Her lungs burns like they are on fire. She struggles to gasp for her breath while the worried faces of family, relatives and friends express concern for what is happening to her.
“Is… is he here?” The old lady gazes into the eyes of her beautiful daughter.
“I… I will call him.” Her teary eyes daughter replies. She proceeds to dial a number to contact her one and only son, the favorite grandson of the dying old lady before her.
“Ruth, don’t.” The old lady choked up her answer in pain. “Jonah ought to put the work of God first before… cough… before me.”
My name is Jonah Wong. I am an evangelist from the country of China. I was born in Beijing, to a small Christian family, in the midst of a country that is communist and atheistic in nature. Today, many people ask me for the success to my evangelism ministry. They want to know the secret of my power, the secret of my success with God. They come up with all kinds of theories for my success.
Theory one declares that it is due to the way I speak before people. I have mastered my voice to such a level, that I am able to psychologically brainwash the people to believe in everything I say. Theory two states that it is because of my godly character, which explains why God chooses to use me. I am honest, righteous, brave and yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. I have my own theory, theory three, of why I am so successful.
The crowd of the Indian population that overflows from the stadium is a sight for me to behold. The number of people who turns up surprises me. It will be one successful harvest for the Lord, today.
“Dear Lord, give me the strength to minister to the hungry souls that are looking for you. May they see and notice you and not me.” It is my custom to pray before I go up to preach. My handphone rings just when I finish my simple prayer.
“I am sorry… I cannot answer your call, now, mum, I am about to minister on stage to millions of people.”
“Jonah, this is urgent. Your grandmother is dead.”
“What!” The shock is great.
“Your grandmother is dead. Respiration failure. A hole in her lungs.”
“I will… go back this very minute.” My grandmother loves me the best. If it is not for her, I will not be who I am today. How can I bring myself to preach to a crowd of million people when my own grandmother, the person who means the most to me in my life, has just died?
“No, Jonah, don’t. Your grandmother told me before she went back to Jesus to tell you this, ‘Ruth, when I am gone, I know Jonah will surely want to come back to see me for the last time. Before he does so, please tell this, my dear child, to him, In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.’ Jonah, Granny wanted you to preach the Word of God and not abandoned the responsibility which God had entrusted to you.”
That night, India experiences her greatest revival in history. They think that I am responsible for the revival that comes to their country. I just want to cry. Alone by myself. Away from the crowd. In my hotel room. In memory of an unsung hero. My grandmother.
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My writing is mostly from a Singapore Christian perspective, and the setting of my story is usually in Singapore.
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- Chong Shipei
- Some says God is real, some says God is not. Some asks me, "Dear XXX, do you think God is real or not." I laugh and I smile, and I give them no answer, what a foolish question to ask me, when God talks and walks with me, everyday of my life. I am puzzled by the people, looking at them, I stand amazed, why are people trying so hard to prove or disprove someone that is just beside me all the times. True, I cannot see His face. True, I cannot touch His hands. But I thought I can feel His heart beating every single moment of my life. When I am sad, I feel He is sad. When I laugh, He laughs with me. When I am scared, He says, "Hush, don't fear." When I am bad, He is not afraid to discipline me. But no matter what, God is just there besides me, like a Father, like a brother, like a friend, a master and a husband, every moment of my life. And I think I know Him even if I do not see His face, I can feel He is there with me, every moment, indeed!