3rd B that came quite close to home

Experiencing the first 2 Bs (Beret & CSB Badge) was great. But experiencing the 3rd B that came quite close to home wasn't all that great. That 3rd B is Bereavement.

Just 3 days ago, my dear childhood friend, Matthew, lost his father to an acute heart attack. We knew each other since Sunday School in BCM (Bethel Children's Ministry) when we were kindergarten kids. We will both turn 21 this year.

I know his family quite well and I will remember Uncle Sebastian as a very nice guy whom you can chat readily with without feeling judged or scrutinized down by him. He also has a big, really big smile and deep, hearty laughter. I will also always remember his trademark bluetooth earpiece which always stays on his right ear (if I remember correctly) making him look like some secret service agent. Haha.

His demise is really shocking because he is a regular blood donor, meaning that he'd have gone through blood & heart tests each time before donating blood. So heart attack was the least expected foe.

Just an hour before his dad passed on, Matthew related to me that he received an SMS from his dad saying that he'll fetch him home. The next minute, his brother SMSed him that his dad is sick so he'll have to come home himself. That wasn't the last SMS. The next one from his brother told him that Uncle Sebastian was in hospital. And before reaching the hospital, he learnt of his late dad.

I almost teared when I heard that story. I can't imagine my own reaction. I'd break down I guess...and flood the hospital with my tears and sobbing...

The one thing I really took home from this is: Life is short and unexpected, you never know when will anyone be called home. And to which home will they be called to? So cherish your loved ones while they're still alive and taken for granted. Share Christ with your loved ones while they're still alive and ABLE to hear the gospel of salvation.

Death is something inevitable. "Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart." (Ecclesiastes 7:2) It just makes me wonder once again, what's the purpose in this life? We slog so hard, chasing money, chasing women, chasing fame, chasing status, chasing skills. chasing paper qualifications, chasing friendships, chasing fame, and when the grave catches up with us, we then realise, SO WHAT? All these don't satisfy me! "It all amounts to nothing in the end" Jason Mraz "The Remedy".

Is what you're living for worth dying for? If it isn't, stop living for it. Live for something bigger than you. For we are all "meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves?... We want more than this world has to offer" Switchfoot "Meant to Live"

I inevitably come back to this quote that fronts my blog “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” C.S. Lewis.

This whole episode reminds me that we are IN this world, but not OF this world. So I better start living for the right thing. Loving people to Christ. That's what God has placed deep in my heart since young. Somehow, this calling has been stifled by many things in life. Dear Jesus I pray that you'll re-surface this call once again that I might live for YOU and make my life count for eternity...
"The world and everything that people want in it are passing away, but the person who does what God wants lives forever." 1 John 2:17 (NCV)

To Matthew:
Stay strong brother. Death is but temporal separation for us believers. And I pray that you will learn to lean on your heavenly Father. "Each one of us must release the hand of one we love into the hand of one we have not seen...It is right for us to weep, but there is no need to despair. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don't. They understand. They are at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God." Max Lucado. "When Christ Comes"
"We believe that Jesus died and that He rose again. So, because of Him, God will raise with Jesus those who have died." 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
That's the promise to us believers. And God is famed for keeping promises for generations. So hold on to Christ as you ride out this storm. And I'm here whenever you need me :) Hope this helps bro :D Take care :)