Second Letter to Quentin

Dear Quentin

This is the second and final letter to you.

I do not know if you have been traumatized in any way in the past, but it appears to me that you are plagued by a sense of insecurity. Over the years, I observed that you have signed up for numerous courses to upgrade yourself. You have also read widely and attended many exhibitions, presumably to satisfy your desire to know more. You also took part in various sports competitions, perhaps out of a desire to prove yourself.

Quentin, we do not need man-made trophies or certificates to certify our worth. Our worth, yours and mine, is measured by the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross, not by what we have achieved. Our biggest achievements are, sad to say, nothing in the eyes of God. What God desires from us is our love and obedience. Love as in loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Obedience as in following God and seeking to do His will.

We cannot, and do not need to, impress God. Rev. Lawrence Seow put this point across clearly in last Sunday's sermon. He said that if God gives you a million bucks out of what He has, you can't impress Him with this one million bucks. I would like to add that even if your one million grows 3 times through your achievements, it still means nothing to God. However, when you go all out to love and obey God, whatever He has entrusted you with will definitely become more valuable over time. A good steward who lives his life according to the will of God cannot fail in his stewardship.

Look at what God has entrusted you with. First, your wife Ming. Then your son James and daughter Judy.

Ming has submitted to you faithfully over the years since she first vowed to do that in your wedding. She has rightly served as your helpmate. As husbands, we have been told to love our wives as our bodies, as "the husband is the head of the wife". Nobody hates their own bodies. We nourish our bodies. We rest when we are tired. We take pains to clean up and dress decently each day. In like manner, cherish Ming, take good care of her, respect her, for that is your rightful duty.

James and Judy are both gifts from our heavenly Father. While you are amply endowed, Judy is grossly underweight for a 2 year-old. Have you noticed how skinny she is and how her beautiful eyes are becoming sunken and bloodshot? And James was badly bitten by ants some Sundays ago, and you claimed that he was bitten at home. Your home has, over the years, become less and less conducive. You filled it with all kinds of things that you collect for free - brochures, catalogs, deflated McDonald balloons, etc. When some of us visited a couple of years back, we were really appalled by what we saw. One room is filled up with collected/disused things, while your own bedroom has barely any space left beyond the bed. The living room is equally cluttered with hardly any space to sit except the sofa. Judy hasn't been sleeping or eating well. She wakes up at 5am each day. James' eyes have been puffy and reddish for months. As fathers, we have been told to love our children. Our children did not choose which family they wish to belong to - they were simply assigned to us by God. If we as parents don't love & cherish them, how can they find love growing up? I shudder to think what they will become, growing up without love.

It's still not too late, Quentin. Stop trying to prove yourself or enhance your worth. Just surrender your life fully to God and allow Him to work through you. Allow God to break the chains of anger & insecurity in your life, and set you free as a child of God. Allow His love and peace to well up within you. Then you will see clearly the precious ones He has given you to be your family. You will be able to love them as much as you love yourself. You will find peace, be at peace, and enjoy peace in a way that's not possible through human efforts. You will be wonderfully blessed.

I wish you all the best as we continue to pray for you and your family. Give God a chance to transform you and your household for His glory.

In His Love,
Thomas