Pouring Out, Serving the Lord to the End
I heard my dear brother passed away on the morning of March 5th. This was truly a shocking news in 2020. I am still having difficulty accepting this news.
2 Timothy says, “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,” This is our brother’s testimony.
For the past few days, I cannot help myself but grieve, whenever I think about our companionship. I cannot believe it, nor am I willing to accept that you are no longer with us. So, I write this letter to you, as though you are still here, and that you are able to hear my woes.
There are so many stories to tell and so many words to say. My pen hangs in the air and I am unable to write. I do not know how or where to begin.
Among brothers and sisters in the Lord, many can preach, and many more can speak a high word. However, what I see in you is not just your speaking, but moreover, your action. Like the old saying, actions speak louder than words. You live by example and practice what you preach. You are truly a living testimony of the Lord. Through your life, you bring glory to God’s name and you live out Christ in your daily living, as shown in your every move and act.
When others serve the Lord, they serve through their words, such as preaching a sermon. But not you. You serve the Lord through your life, protecting the church, loving and caring for the brothers and sister. In 2005, when I was still in the US, I heard you were going to have a kidney transplant. I spoke to you and told you I am willing to accompany you to China, but you went by yourself. In the 15 years after the transplant, you offered your life to serve the Lord, given all to the Lord to the last.
Especially in the last couple of years, though you were stricken with illness but you still attended all the international conferences and major church meetings. You fellowshipped and ministered to the saints, and you bolstered the brothers and sisters with a steadying and stabilizing force. Ultimately, you loved the Lord and were faithful to His charge to the very end. You were selfless and without wants. Throughout all the churches in Taiwan, and throughout the world, I could not find one such as you. You were unique. You served the God whom you loved with your life, you shepherded the Church with your life, and you nourished the saints with your life. Your departure causes a great loss of a faithful and wise overseer to the churches in Taiwan and the globe.
I feel deeply that the churches in Indonesia owe you a great debt, and we no longer have the opportunity to repay it. In the history of the Churches in Indonesia, we owe a debt to two brothers from Taiwan, the other one being brother Chang (1915-1995). I can say with confidence, the churches in Indonesia owe you two brothers a great debt of gratitude. For the past 30-40 years, you two brothers were always there to support and upkeep the churches and the saints in Indonesia. The carrying out of the churches in Indonesia is due to not only from God’s blessings, but also the faithfulness, steadfastness, enduring labor and diligent care from you two brothers. We will always keep this in our heart and in our mind.
Memories of yesteryear are but a puff of smoke; reveries of past lives are naught but a dream. Brother Paul Wu, my heart aches whenever I think of the times we spent together, and I do not know whether the pain will pass away or remain till I expire. What I can say is that, my dear brother, rest well in the Lord. For there is a great chasm between paradise and earth and I could not accompany you yet. You have cut all earthly ties, but we will see each other again, and be together once more in that day in the Kingdom of God for eternity.
As you are testifying for the Lord, for all the labor, all the offering, all the sacrifice before the Lord, the Lord will surely remember. You are a pattern not only to the churches in Taiwan, but also to the rest of the world.
God will wipe away every tear from your eyes, and death will be no more, nor will there be sorrow or crying or pain anymore; for the former things have passed away. The Lord will be with you always. May the Almighty God bless and protect your family.
The church in Jakarta
Tahir
3/09/2020
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