Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Making Right

Even though we were hundred of miles away from danger, we were all shaken by Sunday's earthquake in Sumatra all the same. Suddenly, our little comfort zone doesn't quite feel so comfortable anymore.

"We better make right with God," Mae said, grimly. She always had a way with such things. But I knew she was right.

A couple of years back, we visited Mae's old church. A certain Dr. Samuel Doctorian spoke that Sunday. He had had a vivid dream. In it he was visited by five angels who told him that they were the Five Angels of the Continents. "The Angel of Asia said that earthquake will wreak Asia and the ocean will cover up the land!" he cried out in melodramatic fashion. I was fairly new to Christianity then - much like how Scully was new to the X-Files. "What drama," I said to myself and dismissed it as the man's overactive imagination. And left it at that.

Sunday night, I was reminded of his words once again. Perhaps its curtain time for us all. Perhaps not. Either way, it was a wake up call. Whether or not you believe in the End Times as prescribed by Christian Scholars (or any other religious people, for that matter), the underlying message of the End Of Days isn't all that mysterious:

"TO LIVE A LIFE WORTHY OF GOD."

For some strange reason, putting the word "God" in that sentence tends to piss some people off. But you don't have to be a person of faith to appreciate the gravity of that message. It's just a call to live life to the fullest (not a life of selfish excesses, mind you)! Live each day as if it were your last. Carpe diem. Or whatever cliche comes to mind.

"You Christians suck," my cousin once said. "You sin every day of the week and on Sunday you go to church, ask for forgiveness and get your ticket back to Heaven!" His statement floored me and left me quite speechless. But I realise now that it isn't quite as simple as this. What if I died on a Saturday?

"We better make right with God." Mae was always the smarter one in such matters. "We need to do right in whatever we're doing now," she added. And I realised that a life worthy of God isn't ONLY going to church or praying harder. It's also to be a better person, a better worker, a better boss, a better friend, a better son and at this point in my life, a better father.

I realise that I can never promise my son that Tsunamis will never strike. But I can promise to hold him tight when it does. Last night, Jesse woke up startled. I cradled him in my arms and reassured him, "Daddy's gonna do the best he can."

I'd like to think that's all God really expects from us; to do the best we can. It's reassuring to know that we can always afford to do a little better.

NOTICE: By the way, if you feel that you'd like to make right with God by giving, details can be found at Mack's and Papi's.

15 comments:

  1. i have only one thing to say about this post uncle james and that is
    AMEN !

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  2. makes me wish i had someone to hug a little tighter tonight james :)
    godbless all the souls who are missing, yet to be found, gone to a better place and all their families. amen.

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  3. Amen :)
    Jesse is so blessed to have a daddy to reassure him that everything will be alright...reminds me of my own dad and mum...

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  4. He who builds his house on the Rock shall withstand the tsunamis of life. ;)

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  5. cherry : amen to that statement, jesse IS BLESSED to have parents such as james and mae
    Fly : you got that right, for ye who buildeth the house on the Rock, ye shall be strong so sayeth the Lord thy God.

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  6. just received a bad news that one of my co employee was killed in tsunamis attack, in penang. the co is setting up a bereavement aid to help those affected. this is the saddest news before we bid farewell to 2004...

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  7. James, I think I heard the same prophecy before too. This only reminds us all how short our lives are and that we should not take things / people who matters for granted.

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  8. Amen is appropriate, Leo. Thanks.
    Keep hugging the little one, BabeKL!
    CC, we can only hope that those with friends and family missing can find some solace.
    Thanks Cherry. Give your parents a hug. :)
    Well said, Fly.
    My condolences, Beauty. God rest his soul.
    Yes, Anjali. Life is short and too often we seem to just speed through it. Time to stop and smell the flowers.

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  9. HEY.... I have not been able to access your commenting system the past months-why? I have not an idea. Could be some settings in my PC *shrugs* I have not had the time to check my PC out in any case. So sorry for the lack of comments!!! ;)
    I'm glad you and ur family's OK. All of us are pretty shaken about Sunday's news. That message from Dr Samuel was profound huh? Powerful as humans may be, with all the knowledge of atomic bombs and biological weapons, at the end of the day - nature wins hands down.
    A friend said God is in control. Have faith - He is in control. And yes, once again, I too was reminded to deny my self and take up his cross.... The 2nd coming is approaching, we must do our part as His followers. Thanks for posting the entry. Another self-reflection session is needed.
    God Bless you and your family. Keep praying for those that were hit by the tragedy.
    And yea... wanna share this with you.
    http://www.livejournal.com/users/sapphire_pearl/30503.html
    Skip the 1st two sections at the top and zip thru to the bottom section on Excellence vs Perfection. The top bits are just rambles...
    Take care. Angeline

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  10. my condolence as well,Beauty. God rest his/her soul. and the rest who are still in grief

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  11. Death seems to always perk us up eh?
    It is the reality of our mortality.
    On a flight I was from KL to Alor Star
    Delayed by Air Asia @ 9am the plane took off.
    Nary a tremor did I feel in the air.
    The Silver bird landed in Alor Star at 10am
    Minutes before landing in Alor Star
    I caught a beautiful glimpse of the sea,
    At that moment wished I had a digital camera
    To capture a beautiful shot if the blue and wavy sea.
    12pm the "Evil Wave" struck.
    Unknown to me that a Tsunami was on it's way Of lives in it's clasp to whisk and slay.
    Lives were lost and souls were returned
    Those who love the Lord are not spurned.

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  12. jamesl, if you have any clothes or blankets to donate, please do so quickly. there are many centres collecting them for shipment by early next week. if you don't have used blankets, can buy the olive green made-in-china blankets - they are very good for cold weathers. i know coz the army uses them. go out and make a difference. cheers!

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  13. Hey there Angeline! I'm not sure bout the commenting thing, but Mae did face the same problem - she couldn't read any of the comments here! Oh well. Also, thanks for sharing your piece. :)
    Paulos, I'm glad you didn't have to witness the Tsunami first-hand.
    Thanks Buaya, will do.

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  14. Hi, Rev Samuel Doctorian was one of the guest speakers to a 3-Day conference which just ended yesterday. I have been truely annointed and have shared my amazing experience with the Holy Spirit in my blog. I just want to say that false prophets turns us away from God while true prophets turn us towards God.
    When I heard all the life experiences he shared I too was skeptical and classified under "drama". But when I truely experience God at work, I was totally convinced.
    Simply said, God uses not one but a group of people in His kingdom. Some have been blessed to be teachers, others prophets etc. Since God has so fully annointed these individuals then just tap on their annointing and draw close to God.
    In all, glory and honor goes to Christ alone.
    Do have a read if u r free
    http://2bhappi.blogspot.com

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