sister showed me a keyboard.
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
“From ‘Chek Gong’(grand -uncle).” She said.
Mum was near and she heard this.
“Your ‘Chek Gong’ said he bought this some time ago when he earned some dividends from investment.” Mum added.
“What? A keyboard?”
That was my first reaction.
I couldn’t figure out how and why at that time, my grand-uncle would feel like playing a keyboard and bought one, based on what I understand of him. You know, they do not even have a fridge and television!
This makes me understand that every being always has a desire and need in the heart that sometimes cannot be seen from the appearance, life style or speech. It (the desire/need)might be properly kept, hidden, but sometimes it shows up too.
If you have studied physics before, you should have heard of a unit for pressure called “Pa”, pronounced Pascal. It was named after the physicist Blaise Pascal, and he was a Christian as well.
He said this:
There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.
~ Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
It again reminds me that there is also a need in every human’s life to seek God.
Have you ever ponder, the universe wasn’t formed by co-incidence. You, and everything on this earth, was uniquely created with a purpose, with the most amazing architecture?
Have you ever feel empty and alone? Eventhough you have a soulmate(boyfriend/girlfriend), lovely family members, and probably lots of friends.
Have you wondered if heaven and hell exist? Have you ever scared that they really exist...
People always love to ask me: What makes you so religious?
Honestly, I hate the word “religious”.
Jesus is not my “religion”. And I am not using “religion” to fill the emptiness in my life, to “give myself” hope in life.
Jesus and I are about a relationship. The emptiness in my life is filled, because I have a relationship with my Creator that loves me, just like the relationship you have with your boy/girlfriend, parents, siblings or best friends.
But the difference is, this is a need and relationship that cannot be replaced with any existing relationship in your life, it’s uniquely for God.
And, I don’t use “God” to give myself hope in life, but it was God who gave me hope in my life, for my future or any uncertainties in this journey.
If I have shared about Jesus to you in the past, or if I do that in the future, please do not misunderstand that I do this to “expand the size of Christianity” or to “increase the number of attendance in my church”.
I do this only because I love you, and I learnt how to love you because He loves and cares for you too, and He first loved me and showed me how to love.
And Christians, don’t judge the book by its cover.
Share the love around, because people need the Lord.
Pascal has always been right about the pressure in physics world.
And I am not ashamed to say he is also never wrong on choosing the God whom Pascal and I believe in. I hope all of you, my dear ones make the same choice one day.
God bless.
They are willing to spend time in their study week to come for devotions together! :)
