by Haleena Tan
15 November 2009
I remember when I was doing my form 6; I had 2 classmates who always invited me to their church functions. I even attended their church camp. One thing which led me to want to find out more about Christianity is the way that one family had hosted me after one of the church functions.
It was a very simple family, they were not rich but they put me up for the night and took care of my breakfast. I cannot remember their names but I can still remember the warmth that I felt when they invited me to join them for the breakfast.
When I was in UK, I was amazed by the warmth and friendliness of those Christian who just took me and my brother into their house and provided us with dinner and a place to stay. This was the 2nd encounter with Christians who were so willing to help. One girl even gave up her bed for me to sleep on while she slept on the floor. This took place close to winter and it was cold. I was really touched.
It was the help, the friendship and the caring attitude of those students from the Christian fellowship that brought me into the circle of Christians. The head of the group was always there to support those who needed help; then there was this lady by the name of Kim who always showed concern for those who did not turn up for the group worship on Sunday afternoon. There were 3 students (Kim, Ai Ling and Maureen) who always opened their house for us to have a gathering there after the afternoon worship to share meals or just have fellowship. They practiced Ephesians 4:33 – and be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. The care, warmth and support given to me led me to want to find out more as what made these people so special.
If it were not for the exemplary lives of those I came across, I would not have looked further. In fact, 2 of my nephews became Christians as a result of this group of Christians in UK.
What about us now? Are we any different from those non Christians? Can others know that we are Christians via our daily lives? The Bible said in John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” I would say one of the attractions to Christianity for me was the way the believers treated one another and how they cared for each other via their actions.
I heard someone mentioned that a non believer said “if that guy is a Christian, then I do not want to be one!” When asked why, he said “that guy is worse than a non Christian!” Yes, we are being watched. Our life-styles, our behaviour, our language, the way we treat each others reflect what kind of person we are. If others do not find the “Christian behaviour” or the “fruit of Spirit” in us, then we have not live up to God’s expectation and the expectation of non believer that we should be different.
Many of us are careless with our speech and our life-style; but the Bible says in Col 4:6 – Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man; Heb 13:5 – Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for He had said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; Eph 4:4 – Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks. Some thought that as long as they do not do it in front of the church brethren, it is alright as no one will know. Do not forget that God is always watching over us. This idea of God is watching over us does not really go down well with many people. Perhaps it has something to do with our faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11: 1). I would say it is the anchor of our soul.
The world is full of temptation and the devil is always there to prevent us from getting close to God. The minute we are off guarded, we will definitely slip. Some time due to peer pressure, we talk like our friends, classmates, college friends and colleagues. We do not want to be singled out as weird or being branded as “religious”. Sometimes are we even shy to admit that we are Christians? This is perhaps because we are scared that we will be laughed at, we will not be welcomed in their circle anymore, and we may lose a deal. If we are caught in this situation, we must go to God and ask for wisdom, James 1:5 – If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
To some, being a Christian is a daily struggle, to others it does not matter and they just carry on as before, to those who cling on to God’s Word and abide in Him faithfully, no storm can subdue them.
God had not promised us heaven on earth, He promised us that He will be there to support us and bear our burden if we trust and obey and do His will! He also promised Heaven will be our final resting place if we walk closely with Him.
Yes, we are being watched by the world, but most importantly, we are being watched by God all the time. So the choice is ours, do we want to go the worldly way or do we want to have eternity? We have to answer to God at the end of the day.
We have nobody to blame except ourselves as God had made us with the “will and wisdom” to discern right from wrong.
