Dear….
It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down in silence
Psalm 115:17
In the morning papers, I always do a quick scan of the obituaries. To look for familiar faces not just because statistically as one gets older, the odds of knowing a bereave improves, unfortunately. But more importantly, the messages shared in that very limited space do often provide some insights into the life and possibly faith of the once alive.
Back in mid 2000, till just before the outbreak of SARS in Nov 2002 in Guangdong(and soon to the rest of Asia), I experienced the series of deaths of friends who were in the main from my workplace. Four fatal heart attacks, followed by three terminal cancer cases, and interestingly all from the same floor that I was in. Level 3 of the Marina Bayfront annex building.
..what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?
Psalm 8:4
Fear did grip some( and we did make it to the local newspapers as a topic of interest) but by the grace of God, for those of us who know Him, it was both a time of sadness but also thankfulness, as we see His presence with us through it all.
I wrote most of the obituaries and did spent enough time at the old obituary desk of the now demolished Times House. Not the best place where strewn on the desk of the clerk were the photos of a multitude of deceased waiting to be placed in the next few days obituary section.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father into your hands I commit My spirit.
When He had said this, He breathed His last.
Luke 23:46
One habit I picked up during this intense period of sadness was that at every wake, I will peer into the face of the deceased as their bodily shell laid in state. No doubt the mortician would have done a good job to prepare at least superficially, the now lifeless body for the funeral.
Morbid as it might seem, why do I do what I do?
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
Proverbs 15:13
The Bible says one’s countenance reflects the state of our heart.
I believe the expression on the face of the deceased captures not just the life once lived, but the critical point when the soul leaves the bodily shell. Is it one of dread and fear, or one of peaceful letting go?
For they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him.
1 Chronicles 5:20
I am no medical professional. But as a layman who has observed a few deaths. I do believe the body system methodically starts to shut down, and those in hospice care seems to be able to recognize the signs that indicates death lurks just around the corner for the struggling patient.
And the look of death on the pending deceased as they struggle to breathe is a moment that is ingrained upon my being.
...your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour..
1 Peter 5:8
It is this moment in the presence of many loved ones and health care professionals, yet the dying walks alone. Question is who is waiting to bring him or her to the new realm?
Is it the dreadful denizens of Hades or the loving white adorned Jesus Christ?
Is it possible that what we thought was a struggle to breathe is more of a struggle to run away from the foreboding creatures of Hell, because one does not know Christ, so He does not impose His presence upon us, till out of desperation, you call on the once stranger.
At the deathbed, when Hades come a calling. You will rather flee to the waiting Christ.
This truth we will only experience once when our time comes due. But that postfact will not help many unless they have heard of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
For those of us who live a life seeking after Christ, we are assured He is with us, for we experience God’s presence and love throughout our journey of faith and not just at the last breath.
They said to the woman
We no longer believe just because of what you said, now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.
John 4:42
God is good. There are enough testimonies of many who experienced that struggle and by the grace of God, was sent back to testify before they were taken home.
And this story is of the now deceased father of a dear friend. Who was not a believer, but the faithfulness of her daughter in praying for him and reading the scriptures even as he laid in the intensive care ward.
There was the point when the medical professionals had to resuscitate him as he was on the verge of death. He made it back. And shared this experience. He saw a few ominous creatures wanting to pull him across with them. And in his desperation, he shouted out to the Christ that he does not believe in but know of from his daughter. A man in white appeared and held onto his now flailing hands. And that was when he came out of the medical emergency.
My friend’s dad passed on a week later, but as a believer in peace.
For some of us, we have experienced the same dreaded evil force trying to impose its will on us.
And as shared previously, one is immobilized but very much alert. And by the grace of God, because I know Christ and His sovereignty. In calling out to him from the heart, the evil presence fled and peace that only God can give returns.
Therefore, submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
We are but one breath away. This truth is often ignored in our daily pursuits of the immediate temporal. But ignorance is no bliss, for time waits for no one.
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.
Isaiah 55:6
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 2:17
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(25th Sep 2018)
An afternote - Hitting home
This piece was written more than two weeks back. In that intermingling period, I was in Guangzhou in the midst of the super typhoon. God very much sheltered us, but it was a reminder that calamity can strike anywhere.
Along the way, I picked up a new ailment. Floaters and light flashes in my left eyes. Thanks be to God, it is not retina detachment, but part of the the aging process. Yet still a reminder of the inevitable journey towards wear and tear our bodily shell has to endure in a world that the human race starting from Adam, has rejected God’s authority over our lives.
And with my aging mother being hospitalized this past two weeks, one gets an onsite sense of the silver tsunami that is fast hitting Singapore.
This evening, I chanced upon this leaflet by Our Daily Bread - Failing Health. What can you do?
Guess it is time to post these thoughts. May our good Lord speak to you His will.
