Last Monday my friend Rif and I visited Hari Arbianto, our keyboard player in our Not Young Anymore (NYA) Band.  Hari has just been diagnosed with an advanced stage of liver cancer.  His wife told us that three weeks ago Hari still went to work, and life still went on as usual.  But suddenly he became ill and had to be hospitalized; it was then that he discovered his illness.  That day when we visited him, he was already weak and had lost a lot of weight. He was mostly asleep, but he tried his best to wake up whenever we sang to him.

Our band has lost two members, Yoyong and Darma, so we do not feel ready to lose another one.  But Hari is ready.  He had told his family that if God chose to heal him, he would be grateful.  But, if God chose to take him home, he’s ready to go.  His faith in Christ is strong and immovable; all his life he has loved and served Jesus Our Lord.  Through music he has brought sacrifice of joy to many and to the Lord.  So, he’s ready.  As Oom Kiat likes to say, “It is a win-win situation.”  To be healed is a win; to be taken home is also a win.

We’d like to think that we know a lot, but the truth is we only know a little.  We don’t even know what goes on underneath our skin; we are truly little creatures. Rightly Oswald Chambers says, “All God’s men are ordinary men made extraordinary by the matter He has given them.”  We may think that we are special but, we are not; we are ordinary people who have been entrusted with God’s work.

In a band each player—and instrument—has her own distinct role.  We do not dominate the music; we only play our parts.  Once in a while, like in a concerto, we will be given a dominant part; but even then, it is only temporary. Such is life, isn’t it?  Occasionally God gives us a big part but don’t be puffed up, it’s only temporary. 

Pastor Paul