Living a New Iife in Christ
Is it ever too late to make a change while one still has the opportunity? John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. Priscilla Soh shares the story of how God sustained her grandmother so He could bring her to a new life in Christ, just three weeks before she went home to be with Him.
Many of us who have tasted the goodness of our Lord and received His priceless gift of salvation none the less remain hesitant about sharing the Gospel with others. I was one of them. For many years after I knew Jesus, I was afraid to speak about Him to those I love. On one hand, my fears and concerns seemed logical enough. Yet, when I tested them by committing them to prayer, it became all too clear that none of them should stand in the way of testifying for Jesus. By sharing my story of how my 90-year-old grandmotherreceived Jesus just three weeks before she passed away, I hope to encourage you to stand in the gap to be a bold a nd willing witness for Jesus so that those who yet do not know Him can stand a chance for a new life that is only possible through Him who is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). My grandmother (“Ah Ma”) brought me up. My parents had split up when I was young and Ah Ma essentially brought me up. She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour on 8 December 2002 but this story of her new life begins many years before that. Many people who knew my Ah Ma may be surprised, perhaps they may even be shocked, to know that she became a Christian. In all her 90 years, Ah Ma had been a staunch Buddhist who also took part in ancestral worship. Even up to her early 80s, she went vegetarian on the 1st and 15th day of every lunar month. She had prayer beads over which she chanted Buddhist prayers. When I became a Christian in November 1997, I did not dare let her know. I had seen her fury when she found out that my cousin had converted to Christianity. Eventually, I still told her. I did not want to be ashamed to confess my acceptance of Christ. Ah Ma did not get angry. Instead, she seemed disappointed and resigned. It took a while before I plucked up the courage to share with her the Gospel. Initially, she was very resistant and rebuffed every attempt to share the message of salvation in Christ with her. She held fast to the belief that so long as she had a good heart and did not do evil deeds, it didn’t matter which religion she embraced – one of the most common and devastating lies by the evil one. Whenever I went to visit her, I would continue to share the Gospel with her. With Ah Ma, one can’t be too insistent. I was once a non-believer and, at that time, I had deeply resented it when Christians literally tried to force the Gospel on to me or told me I would go to hell for not believing. The best way to witness is to be guided by the Holy Spirit. One thing I continually emphasised to her was that Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with God. She can talk (pray) to God like He is her best friend. 34
