Off to Chiangmai! (II)

TO LOVE AND TO FORGIVE

Love was one thing I struggled with for a long time. I tend to judge before loving - I look at people with my own lenses instead of God's, and I decide for myself whether they should be loved or not. I feel that some people need love, but I struggle so hard loving them knowing the things they have done to others. But God is love and is all about love. I've read so much about Biblical love, I know it so well in my head, and often I feel God's love in my life, too. However, I am so painfully human that I so easily get drowned in negative thoughts when circumstances creep into my life.

During this short trip to Thailand, I've seen what the radical love from up above can do to a person, in which even man could not contain it within oneself and had to share it with the world. I've experienced what it means to fully lay one’s life down and set aside all selfish ambitions to love God and love others. I've understood what it takes to obey God's calling to love others simply because He first loved us.

The people I have met throughout the trip were all so ready to love. The volunteers at The Ark Home spend most of their time just caring and loving the boys. I believe love brings a domino effect and it could be seen in the boys’ actions in just caring for one another. The team had to agree that the overflowing of God’s love really made a huge difference in the boys’ lives. Pat spends almost every day reaching out to all sorts of people, ranging from the sick to the poor to the needy. He so willingly give with what he has been blessed with.

Forgiving is often the first step. Acknowledging the wrongdoings of others yet choosing to look beyond them and still love the person as he is takes a lot of courage. But our God is a God who gives second chances because He loves us. He doesn't want to condemn us; instead He wants to restore our relationship with Him. He does not want us to live life like an orphan because we aren't meant to be one - we all have a Father and He is our Father.

I was also constantly reminded that mission is not just evangelising in a foreign country. Instead, it is an ongoing process in our daily lives. This reminded me a lot about my current situation at home. Pat's last words to me before we left were “Be the glue in your family, love them.” Yes, indeed it is easier said than done, but if God choose to look beyond all our transgressions and still says “I love you, child”, why can’t we do the same to others?

To be continued.