Time has wings: Easter 2018

In the picture: Every Easter, the “red-centred” guavas harvest in my garden! In January, I also discovered that the fig tree in my garden which I thought was dead is actually alive and bears fruits (just that I did not pay enough attention to it to realise it harvests in Jan)!

I don’t know if turning 35 does something to one’s physiology, but my sense of time has changed. I often felt like time has wings and now I feel it’s flying away fast! If one generation is defined as 70 years, half of it had already gone past like the wind!

I know that I will come face to face with God one day. Will it be a “Welcome, good and faithful servant,” or a “I never knew you”? I already thought of this question a long time ago. I’ve always been the type of person who thinks very far ahead. In fact, three days before my dad died unexpectedly in 2013, he told me I had this conversation with him at the age of 7 and he already knew I will become a Christian one day:

“Will everyone eventually die?” I asked.

“Yes.” He replied.

“They why did you guys let me be born?” I asked.

Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? I wasn’t exactly the happiest kid in the world at the age of 7. Luckily, things changed at the age of 8 when I moved to the US and received the Gospel there. I’m not sure how visible the impact of God’s work on me and my immediate family looks to others, but there are some very serious issues internally within myself as well as interpersonal issues within the immediate family that God had already transformed supernaturally.

For instance, there was one time in 2008 where I almost fell into clinical depression and God just took that awful feeling away suddenly during a prayer (instantaneous, fraction of a second type of action)! Previous self-help books could not do that! Another miracle happened on a Wednesday where I suddenly decided to take a quick peek in a church that was close to where my grandma lived in Taiwan. My dad, who claimed to be atheist and stayed far away from churches, suddenly followed me in because he thought I was just taking a quick glance. Coincidentally, the pastor of the church was standing at the entrance and started a conversation with my dad, eventually leading him to the prayer to accept Christ as Saviour! I see that as a miracle! Sadly, my dad passed away unexpectedly two days later. Imagine how horrible it would have been if he had died without praying that prayer!    

Despite the tragedy of his sudden passing, this prompted me to think more deeply about my accountability to Christ in my short little life. That was when I decided to make an attempt to equip myself better for Christ by enrolling at Morling College.

In a sense, God is like my doctor: He had already done many internal works on me like a surgeon… Yet I am a very impatient patient of God, often demanding him for faster and more visible results externally. Paradoxically, one of the reason why I am so impatient is related to my accountability to Christ: Facing Him one day and not being able to come up with enough examples about the impact of my life on other people’s lives.
I mean, I impact on people as a doctor, but what about on the matters in relation to eternity, ie. as God’s vessel to bring others to Christ? Here is a story to illustrate the point:
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/04/01/20/35/60-minutes-munjed-al-muderis-luis-montalvan

This is a fascinating story about a leading Sydney surgeon who was a refugee from Iraq, and a former US soldier who lost a leg in Iraq!
Sad twist to the story though: You can apply the most amazing medical technology to help someone... and still not be able to save that person... but I think Dr Al Muderis still made a very positive contribution to Luis' life as there are some joyful moments captured on camera.

I must constantly remind myself to stay connected to the true vine (John 15:5): only when the love of Christ overflows would I have enough love to give to others. And instead of ripping at the unripened fruits, to wait patiently for the fruits to be ready.