Calling A Brother To Be Firmly Planted

30 November 2022

Psalms 1:3 (NKJV)

"He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper."

    During final exams week, I saw my friend asking for help to book a room in school for studying. He had no more weekly credits to do so himself. Let's call him Felipe for privacy's sake. God had spoken to me recently that this friend was in need of Him. I had already planned to come to church to study on the same day, so I thought to myself "why not try my luck and see if he's open to join me, maybe that'll be a good gateway to inviting him for service so that he may come to know God".
 

    Felipe accepted immediately and, to my utter shock and surprise, told me as we were walking through the gates that he was already Christian by birth (total bruh moment). His family had grown disillusioned with church and the faith, largely due to feeling "forced" to tithe. But Felipe continued to attend service against their wishes as a youth, then stopped because his was a CG that was not active in gathering nor showed much care or concern for their fellow believers. He did not feel any sense of belonging in the church and hence was not firmly planted.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

    I find Christ-centred friendship to be one of the underrated yet most precious treasures to be found in society. From communion with Jesus Christ also follows communion with our fellow Christians. That deep, shared devotion to the gospel and long-lasting camaraderie (we never graduate from each other) is something that I would wish and pray for everyone to have, especially those in crisis.

    To summarize Felipe's first experience with HOGC, he was shocked and in awe of what kind of spiritual home we have, making amusing yet wholesome comments about the facilities and people we met from the L4 lobby to the Auditorium to even just sitting in the atrium to study. He had already agreed to come for Christmas service earlier but he said this whole experience made him even more excited for it because he "really liked the overall atmosphere and people here, all so friendly". At the end of it all, having gone our separate ways,  I received a text from Felipe thanking me for rekindling his flame, or at least providing a spark which he really needed.

My heart is exploding with God's love and a love for His children this season.