2021 is a memorable year for me, not because of events that I’ve directly experienced, but because it was an eye-opener for the value of life, with an urgency to share that our hope is in Jesus Christ alone.

“What? Do you mean to say you did not value life previously?” you may ask.

You must admit, it is so easy to agree with the statement that life is valuable, but to actually mean it and be caught up by it, is something else. We’re usually focused on our lives and living them safely and comfortably. If adversity does not affect us directly, we’re simply happy (some say ‘lucky’) that it did not happen to us, then we thank God (or luck), and move on with our lives. Not everyone is moved to empathy, to the point of serving others and giving of one’s self sacrificially. All efforts to share the love of Christ on the spiritual level do not amount to much if we do not also share the love of Christ in the day-to-day physical lives of those who hurt or are in need.

I lost a new dear friend to complications of covid-19 a few months ago: she was gone in four days. One of her best friends suffered the same fate a few weeks earlier. A pastor who faithfully serves the LORD also became a victim of covid-19, who stayed for a month at the hospital and miraculously survived the severe complications resulting from the virus. It will be a long recovery, but God will surely take care of him. I learned about a faithful Christian mother who was abandoned by her husband and was also abandoned by her family for being a follower of Christ. She serves the LORD gladly in our church and she suffered through complications of untreated diabetes because she could barely support herself and her two daughters. Another acquaintance at the Bible College died of cancer, which had also taken her husband a few years earlier. Two priests that my husband went to school with passed away as well, one after another, also of cancer. One had been ill for a few years, the other had been ill only a few months. Then there are the victims of tropical super typhoon Rai/Odette due to landslides, flooding, infrastructure collapse, and electrocution. It has been two weeks and many places still don’t have power and clean water. God led us to help in a variety of ways, which we did only through obedience and the grace of God.

At a memorial service that my husband and I attended this week, our Pastor gave a wonderful and encouraging message of hope: those who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and LORD are now in heaven face-to-face with Him. They truly are in a better place. That is what we often say when someone has died of pain or disease, but I wonder how many actually believe how much better heaven truly is. Our life here on earth is one of decay and destruction, a result of the fall of man — the sin that caused it all. So yes, we will all experience suffering in one form or another. But no matter how much we try, this earth and universe as we know it will die. (I can now imagine some of you shaking your heads, thinking how pessimistic I am. People are not and do not have the solution to the world’s problems.) But there IS a promise of a better place and a better life compared with this beautiful, rich, entertaining, enjoyable yet imperfect, materialistic, trouble-filled, and exhausting temporary world that we live in. The promised place is eternal where there will be no more disease, tears, pain, or fears where it is indescribably beautiful beyond imagination. This is available as a gift to those who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. It is He who rescued us from our sinful nature so that we no longer have to experience the punishment of sin (which is spiritual death or eternal separation from God.) Our hope is in the knowledge that because our loved ones believed and surrendered their lives to Christ, they are now with Him in heaven. I am sure that if even they could, they would not trade places with us where we’re at. And for those of us who similarly believe in Jesus, we will one day see them again. We’re only separated by time. They simply got there ahead of us. And our hope for ourselves is that though we may experience some suffering now, all of that will go away in heaven.

And that’s the urgency of it. Not everyone believes in Jesus as Savior. Not everyone believes Jesus is God. Not everyone believes He is the giver of every good gift. Not everyone believes He is the only Way. Not everyone recognizes their sinful nature and their need for salvation. Many are still relying on intelligence, ingenuity, activism, wit, philosophy, religion, rituals, politics, power, science, and technology to guide them through life! And some are just doubtful if they have enough faith. But all lives are valuable, so valuable that Jesus gave up His life for everyone. Whether one believes in Jesus or not, it does not change the truth that Jesus is the promised Savior and Jesus is God. Not everyone will go to heaven because of unbelief. And that is really sad. All one has to do is believe in Jesus to receive the gift of eternal life and all the blessings it holds.

In 2021, God wrote in my heart to value one’s physical life on earth in addition to one’s eternal life. So yes, we will listen to the Lord when He leads us to help others in need, but more importantly, to help them see that our hope is in Jesus alone. In 2022, I surrender myself to whatever new things the Lord will teach me and lead me to do in the new year.

May 2022 bring you to Christ and may you receive His blessing of eternal life. Believe, and you will receive.

Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”