PIC: Taken in Taiwan, Kaoshiong area, Cijing island or something like that... (taken when Leongie was lying on the floor and me jumping over him...)Last night, Leongie and me attended a funeral wake together...and it was there at the wake that I spotted someone..let's call this someone Mr A... Mr A was a familiar face to me.. cos he is our church's pastor's friend..and every year during our church Anniversary, he will drop by to visit and send his greetings and 'sponsor' the cake for the anniversary celebration...
Mr A is a businessman.. his business is an interesting one-funeral business... He helped in my Mama's funeral wake.. and was there since day 1.. (from being at my place to pick mama's body for embalming etc, and to the day of the funeral..) just to make sure things went smoothly...
So yes.. saw Mr A there at the funeral wake... Mr A saw me too and kinda remembered my face... He was there cos he was helping in coordinating this particular funeral too....so Mr A came by... to our table (our table consist of Leongie's colleagues and Me).. and well Mr A decided to sit down at our table, despite not knowing anyone else...
How many of us will actually sit down at a table which you do not know anyone else..except 1 person..whom you dun really know even?? Well I for 1 will not..but Mr A did in fact sat down..and he tried to make 'small talks' with the people around the table..and this kinda made some of leongie's colleagues felt alittle weird... well my opinion of Mr A initially at this very moment was pretty much the same as Leongie's colleague... this Mr A seems a bit weird..
But well..as time went all.. I realised God was teaching me something from this incident....
Point 1: How would I feel if i was like 'odd one out' too, trying to seek company at an event etc and just than you spot someone who knows u...wont you want to just stay around? (although i wont be thick skinned to not sense the body language of others around)..but still.. I should be sensitive to someone who feels left out regardless of what...Jesus always extends his warmest welcome to people... and mind you.. to people who are outcast from the society...
Jesus came to earth to reach out to the lost...he didnt come to people he thought was pleasant looking, smart, speaks well, sane etc only.. He made himself available to all.. and that was my main learning for the night...
Many times, we as christians, being humans tends to put certain expectations on our perception of things and that way we are putting a kind of limit and boundary around us.. I asked myself then and also posed the same question to Leongie.. "are people in churches (churches are ready...but its the people who I question) ready to reacte to someone who walks into church on a Sunday morning, when everyone's well-dressed in their Sunday best but this someone who walks in is in old, torn, tattered and smelly clothes, looks as though he/she haven bathed in months.... Or if a super Ah beng or Ah Lian walks in to church....."
The question is.. some Might be ready..but in reality... some isnt... Why i say so? well i think being human, its human nature to jump to conclusions, to judge too soon, I wont say i myself is 100% ready to readily welcome them in too.. and that is something I need to check my heart and work on it and ask myself.. WW JD (what would Jesus do)...
So yes.. here is Mr A.. he wasnt badly dress, he nicely dressed in fact.. speaks well, just a little perculiar in mannerism but yet we 'reject' him (some around the table were Christians too), and Mr A had asked if we (leongie and me) could drop him somewhere near his place..we COULD by making a SMALL minor detour by taking CTE and PIE, instead of just TPE..but Leongie was tired and declined... and basically after talking to Leongie, Leongie said he said no..cos He doesnt know Mr A.... (but i observed that Leongie that usually when he doesnt know someone well, he wun mind offering a lift too..but why did he said no to Mr A then?) and then i went through with Leongie my learnings for the night and he too agreed and realised that and felt bad for not offering the lift....
So if we as Christians reject fellow Christian just because of outward appearance? What more pre-believers who might look/behave differently? We as Christians need to learn to really do what Jesus would do..and not do what We ourselves will do....
Point 2: Mr A had a story to tell..and I am glad God allowed that chance meeting to allow me to learn somethings about Faith and doing God's will.. Mr A used to be a banker... and was appointed by his church pastor to be in hospital ministry, thus often visiting church members in hospitals and eventually helping their families see to funeral needs.. and that kinda got him started in his funeral business..
I would say..for him to leave his banker job to go into funeral business was something out of a norm of most people.. starting a business for 1 is already not easy...and to think he went into funeral business (though its one business that i think sure will earn money, cos no one will wanna save money for a funeral of a relative).. But i see that it took great courage, great faith in trusting God for his providence...and also that God really puts us into places as training grounds for His ministries and work....
Mr A was God speaking to me that night... about loving people, loving not just the lovable, but also to love the people that i've deemed as unlovable, showing God's love in simple ways (accepting somone), never judge someone, trusting God, realising and waiting for God's divine plans and purpose in my life....
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