Church Weekly for 20 April 2008
My dear readers,
MEMORIES OF GRANDFATHER - II
Like the soft fragrance of the lily of the valley, sweet memories of Grandfather linger on. If you should ask me to cite an example of a godly man, Grandfather has my vote. Always calm, saintly, and smiling, I have never heard any “corrupt communication” escape his mouth. In my years with him, he never lost his temper on any of us grandchildren, nor on any other person.
In my very first encounter with Grandfather, soon after arrival in the “Church House,” he said: “Grandson, pray for faith. Pray always, asking the Lord to give you strong faith. Faith is the key to blessing, for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6 ). With faith everything is possible; you will do great things for God.”
How true: without faith we are nothing and can do nothing for God. So I have not ceased to pray for faith these past seventy and more years.
Grandfather’s stories are unforgettable. “One day there was a great earthquake. This was a terrifying experience. Immediately, I knelt down just where I was, and cried to the Lord for mercy. When the shaking had ceased, and all was quiet again, I got up from my knees. The “Church House” of timber stood firm, praise the Lord.
“I went outside, and to my horror, the solid concrete houses on either side, had both collapsed. That was in 1918.
“Then in 1922, the great August 2 typhoon struck. Violent winds and monster waves swept through the Swatow district, causing widespread destruction and death. In all, over 30,000 lives were lost. Again we cried to God, and our family was spared. The Lord is great.”
May the words of Psalm 46:1-3 exalt the name of our God: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof."
Grandfather was fully given to prayer and the Word of God. Oftentimes his loud praying would rouse us from sleep in the night watches. On occasions we heard him cry out, “Lord, receive the soul of Thy unworthy servant!” In the morning we grandchildren would ask him, “Grandfather, were you not well last night?”
“No, grandchildren, I only long to be with the Lord Jesus. I wish He would call for me soon. This earth is just so worthless, like a cold overnight potato.” Prayer with Grandfather morning and evening was our daily blessing. His rule for us was, “No prayer, no school.” If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, (Prov 1:7 ; Ps 111:10 ), then surely prayer before hurrying off to school makes good sense.
One morning, Second Brother and I were running late and were half-way up the steps to the bus stop when Grandfather spotted us from the house. “Grandsons, come back, we have not prayed!” We were late for school, but the lesson was well learnt. We were never late again.
Family Worship at 8 o’clock was our nightly blessing when all the family gathered for Grandfather’s scripture lesson and prayer. He would pray for the grandchildren, seeking God’s blessings on each one.
Grandfather’s days were wholly devoted to the Word of God and to prayer (Acts 6:4 ). He did not socialize, had no diversion or recreation. For him it was "All for Jesus, all for Jesus; all my days and all my hours."
To Grandfather, the Lord came first in everything. He loved the holy Sabbath Day. To him it was truly “... a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable,” a day in which the world must not intrude: no newspapers, no careless speech, no games or sport (Isa 58:13 ). From Grandfather we learnt to honour the Lord on His Day. Was Grandfather unduly strict? I say, no, it was grateful devotion for God.
Grandfather lived as though he were treading the outskirts of heaven, in closest communion with the Lord. One day, coming home from market, he found a ten cent coin in the packet of prawns. Losing no time, he walked back to the market, a mile away, to return the money. The fishmonger was amused and amazed.
“Sir, you could have returned the money on your next marketing day.”
“Yes, I could, but you cannot be sure. A man of my age may not have another marketing day.”
Grandfather was ever conscious of “Keeping straight accounts” with man and God.
Whenever our neighbour’s hens crossed over and laid their eggs in our garden, Grandfather would promptly return them to the rightful owners. The best durians were carried by Second Brother and me to the market and sold, and the proceeds returned to the Church.
“Render unto God what is God’s.” Grandfather was a man of godly principle.
“Never be idle, doing nothing! Time is precious: an inch of time is an inch of gold. Redeem the time; keep busy and useful for God always.”
One day I was down with one of those "seasonal fevers" which afflicted us children at least once a school term. I asked Grandfather for a drink. He made a cup of "Rowntrees" cocoa, adding a tablespoonful of soya sauce! "Grandson, this drink is good for you. It is cooling: it will bring down your fever!"
Grandfather was extremely frugal toward himself. His bath towel was the coarse cotton sack which the provision shop discarded after the flour was sold. This saved Grandfather thirty cents, which was good money, then as now. When he received news of a disastrous flood affecting the church in Swatow, he sent his entire month’s earning of $30 to help the flood victims.
GRANDFATHER’S FINAL DAYS
In the days of the Japanese occupation, Grandfather elected to stay with Father, his eldest son, in Batu Pahat. There he passed his last days peacefully under the care of Mother, assisted by the grandchildren. Gradually his health declined, but, though his outward man perish, yet the inward man was renewed day by day (2 Cor 4:16 ). With daily expectancy, Grandfather awaited the heavenly call.
One night, he summoned the family and with radiant faraway look, he called out, “Lord Jesus!” This turned out to be a false alarm. A month later he passed away in his sleep, at the age of eighty-three. This was in 1943.
It was, ”Absent from the body, present with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8 ). What a blessed passing it was. (End of Article)
Lovingly in the Lord
Dr SH Tow, Senior Pastor