Letter to J

Dear J

Thanks for asking me about it. It's truly an honour and a privilege to be able to share more with you.

Matthew was one of the first 12 disciples of Jesus. Formerly a tax collector and despised by most (tax collectors were considered evil then), Matthew left his work to follow Jesus as did the other 11 disciples. He wrote one of the 4 Gospels in the New Testament, the others being the Books of Mark, Luke and John. Gospels are articles speaking of the purpose and life of Jesus Christ the Son of God and Saviour (also called Messiah). It is through the Gospels that we understand God's plan for us, ie., to save us from our sins through Jesus Christ. You may have heard John 3:16 at some point in time. That's the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16, which says "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." This is just of the many interesting verses in the Bible. You can access the complete Bible online at http://www.biblegateway.com to find out more.

Coming back, the Bible is divided into 2 sections - The Old Testament and The New Testament. Testament refers to something that we testify (or proclaim as truth) about. In the case of the Bible, the central object is God. Both testaments testify about God, about who He is, His plans, His will, etc. The Bible also talks about those who relate to God, their life, lessons learnt, etc. It helps us understand more about God, especially His plans for us.

I came from a typical ancestor-worshipping, Taoist-oriented family, as most Chinese families were in Singapore of the 70s. As a child and a teenager, I was happy to identify with the various Taoist gods. In fact, it even felt cool as we could choose from various gods with varying powers. From the age of 8, I was enrolled into a Christian mission school but I never thought much about God, even as I was losing my hearing. it just did not occur to me why i would need God in life.

In junior college, a group of friends shared with me about God and though I made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as my savior then, my life didn't change much. I was still the confident, arrogant, self-assured young man, who believed I can pretty much achieve what I set out to do, until I lost more of my hearing in NUS. That's when I really thought seriously about God. I was struggling in my studies. It didn't matter that I was a top student in my primary and secondary school days. In Uni, I was below average. I never felt that bad before. Suddenly, I realised the frailty & finiteness of humanity. I may have once excelled in my studies, I may have grand plans and ambitions, but who am I to know or decide what will happen the next minute?

It dawned upon me that I was living my life according to my own capabilities, and God showed me just how limited my capabilities were in fact. By the grace of God, He provided me with some Christian friends in my Uni days, and these were the only true friends who stuck by me, helping me along selflessly. Through their help, my grades improved once again and by the time I graduated, I had a good set of results. This time round, the feeling is different. I no longer felt that it was my own accomplishment. I knew with all my heart that it was God who came into my life just when I was desperate, loved me through my friends, and gave me a renewed confidence to excel through His strength and wisdom. And by the way, my friends did not just help me in my studies. They shared their lives with me. We lived in hostels then and through their lives and friendship, I was able to see God's love in action. That laid the foundation for things to come in my life upon graduation.

As I entered the workforce, I began to understand more about God's plans for me. I also began to see light in the Bible's warnings about a society that hurtles towards destruction, darkness and depravity. I am sure you can see that for yourself in the headlines each day. Despite the deterioration of my hearing, I kept up my hopes in God because He has given me His favours and helped me overcome my limitations in many ways. Despite hearing loss and bouts of giddy spells so bad that I was once hospitalised for several days and given jabs just to stabilize myself, I've been blessed with a wonderful career, a beloved wife, supportive in-laws & family, wonderful kids, and many friends, including you and those through DeafBoleh. I continue to see God's provision in many areas of my life. I have documented much of my hopes and struggles in http://cyberfellowship.blogspot.com which is my testament to you and all who wants to know, about how God has taken this life that was sinking into oblivion, transformed it and use it for His glory.

It's my prayer, J, that this will be the start of your wonderful journey with God. If you would like to walk with God for the rest of your life, do check the following link out: http://guidance.gospelcom.net/answer.htm

I will be more than happy to continue to help answer your questions. In fact, I consider that a privilege as it's an opportunity to share how God has touched my life and I trust that it will be of help to all who want to know.

May God bless you, J, and your loved ones.

Thomas