Just this 22nd, Elder Chou Choon King went to be with the Lord. Despite his infirmities, Elder Chou was a man who care deeply for others. Many have testified to that from the number who came up to give him the tributes. Each time I met him in church, he would never fail to enquire about my family and I. He was genuinely concerned for Juliana's health. I remembered him calling up and talking with me on the phone when Juliana was called home. Among the many things he said for which I was straining to make out, he apologised for not being able to come and visit me and said he'll pray for the comfort of God to be on me. That touched me deeply for one who himself is coping with his own illnesses. Well, I'm glad that Elder Chou is now free from all ills and sufferings and is enjoying eternal peace with God!
This just reminded me again on what Sittser said in one of his chapters: "...we live in the present, which is often full of sorrow and pain. Suffering engenders a certain degree of ambivalence in those of us who believe in the resurrection. We feel the pain of our present circumstances, which reminds us of what we have lost; yet we hope for future release and victory. We doubt, yet try to believe; we suffer, yet long for real healing; we inch hesitantly toward death, yet see death as the door to resurrection. ...We are creatures made of dust; yet we know we were made for something more. A sense of eternity resides in our hearts. Living with this ambivalence is both difficult and vital. It stretches our souls, challenging us to acknowledge our mortality and yet to continue to hope for final victory -- the victory Jesus won for us in His death and resurrection, a victory that awaits us only on the other side of the grave."
Like Sittser, my soul increases its capacity for hope as well as for sadness. I end up believing with greater depth and joy than I had before, even in my sorrow!
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