What Else Can We Say Further?

Jon was sharing his life testimony with his ex-army friend yesterday. His friend was curious about why Jon accepted Christ 20+ months ago... which was after 28 years of Jon's life.

Taking the cue from the Holy Spirit, Jon began to share the story from the Passion Of Christ movie which first touched his heart, to accepting Karen's invitation to Joel's Care Group gathering, to accepting a prayer request from Elaine, to experiencing all sorts of miracles that happened during the initial setup of Jon's business and to all the amazing businesses God has blessed Jon.

Hoping that his testimony could touch his friend, this guy started to share how he faced life's greatest setback when one of his friend crashed his Nissan Paseo almost 20 months ago and could not pay him damages which left him in debts of over $20k. With his wife pregnant and household expenses mounting, he prayed to Buddha. He went through hardships of working 2 jobs and tasted a hard time until one day he met a swimming instructor who gave him an opportunity to become swimming instructor. That guy who became his mentor also guided him in setting up a business in organising swimming lessons for children which he could do during his free time.

He found himself earning 2 sets of income and he has since been able to clear off all his debts and now he was looking into buying a new Honda Accord. His swimming business has been so good that he is currrently thinking of quitting his job to focus on his growing business which is also his hobby (swimming is his passion). He gave thanks to Buddha for guiding him to meet his "mentor" and also for a job so close to his passion and all the blessings that was poured unto him.

He told Jon that he believed in all Gods and respect them all as they could really bless people. This is a classic "Post Modernisation" thinking, Jon thought. Jon could say not much further as been a Christian, he begged to differ. In his heart, he was thinking why our Heavenly Father could allow such things to happen? If He could control all things, why didn't he stop the blessings from these so-called "Gods" and allow us Christians to impact those people in need instead? Why did He allow these "Gods" to change their lives to the better and in the end make them drift further away from knowing His son, Jesus? It seems crazy if non-Christian is reading this statement, but been Christian means that we denounced other Gods right? Of course we have to live in harmony and peace but didn't the bible states that Jesus is the only way to the Truth?

As for Jon seating opposite his friend yesterday, what else can he say further?

No Clue!!!

Jon is really tired... He has been trying to ask his mum to attend church so that people could pray over on her "problematic" left knees which was swollen since a couple months back. You see, Jon's mum has seen all sorts of doctors over the last few months. From poly clinics, chinese sinseh, specialist on bones to Changi Hospital, she has seen them all. She has also went through X-rays and rehab at CH but nothing seemed to work at the moment. Today, upon hearing from her friend about another bone specialist, she spent another $500++ on X-ray and medication again.

Jon was a little disappointed really. Mum have been listening to all the folks and seen all those specialists, but she just refused to listen to her son's plea of attending the church to see if God can "administer" to her...

To make matter worse, Jon's brother heard about Jon's plea and lamented Jon for been superstitious and teased that he was behaving like one of our uncles who always attended chinese mediums whenever things were not right. Jon was really furious this time. Jon's brother even brought up two occasions when Christians tried to ask one of our uncles and aunties to accept Christ at their "death bed" which both end up dying after doing so. He laughed about the "supremacy" of our God!

Jon responded that it should not be interpreted this way. To make matter worse, Jon's Brother felt strange that Jon was getting $800 from the progressive package by the government ($200 more than his brother) and he laughed about why Jon was earning far lesser than him. He criticised that our God was useless as He could not bless us with more business. Jon rebuked him by claiming that things will be different 5 years from now, if he is still alive to see it from himself! He shot back that he would say the same thing after 5 years. Jon held back his nerves and remained quiet... Jon was really fuming inside.

Frankly Jon was really giving up on his family for salvation. They were a bunch of stubborn creatures. And yes, Jon was impatient towards them too. God, you save them yourself ok? Jon really got no idea what to do as he could only be a bad representative for You because of his "impatientness" and "pridefullness". Jon is just incapable of reaching out to his family. Up to you Lord, since you claim to do the impossible... As for now, Jon is better off "shut up" than arguing with stubborn people, which would eventually tarnish the image of Christian... In short, Jon got no clue at all.

Jesus, You Are So COOL!

Jon have just read a few friends' blogs tonight, and he was inspired to write something too.

A few of the blogs were talking about their experiences from attending some "Soul Winning" conference last Tues where the pastor was encouraging the people to boldly declare God's name to others. In fact, Jon concur to this with both hands up.

Over this 20 over months since Jon accepted Jesus as his saviour, Jon could see how Jesus changed the relationship with his friends and clients. There were many times Jon could be meeting the person for the first time or it could be a meet up after a long break, however whenever there was any mention about Jesus and God, the conversation always lightened up! Seriously, Jesus can really pull two different worlds together. The best thing is whenever we talked about Jesus, the conversation would allow people to be more comfortable and relax. Usually conversations that involved Jesus would become more indepth and fruitful. The communication would be more emotional and in no time, both Jon and his counterparts would be talking like close brother/ sister/ close friend. The mention of Jesus is like it straight away springs us into the Kingdom Of Heaven and we were no longer casual friends or associates. Jon likes that. From the usual casual talks, it became a time of fellowship where people declare how Jesus changed their lives and how they feel the need to reflect on their lives. We talked about life rather than talking about how's things are going on the surface.

Life could not be better without Jesus. Jesus is in our lives. Jesus is in our reflection and Jesus is in the air. As Christian, we breathe Jesus and we experienced joy with Jesus. So let's be giving and spread Jesus to those who have not experience such great joy!

Amen.

What An Irony...

After Jon posted the story of Romeo & Juliet, the world suddenly turned into a place of heartbreaks all over. Jon met up with a couple of gals and found out each relationship had its own story:

Miss “A”: Her relationship ended recently. Her ex-boyfriend was stable and wanted to settle down but Miss “A” felt she is still young to do so. Also not prepared to become a housewife as what her boyfriend wanted. To make matter worse, she realized that her ex-boyfriend had not been open and frank enough, so decided to end the relationship. Now she lives a carefree life meeting up with different guys and busy juggling with work and dating.

Miss “B”: In a relationship but not happy. Boyfriend very possessive as he wanted to find out everything that she did and have to “report” to him everyday. Always ended up quarreling over the smallest of things. Feeling very miserable and awaiting for the moment to “snap”…

Miss “C”: Have not found any partner for many years now. Been searching but somehow the right guy just did not appear. Probably she was too workaholic and to make matter worse she is now a VP in a bank; hence most guys were intimated by her work attitude and her present high position.

Miss “D”: Had a bad relationship before and since then quite wary of a having a new one. As she was in mid-thirties, most of the guys her age were already married. Present crop of guys who went after her were mostly younger than her. As she does not want to be appearing as rocking the cradle, she decided to give these guys a miss. Currently looking for the right guy but not in a hurry yet as she does not want to appear desperate into a relationship.

Miss “E”: Planning to get marry now, but recent developments sees her boyfriend having to work overseas for good. Would be prepared to migrate with him once he is settled in his new job, but it will take at least one more year. So now have to leave with separate life and a year of uncertainties.

Miss “F”: A Christian who likes to go clubbing. Got to know a French guy when he approached her in a club one year ago. Wasn’t too impressed with such guy initially but after one year of courtship, found out that this guy was a decent gentleman who has plans for his future family. Beginning to like this guy now and considering a relationship with him. However she does not want to commit yet so that she can continue with her carefree life.

Mr “G”: Yes it’s a guy this time round who was having a broken relationship with another guy. Kind of Brokeback Mountain. Mr “G” wanted to have a stable relationship with the guy but this guy prefer to be free of attachment so that he could meet up with more guys. In short Mr “G” was depressed over this guy’s preference of “no string attached” relationship.

Why is it so difficult to have a stable relationship? Jon decides to look at his parent for answer. In fact there is really nothing special in this relationship. Jon’s dad was neither educated nor rich. He does not have a good temper and patience. He is not handsome or charming. He is not even sensitive and caring towards Jon’s mum. Worse he is so chauvinistic and doesn’t help in house works at all. Yet their marriage is already more than 40 years already. Though there were major quarrels in the past, it seemed to be a thing of a past now. As people grew, relationship grew too.

Besides Jon’s mum is a tolerant, patience and sacrificial woman who gives in and submit to her husband no matter how ridiculous things were. Though sometimes she is in unfair circumstances, she accepts them with grace. As such this marriage lasts this long and the family has been able to enjoy peace this while. Every circumstance needs a hero and no doubt the biggest hero in this family is Jon’s mum. Despite all kinds of situation Jon’s mum was in, she never grumbles or complains. Her silent brought peace into the house. Her patience brought joy into the air. Her sacrifices brought love into this family. The only comparison Jon could compare would be Jesus who came into the world and offer his body as a living sacrifice more than 2000 years ago. To Jon, his mum was as great as Jesus in this family. If Jesus was a classic example for us to live our lives, Jon’s mum was a classic role model for women to learn from as well. So wake up women, stop whining and do what God made you to be- which is to be a woman who supports the man. So shut up and start living by God’s purpose.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all creatures that move along the gound." > Genesis 1:26

"If God gave man everything that we have in life, then woman gets to enjoy everything that she has through man. " > Jon Tan

Romeo Juliet (2006)

It was a strange morning as Jon woke up at 3.29am out of sudden. As he was dazing on his bed staring at the dark ceiling, visions of Romeo & Juliet's story came flooding into his mind. Scenes of them dying in each other’s arms... it was touching. As Jon continued to dwell in this famous love story, the story seemed to unfold further…

In this new story of Romeo & Juliet, God sent an angel from heaven to “resurrect” them… on 27/02/06. So they were brought back to life. This time round God gave them special skill in order to survive in this modern era. Romeo and Juliet owned a famous muffin shop in the CBD area. Juliet was the woman behind the famous muffins as God gave her the skills to bake wonderful muffins. Romeo was a given the wisdom to be enterprising as his business acumen enabled him to tie up a lot of business deals for distribution to hotels and other F&B restaurants.

Besides, the angel also taught Juliet to be submissive to Romeo so that he could be won over without words but by her behavior. By doing so Romeo would see the purity and reverence of her life and be touched. As such, Romeo would see Juliet’s great virtue and he would treat her with great respect and would love her even more. This kind of attitude really fostered their love, which was in turn reflected into their muffins they baked.

Business really blossomed due to their undying love. This love had created an aroma that dipped into every muffin they baked, and everyone who ate those muffins got a taste of their great love too. Soon everyone working in the CBD heard about their muffins and began to patronize their stalls. The muffins were not only delicious but were able to heal the broken-hearted and able to provide hope to those who were troubled with work problems. In no time, their business expanded in the CBD and their muffins were able to reach more people in need of emotional comforts.

However news soon spread to the Devil. He was angry that Romeo & Juliet were resurrected and even more raged to see their muffins healing a lot of his “victims”. Hence he came out a plan. He put a seed of “justice” into their mind and an Anti Angel between Romeo and Juliet. The Devil specially created this Anti Angel to be very patience, soft spoken and sensitive to woman’s needs and feelings. As such Juliet was able to see the sweetness of the Anti Angel and started to compare those characteristics with Romeo. Soon Juliet became to see the bad side of Romeo. As both of them were busy working so hard over their business, Romeo could not provide Juliet with the kind sensitivity towards her as well as gentleness and patience that the Anti Angel could provide. Sometimes he would also lose a little self-control and they both end up with small arguments. As time passed, Juliet became to feel disappointed over Romeo.

Upon seeing that Juliet is beginning to judge Romeo by his actions, the Anti Angel came forward and continued to “sow” the seed of “justice” which the Devil implanted in them. The Anti Angel told Juliet that for wives to be submissive to their husbands, the husbands must first show their great character and personality in order to win respect from the wives, so then the wives could be able to submit to them. Juliet now began to judged Romeo even more now and demanded him to be more like Anti Angel. Of course as Romeo was just flesh and blood with emotions, he could not match the standards of Anti Angel. Hence small arguments between Romeo and Juliet became big quarrels. The Anti Angel took advantage of this situation and managed to cause the breakup between them. Hence the great love of Romeo & Juliet became falling apart and they both went their separate way. In the end, the Devil won. The muffins business also fell apart. As such people in the CBD were not able to taste that “Loving” muffins anymore and they continued to live each day with broken-heartedness and bitterness. The Devil continued to rule this fallen world.

So this was the story unfold to Jon in the wee hours of this faithful morning. It was ironic as this broken love story tells us a ironic story. It was a love story that went sour in the name of “imperfection”. It was a story of people constantly looking towards a perfect partner and end up forgetting about the good things of an imperfect person. Jon would like to ask, “Who then shall be considered a perfect person?”

In fact, in the name of a “Great Love” lie 2 important questions:

1. Is a great love a continuous search of a perfect partner? Or;
2. It is a relationship that blossomed from two imperfect partners working towards acceptance of their shortcomings?

Have not the bible taught us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

The final question Jon likes to ask, “Are you able to find real love with a perfect partner?”