Two people I knew passed away in October. The first one I do not claim to know personally, but he was world famous alright. His name was Steve Jobs. He was not a computer scientist. He had no training as a hardware engineer or an industrial designer. He had a semester at Reed College and a stint at an ashram in India. Jobs’ expertise was less in computers than it was in the humans who used them.
In the world of technology, most people can hope to revolutionize one industry at most, but Jobs did it every few years with stunning regularity: computers, movies, music, phones. In 2011, he became the most celebrated business executive of his generation. Apple’s market capitalization passed that of Exxon Mobil, making it the planet’s most valuable company. Steve has made the cover of TIME magazine 5 times – 1982, 1997, 2005, 2010 and 2011. He passed away at the relatively tender age of 56.
The other person I knew who passed away in October was my Dad. Comparing to Steve Jobs, my Dad could not be more different. He was only known to his family and a very small circle of friends and relatives. He was a barber by profession. He used to cut my hair since my childhood days; he still did it occasionally until he emigrated to Canada in 1995, well after his retirement!
One of the few things I remember about my Dad was that he was a very good Mahjong player. I guess he had a lot of practice; there seemed to be a Mahjong game going on at home almost every evening. I hated it because the noise prevented me from concentrating on my study or homework!
Like a typical Chinese father of his generation, my Dad hardly communicated with his children. I guess he did not know how. His job was to put food on the table and paid the bills. For someone who had only the equivalent of a primary education and had 6 children to raise, he did a pretty good job as a father. One thing I did remember all my life was his exhortation to me when I finished secondary school. On the Book of Memorandum of my graduation year, he wrote in Chinese something like “A man should make his body his slave; enduring hardship and trials”. I have truly benefited from that sound advice ever since!
He and my Mum became born again Christians in 1994, after a Christmas celebration service, where I shared a testimony. As we came out of the service, I asked them if they would like to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour; they promptly said yes. I led them through the sinners’ prayer on the street pavement!
In 1997, 2 days before Christmas, I received a phone call from my sister in Vancouver that my Dad had a stroke. He was already 86 years old and we thought it was time to bid farewell. I caught the first flight out from Hong Kong and arrived on Christmas Eve. My Dad was lying in the hospital bed sleeping, looking very frail and pale. I laid my hand on his body and asked God to heal him!
The next morning was a sunny Christmas Day and a White Christmas; it had been snowing the night before. We received news that Dad woke up and the doctor thought it was a miracle that he recovered. I gave all the glory to God!
In the intervening years, Dad led a very active life in Vancouver, playing Mahjong and billiard at his favorite community centre. He and Mum had a good time travelling to Hong Kong and China, catching up with old friends and relatives. They also visited us in London including attending one of the Sunday services!
In the past couple of years, my prayer for my Dad was for him to make 100, God willing. Came 2011, we made plan to celebrate his 100th birthday. He had been in an old folks home for over a year and his health was clearly deteriorating rapidly. When the family gathered in July to celebrate his 100th birthday, we had to do it in the hospital because had a chest infection. Most of his children made it to the celebration, including granddaughter Elsie and great granddaughter Nikki. I showed my Dad pictures of our grandson Sebby (his great grandson) who was just over one month old at the time!
On 10th October, when Taiwan celebrated her 100th birthday, we received news that my Dad passed away peacefully. The Lord had brought him home in his sleep. On the 20th, I flew to Vancouver to conduct a memorial service for my Dad. It was held for a small family gathering at the burial and the Lord blessed us with dry weather despite of the rainy forecast. On his tombstone he was remembered as having “lived a long and good life”!
The Bible says that our days are numbered by God. Whether, one ends at 56 or 100, God is the one who decides. No one can add another day to his or her life without God’s blessing. He is the Lord of our lives! I am not sure where Steve Jobs went after his death, but I know for certain that my Dad is with the Lord. That is God’s promise for everyone who believes in Jesus!
The Lord is the name of our God. Besides being the Creator, He is also the Lord of our lives. “You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You turn men back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men." ……. You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning? though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered…….The length of our days is seventy years? or eighty, if we have the strength……Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom……May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us? yes, establish the work of our hands. [Ps 90:1-17 NIV]
The story of Daniel’s 3 friends may not ring true in the minds of modern men, but it was true all the same. When they did not worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar made, they were thrown into a blazingly hot furnace. “Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?......if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"…… his advisers…..see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."…….They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.” [Dan 3:1-6, 12-15, 22-30 NIV] The God of Creation whom they believed in saved them!
If we truly believe in God, we shall be a people of courage and power in testifying about Him. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit burn strongly in us. “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…..For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord……join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time…” [2 Tim 1:2-14 NIV]
Here are a few worthy sayings that embody the wisdom of God. “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way…..He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers……A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense…..He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die…….Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails……The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble…….Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. [Prov 19:2,8,11,16,20,21,23,27 NIV]
