THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

On Wednesday, August 7, in the wee morning hour Our Lord Jesus came and took our brother Joseph Oei to his eternal home. After more than two weeks in a comatose stage, our brother Joseph is finally free to be with his loving savior and shepherd whom he had worshipped and served all his life. Surrounded by Cie Ima and their two children, Melanie and Brian, he peacefully slipped into eternity.

George MacDonald, the 19th century Scottish minister, in one of his fiction books, gives an answer to the question, “Isn’t death a dreadful thing?” Here it is: “That depends on whether a man regards it as his fate or as the will of a perfect God. Its obscurity is its dread. But if God be light, then death itself must be full of splendor—a splendor probably too kin for our eyes to receive.”

O how true! If God is light, then death itself must be full of light, too. No wonder that those who have been declared dead but then brought back to life gave a consistent account of seeing and being in the light. And, if we wholeheartedly believe that our lives are in the will of a perfect God, shouldn’t we also believe that our deaths are also in the will of a perfect of God? The answer is a resounding yes.

As you know, despite his condition, our brother Joseph faithfully came to church. Three Sundays ago, our brother Joseph was getting ready to go to church when he suddenly experienced shortness of breath. Consequently, he was kept at home. That evening he was taken to the hospital and never went back to his earthly home anymore; instead, he moved to his heavenly home.

Today as we are worshipping Christ in the church, our brother Joseph is worshiping Christ in His presence. Sing, Ko Joseph, sing!

Pastor Paul