you know after being in a relationship for 10.5 years, close to 11, you would think Daniel and I have gone through the worst storms life could possibly throw at us.
but we were sorely wrong.
we are getting married on 12 May, in about 3.5 months' time and we are currently planning a wedding that is not our own at all. opinions after opinions we have to seek and to make sure everyone else (except us) is happy before we can proceed.
and especially when the topic is on religion. do you think I am unaffected by all that is going on around me?
wrong again.
I have been exposed to Christianity since I was a little girl and more so coming from Katong Convent. my grandmother who was a devout Catholic brought us to church whenever my parents had to leave town for work and she came to stay with us. from a tender age, I knew a God existed. when I was 12, I opted for a Catechism class in school instead of doing some weird moral education class. that was when I learnt more about Christ and what He has done for us, for the world.
at the end of my primary school education, my eldest sister started attending FCBC and was fast becoming a full-fledged Christian.
I remember quarrelling and getting really upset with her when she told me Mother Mary was just a human, an earthly instrument that God chose to bring Jesus into the world. and like all humans, she died. there was no other mention of her in the bible after Jesus rose from the dead and His ascension. the bible I am quoting here by the way, is the one with only 66 books and not the one that Catholics use.
so you see, what I initially believed, like the Roman Catholics, was very different when it came to the Protestant Christians.
I remember frantically searching through the bible for any evidence that Mother Mary may still be alive and that she somehow became a goddess like how the Catholics taught. but there was none. I broke down and slowly accepted that truth. that cry was freedom, that cry was God setting me free.
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32
thereafter, I attended FCBC with my sister and even witnessed her baptism as soon as she turned 21.
so I've been a Christian ever since I could remember and had also been prophesised over how my life would soar on eagle’s wings and would make my parents, especially my mother be so proud of me.
of course in-between, my parents being Buddhists got me to be the "god-child" of the Goddess of Mercy since I was an infant, I think. I had no prior knowledge to what this goddess had done for me or for the world. I only yielded to holding the joss sticks, mediums prediction of the future either by jumping around or by blowing air into my face, any and everything my parents wanted me to do when I was a child simply because they wanted it, I listened and I did it out of respect.
but when I was about 15, I told my parents I wanted to be baptised too. they said no and like my sister, I had to wait till I was old enough at 21 before I could be baptised. but my parents are very reasonable people and that’s why I love them so much, they asked me why I was in a rush to get baptised. my answer in my 15 year-old mind was simply this, “Jesus is coming back soon and I wanna be ready when He comes”. they accepted my reason and I was born again on 21 March, 1998.
however, not all parents are that reasonable. of course I can understand where they are coming from – like suddenly their child is no longer the same anymore. but having almost reached 30 years of age, don’t you think its time to let go?
sure there are some Christians who profess their faith in Christ and yet still hold joss sticks and pray to other gods. there are also those who still go to temples for whatever reasons. yet there are some who do not mind bowing or kneeling in front of tablets, idols, pictures etc.
"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister." Romans 14:13
every single one of us will be asked to give an account to God on Judgement Day on why we did certain things and said certain words. those whom we have hurt, and those actions we did to cause others to stumble.
"So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." (Romans 8:12)
being a Christian, I firmly believe in a one thing:
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:4-6
"Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 26:1
I will bow and even kneel to anyone alive, if it required of me. but that’s where it ends. I will not bow or kneel to an altar with a craved image and a tablet. that is beyond me as a Christian because I am a child of God now, I belong to Jesus. And Jesus would not have me bow to any idols.
"So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Romans 14:8
and because IF I bow/kneel/hold joss sticks to other gods or craved images, then I will unconsciously be a stumbling block to non-christians present.
They would be thinking, “eh how come so-and-so who is a Christian can hold joss stick, can bow and kneel and pray to our ancestors or this god etc?”
even now, it is not our wedding day yet and we have already been challenged as to why this cousin who is a christian can do this and that whereas we cannot?
allow me to explain.
different people have different levels of faith. different people also have different walks with our Lord Jesus. so with their level of faith, maybe they think its ok to do certain things, but at where I am, I am unable to do so simply because I have no other gods except Yahweh.
i will give my due respect to people who are alive. period.
