His Love Endures
Forever
by Jonathan Phua
26 September 2006
Just
like most average second generation Christians, I dutifully attended
Sunday school every week. Back then, going to church was more of a
routine thing that I did with my parents every Sunday. I did not
attend Sunday school because I wanted to, but because I had to. The
time came for me to move on from Sunday school to youth group. And
boy was it boring and a chore for me to attend Frontliners (that was
what the youth in my previous church was called). Being accustomed
to waking up late on weekends, it was rather tiring for me to wake
up earlier for Frontliners. It also did not help that I had to wait
about two hours for my parents’ service to be over, since youth was
at 8.30am, while my folks attended the 10.30 service which ended
around 12.30. Then, in secondary two, my parents stopped going to
church, and gradually, I stopped too.
Though I no longer attended church, I still had some sort of
Christian ‘contact’. The Lord was gracious enough to place me in
Anglican High School. There I had many Christian friends and
teachers who were burning for Him, they were the examples for me to
follow. Somehow or another I felt a need to go back to church then,
but as a well protected and shy youngster, I wanted to go with my
parents. So, I started looking on the web and found churches with
the right services that my family and I could attend. We went to a
couple of churches, but my folks never did settle down. And because
they did not attend church, I, too, did not attend church. However,
it came a point of time for me that I was convicted that it does not
matter if my folks were attending church, I had to make a decision
for myself, and I asked my classmate to bring me to CityTeens.
It was there and then that I found out what a true relationship with
God was. In the past the Bible was just like an ordinary textbook;
attending Church on Sundays was just part of a routine, something
like school. I can’t say for certain that there was a specific day
that my life was changed, but my conversion of status from a
Christian by name to a lifestyle occurred gradually, in His time and
His grace.
Knowing God intimately is truly a radical change; His providence has
never failed to sustain me through my trials. I’m truly blessed with
friend who are there to support me in my darkest moments of life;
friends who give me sound and godly counsel; friends who guide me
and whom I can model; friends whom He placed so I can shower His
love on them; and the ultimate Friend whom I can rely on when all
else fails.
Day by day, God is revealing more of Himself to me. I can’t say that
I’ve fully mastered what a Christian life is nor have I reached the
peak of it. But I’m still on a journey of indulgence --- indulging
in His glory, grace and love.
I do not know what the future holds for me, or what my path is like.
But one thing is certain, His love endures forever!
Jon
