NEWS

God’s everlasting love in the face of tragedy

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rm 8:38-39

There are times when we experience or observe extreme pain and suffering – the loss of someone most treasured, stunning beauty cruelly trashed, brilliant purity snuffed out- and we are left shellshocked and speechless. We cannot hold back the question “Why?” to the One who is love, and in control of all things. For those in the eye of the storm of suffering, an unavoidable question is “Why us?”

Last week, we were traumatized by the tragic, tragic news that our dear little sister, Esther - an apple of our eyes and the deeply beloved daughter of our Elder Ernest Chong and his wife Anny was taken away from us very suddenly, in a car accident. It is honest to ask those questions, and we need not be ashamed of having these thoughts floating in our heads.

The Lord has answered them, as He has, for many of His saints, past and present, in His tender and loving way:

“Do you not know that I love you unreservedly? Doesn’t Paul remind you that ‘… at just the right time, when you were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. … God demonstrates his own love for you in this: While you were still sinners, Christ died for you.’  (cf. Rm 5:6,8) Is this not a clear demonstration of my love for you? A statement of love sufficient for you to trust that, even in the most tragic situation, nothing can separate you from my love in Christ Jesus your Lord?”

He has not given us a direct answer to the questions “Why?” and “Why us?”, because the answers may be way beyond our understanding. Genuine faith and trust in God are not conditional upon knowing and agreeing with the “Why?”. Perhaps it is a little bit like a Ukrainian father sending his 2-year-old child away to escape the atrocities of the looming war, while he himself must stay and fight the enemy. He says to this young child, who is now feeling very insecure and abandoned, “You don’t understand now, but you will. Trust your dad to do what is the utmost best for you”.

Let us hold firmly onto the convictions of our faith in painful times, especially when so much is beyond our understanding. Do not let the evil one stir up doubts to shake our faith. The Lord is Faithful.

As Paul says, we, as Christ’s redeemed, have the hope of God’s glory, even in suffering, “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Rm 5:3b-5). Let us persevere in our faith in the Lord, holding onto the fact that He suffered for us more than we can ever suffer. The present trials of faith will strengthen our Christian character of total dependence on Him, come hell or high water. He has given us the Spirt in our hearts to help us grasp the reality of His love, even when that love is beyond our full understanding.

Let us pray that the Lord will enable us, and particularly Elder Ernest, Anny and Esther’s younger sister Phoebe, to have the strength and grace to respond to this tragic, tragic event with faith in the Lord, and be greatly comforted by the Lord, as only He can.

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