Waste Time with God

“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Psalm 95:8

Obedience brings blessing and disobedience closes the door. But how can we obey if we do not recognize God's voice?  It seems as if the prophets in the Bible could talk to God, even argue with Him and bargain! 

 

The thing is if we want to know God's voice, we have to spend time with Him. It's like talking to a good friend on the phone. Even if we don't see him or her, we recognize their voice, we can even tell their mood! In a study conducted by Canadian linguists, they found that most people could identify a friend or relative's voice after hearing just 4 syllables. We should make it our aim to recognize our Father's voice. If we want to hear Him, He will find a way for us to hear Him. But first, I think we should get familiar with His words and promises, so when He speaks to us, we will know it's Him. 

Isn’t it fascinating that in Jesus’ fourth resurrection appearance on Easter Sunday, He gave the two disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–32) a Bible study? In verse 27, we read that, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Most of us, like these disciples do not recognize Jesus when He speaks to us, much less see Him in the Old Testament writings. St. Jerome wrote that  “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!”

If we want to hear God’s voice and recognize Him, first we have to get to know Him in the Word. It’s good to spend time, and even waste time with Him so Jesus becomes our very best friend! 

Wash Yourselves Clean!

 "Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes." Isaiah 1:16

If we leave dirty clothes in hampers, and used pots and pans in the sink for too long, they will stink! Similarly if we don’t take a bath every day, especially here in the Philippines where it is hot and humid, we will for sure smell bad! 

Isaiah the prophet is calling us on to wash ourselves of the filth and sin that threaten to separate us from God. 

How great is God's love for us that He gave us this wonderful gift of forgiveness and reconciliation! And it is available to us every single day! Imagine if there was an abundance of water available for us to use, and we did not bathe every day! Instead we would go around smelly and dirty! What a pity! What a waste! God is not stingy with forgiveness.

Look at Rahab who was a prostitute but she is now listed in Jesus' genealogy, because she married Salmon, the great great grandfather of King David! She was forgiven for her many sins and is now included in God’s family. 

“So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows,” Jesus says in Matthew 10:29-30. Let us not be afraid to approach the Lord who is full of mercy and wants to wash us clean! All we need to do is be humble, recognize and repent of our sin. 

Take Nothing on the Journey

"...take nothing on the journey..." Mark 6:8

When St. Francis of Assisi heard the gospel on taking nothing for the journey on Feb. 24, 1208, he was overjoyed. I can't imagine anyone being overjoyed at Jesus' instructions to the 12 Apostles to go out preaching but to take nothing but a walking stick! But Saint Francis had been feeling the pull of God in dreams and visions, and he felt that this was the clear direction he had been seeking. Although he had been a rich young man, with a taste for luxurious clothes and good food, he had renounced his possessions to the dismay of his father, and embarked on begging for food and for stones to rebuild a small church.

St. Francis really obeyed Jesus’ instructions to walk from place to place and preach the good news. In Cannara, Italy, he was known to have preached to thousands of birds. The birds actually listened to his instructions, “My little sisters the birds, Ye owe much to God, your Creator, And ye ought to sing his praise at all times and in all places, Because he has given you liberty to fly about into all places; And though ye neither spin nor sew, He has given you a twofold and a threefold clothing for yourselves and for your offspring.”

When Francis reached the Umbrian city of Gubbio, the townspeople entreated him to help them with this ferocious wolf that was terrorizing the town. It not only ate animals but people too. Even the armed soldiers were terrified to leave the city walls. 

One day St. Francis announced he would speak to the wolf. When he walked out from the safety of the gates, the people climbed the roofs and walls to see what would happen. They were appalled when the wolf lunged at the saint, and relieved when Francis stopped him with the sign of the cross. 

St. Francis spoke to the wolf calling him Brother Wolf and convincing him to stop terrorizing the town. “In Christ’s name, I forbid you to be wicked. If you agree to make peace, I will ask the townspeople to feed you for the rest of your life, for I know it is hunger that has driven you to these crimes.” 

The wolf put his paw into Francis’ hand and the Saint led the now placid animal into Gubbio. Francis walked into the town square with the wolf and he urged the people to repent. He convinced them to forgive the wolf, and feed him as long as he lived and the wolf would not kill anyone anymore. This they did for the next two years until the wolf died. 

Like Saint Francis, we too are pilgrims on a journey. We take different paths, but we go to the same God. We may not be able to speak to birds and wolves, but every day we encounter our fellow men. Let us remember to go forth and spread God’s good word to all we meet. 

So So Much

“Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:30-31

There seems to be an epidemic of fear, anxiety, and insecurity in the world today. Perhaps there always was but it was magnified by the pandemic, made so many times worse by the social isolation. In the first year of the COVID-19 world wide contagion, a scientific paper released by the World Health Organization (WHO), stated that anxiety and depression increased by a whopping 25%! There were lots of young people affected by the quarantine measures. 

The Word of God says we need not be afraid, we need not be anxious, for we have a loving God who knows how many strands of hair are on our head, who knows our past, our present and even our future. He holds us in the palm of His loving hand. If we are aware of how precious we are in God’s eyes, we will be less fearful of the future. We can be confident that whatever happens , our God will always be there to take care of us. Our God loves us more than anyone on earth ever could. 

The other day I squeezed my apo (grandson) so tightly that he said, “I think that you love me soooo very much!” I asked him teasingly, “How do you know?” and he smiled impishly. Even if he doesn’t do anything at all, I do love him so so much! My heart could burst with love of him. That is how much God loves us and more. We do not need to be beautiful, or accomplished, or even good. He already is crazy about us! We are the apple of His eye! (Zechariah 2:8)

Words

"Take with you words and return to the Lord." Hosea 14:3

Sometimes all I do is talk, talk, talk to God, not allowing Him to say a word to me! But then I have a long seemingly unending list of prayer requests! I do not think those are the “words” this passage suggests we take to the Lord. 

Then what are the words that we should say to Him? This verse from Hosea is always recited on the Sabbath preceding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. (Hebrew: [ˈjom kiˈpuʁ], or יום הכיפורים) I love how the Hebrew script looks! 

The Jews usually observe this holy day with long fasting and prayer in the synagogue. It is a day of atonement and repentance.

“Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the Lord.” In Hebrew, ‘words’ means things, realities, and the connotation is we need to repent sincerely. Rabbi Len Ben Sisi wrote that the power of repentance was so great it soars all the way up to the throne of glory. 

Yes, Lord, forgive us for abandoning You. Show us the way back to You! Father, we want to be pleasing in Your sight. Wash us clean of our iniquities, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." After that, I am sure His grace will allow us to enjoy and bask in His presence! 

Without Cost

“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Matthew 10:8

In another version of the Bible, we find, "The gift you have received, give as a gift." Sometimes we are so tight-fisted with what we have, forgetting that these are all gifts generously given to us by the Father. “For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you” (Luke 6:38).

I love rereading an old favorite, "Anne of Green Gables". The story is about a talkative young orphan girl who gets adopted by an elderly brother and sister. They actually wanted to adopt a boy to help with the farm, but because of a mistake, a girl was sent out to them. When they were going to return her to the orphanage, they decided to take pity on the poor child who set her heart on staying in Green Gables. They didn't regret it. In opening their hearts to Anne, they received so much love and blessing in return. That is fiction, but it's true of real life as well. Closing our hearts and hands makes it hard for anything to come out or in. 

We have so much to give, not only money or material resources. A nurse's aid in a hospital named Betty was generous with her love, compassion and encouragement for her elderly patients. She befriended one old lady who had a prolonged stay in the hospital and managed to make her more comfortable. They shared lots of stories together until the old lady knew that Betty needed furniture for her apartment, and how much she wanted to be an illustrator. When the old lady passed away, she left Betty her nice furniture  with a note, "Betty, I promise to put in a good word for you in Heaven so you can get the job you’ve always wanted.” Three months after, Betty got an illustrating job! 

Lord, may we always look for ways to be generous with what You have given us. May we share not only our treasures, but also our time and our talent. May we have a heart for the people You love, the lost, the least and the last in line.

Life is But a Weaving

‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Matthew 10:7

Most people think of the Bible as a religious book, but it is really a testament, a covenant between a King and His people. It is amazing that God wants us to know His heart, what His will and intent is. That is why the Bible was written- so we would have a record of what God did to make us His very own.  The Kingdom of God is already in our midst, Jesus said. We are part of his royal family, as we are children of the King. Myles Munroe, an evangelist, once said that God had a colonization project. He wanted to expand His kingdom, to make earth a colony of heaven. Are we doing our part as God's children to bring His plan about?

His ways are definitely not our ways. Instead of giving us good times, prosperity, no problems, God uses pandemics, inflation, cancer, wars, insecurities, sickness and oh so many kinds of challenges. It’s not because He caused these calamities and upheavals, but because God gave man the very special gift of free will. We are free to choose whether to believe Him or not, to follow Him or not, to take Him seriously or not. Whether we see Him or not, He is God with us, He is with us in our journey, most especially when it is hard. 

He sees what we do not see. In the Château d'Angers in west-central France, there is a very special tapestry entitled Apocalypse. It is a 140 meters long by six meters high spread featuring 90 scenes from the Book of Revelation and woven in colorful and intricate thread. Making a tapestry involves a very complex technique of weaving colored weft threads through plain warp threads. When we see the tapestry, we will be amazed at the depth of detail, and shades of colorings depicting the war between angels and beasts, death and destruction ending in the victory of good versus evil. But if we see the underside, it would be not make sense at all. It is a mess! We would have no idea what is on the right side! 

Here is one of Corrie Ten Boom’s favorite poems. Corrie survived the terrors of three concentration camps during the Holocaust. This poem which she always quotes in her speeches around the world was written by Benjamin Malachi Franklin. 

Life is But a Weaving

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me.

I cannot choose the colors

He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I the underside.

Not ‘til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas

And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares;

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him.

Reap the Whirlwind

“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7

I chose this verse from the mass readings today because I love how it sounds even if I don’t understand it much. If we sow the Word, we will get a hundred fold harvest. That I understand. 

Sir Arthur Harris, a British Air Marshal in WWII, said in 1942, at the start the bombing campaign against Germany, “The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind.” What was the whirlwind but the devastation of huge swaths of Europe and Asia, 80 million deaths including the suicide of Hitler, war crime trials and prison sentences, and so much more long-lasting change in the world. 

Perhaps we should ask if we are sowing any wind, something with a lot of noise, but with no substance. What are we chasing after? What is important to us? What will be the consequences? My sister who is head of our Human Resources in our family business often told me that when she interviewed prospective staff, she asked whom they admired and wanted to emulate. Often the dismaying answer is a celebrity who is rich and famous but leads a less than praiseworthy life. Many of the women are single mothers, or living with men not their husbands. They gave up their youth, their morals, their prudence, their future, for ‘love’, and they reaped the whirlwind. 

We are made in the image of God and we have intrinsic value. But many of us make gods in our own image. We choose our own ‘moral’ law to follow. We run after our own idols. Whatever it is, money, career, a relationship we sacrifice everything for, if God is not at the center, it’s all for nothing. As Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain who build it”. Sayang lang lahat ng pawis (All the sweat is wasted!). 

With God, nothing is impossible. He is a God of hope. If we have “sown the wind” in any way, we can still turn back to Him who is the repairer, the restorer, and He will journey with us and take us to the right path. 

My Grace is Sufficient

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

How does God think? First of all in Isaiah 55:8-9, He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Contemplating this gives me great comfort for I do not want a God who is as petty, as self-centered, as greedy, as I can be. Really, I need to study God’s Word more so I will think like Him. I need to spend time listening and not always putting words in His mouth. Can we ever hope to think like He thinks? 

The proof is in the lives of the saints and martyrs! And we can be sure He wants to make us saints as well (hopefully not a martyr!) In 2 Chronicles we read, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” Yes, my heart definitely needs strengthening for I am so obviously a coward! These days, I can see that heroes of the faith are needed and God is ready, even eager, to work more powerfully than ever in the lives of His people! Indeed, the world is watching to see what God can and will do in a life fully surrendered to Him! There are so so many who blissfully live contrary to God’s commands and shout in our faces when we try to obey. Take for example the recent backlash and criticism former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo received for wearing a very MODEST wedding gown in her marriage ceremony with American football 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. What happened to all the “My body, my choice” rhetoric? 

We can take God’s reassurance to St. Paul as our own: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." St. Paul concludes, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

God’s Big Vision

"Do not put new wine into old wine skins." Matthew 9:17

In Jesus' day, newly made wine was put into new pouches of goat's leather. There it would ferment, bubble, expand, and the leather would expand with it. If new wine was placed into an old pouch, the wine would release gases and the leather would burst at the seams and the wine would spill out.

Jesus got into trouble with the Pharisees and a lot of other Jews because His teachings were the "new wine", which they tried to fit in the "old wine skin" of their traditional way of thinking. It didn't mean the old wine was bad. It just meant we should always be making new wine!

We started our business in a little shop along Tomas Morato. We were very content there. After several years, the owners of the building wanted us out, and this made us anxious and perplexed about what to do next. We were able to find a place along Roces Avenue, where our building stands today. Looking back, we know it was God, with His big plans and a new vision for our business which wouldn't fit in the small location and our comfortable ways. He was pushing us out of our "old wine skin" mind set!

The Holy Spirit is always doing something new and fresh in the Church. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be too set in our ways that we are blind to God's Spirit that always wants to renew the face of the earth. Let us embrace God's BIG vision, be open to moving with Him in this pilgrimage towards the New Jerusalem. I'm sure it's going to be exciting all the way!

Follow Me

"Follow me." Matthew 9:9

Ever since I can remember, my mom would take things that other people would throw into the trash, and she would transform them into things she could sell or things we could play with.

Scrap cloth would become stuffed toys. I particularly remember a Santa Claus with a bag full of gifts and miniature toys. A toilet paper roll would become a doll. A plastic bottle, a piggy bank. Egg shells became Christmas ornaments for our tree. She would buy dresses from the ukay ukay and with her sewing machine, make a different dress that fit her out of it. 

We would gather seeds and twigs and she would transform them into beautiful wreaths and mobiles someone would want to buy. She taught us to look at garbage and see their potential.

Jesus did the same with people. He SAW a man named Levi. He was a tax collector, and when other people noticed him, they despised him. But Jesus SAW what Levi could become. Jesus told Levi to, “Follow me."

Levi followed Jesus and became Saint Matthew!

Jesus sees our potential too! He sees what we can become. It doesn't matter what we or others think of ourselves. If we follow Jesus we can become saints too!

Courage, Child

“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2

Sami Dagher is the founding pastor of the Karantina Alliance Church in Beirut, and the president of the National Evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Lebanon. Sami has been working for decades in challenging places to bring people into God’s family. 

He was a “teddy bear” of a man, small but packed with energy. One night at about 11 pm, Sami and his wife were in a car, Sami was driving along a road in Lebanon, when Sami stopped because there was a suitcase lying on the road. His wife dissuaded him from picking it up, but Sami proceeded to get out of his car and loaded it into the trunk. When they reached home, he opened the suitcase and he found it was packed with money. Every square inch was just filled with money. He was able to find a calling card and he called the number on it. 

“Hello? Is this Mr. So and So?” 

“Yes.”

“Did you lose something?”

The man on the other line was quiet for a moment, then, “Did you find it?”

“Yes.”

The man wanted to come over and get it, but Sami said, “Come tomorrow. I have no plans for your suitcase.”

When the man arrived the next morning he was so grateful to Sami, amazed that someone would return the money. He said that he had withdrawn all his money from the bank with plans of leaving the country. As a reward he offered Sami some money. Sami said, “No, no, no, I only accept that amount of cash in the collection plate. Come to my church on Sunday.” The man came with his family, and at the end of the service, they all went to the front to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. As they asked Jesus to come into their hearts, their tears fell. They knew their sins had been forgiven. 

“You thought you had your treasure,” Sami said, “but the real treasure is Jesus Christ and His Words.” He gave them a Bible. 

There is no treasure apart from You, O God. Whatever we are searching for, freedom, wisdom, power, riches, beauty or forgiveness. You are the source of all good things. 

I Believe

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:25

Thomas, whose Feast Day we celebrate today, goes down in history as “doubting Thomas”. He had a crisis of faith and did not believe even if all his friends, and companions, were excitedly telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” So Jesus appeared especially for him, and Thomas had no option but to believe. “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed,” Jesus said. 

How about us? Do we believe even if we have not seen Jesus? I’ve been listening to Frank Turec debate Christopher Hitchens about if God exists or not and it is really interesting. Of course I am biased and I think Christopher Hitchens just hates the idea of religion. Most of his reasoning points to how religion makes us slaves, and how it is used to manipulate society. In one of his most quoted statements, he claims, “Religion is poison because it asks us to give up our most precious faculty, which is that of reason, and to believe things without evidence. It then asks us to respect this, which it calls faith.”

I think however that our belief in God is reasonable, and it requires more faith NOT to believe in a God who is outside of space, time and matter. For one thing, if we study the Old Testament, we will see that the God of the Bible promises a Messiah who will come in a particular place and who will suffer in order to save us. Who can give several prophecies about the future that come true through many different prophets but God? Also who can conceive that our human body, our earth and universe has no magnificent and caring designer behind its creation?!!!

I believe in a personal God who answers prayer, because He has answered my prayers, guided me concretely in my most important decisions, and continues to sustain and surround me with grace through my trials and challenges. 

To have faith in You, Lord, is to have wings! Dear dear Jesus, thank You for showing Yourself in many different ways throughout the course of my life! 

We are Perishing!

“Lord, save us!  We are perishing!” Matthew 8:25

My father loved to sail, even when he was 90 years old.  He would go out on the water even if the weather was so bad. Picture a small sailboat being swamped by the waves. When the wind was terrifyingly strong, he would be exhilarated. He was in his element. The strong winds and mighty waves excited him. In contrast, the experienced fishermen got scared and called on the Lord to save them!

Sometimes when God does not answer our prayers, we say He is not listening or He is sleeping. Jesus only slept because He was a man while on earth. He had all the limitations of our physical bodies which get tired and weary. Now He is not bound by the earth and we can depend on Him not to get tired or weary. We should always have the mindset that nothing is impossible with God. He can command not only the winds, and the sea, but even fires, missiles, the predicted "Big Earthquake", and even meteors hurtling to earth.  When He allows disasters, misfortunes, tragedies and reversals, we can and should ask, "Why did God allow this? Is there something I need to learn? About Him? About myself? What is His purpose?" We should go closer to God instead of farther, knowing when bad things happen, He is closer than a prayer.

When my dad fell and became bedridden, this gave him so much pain and he lost a lot of weight. But he asked, "Why did this happen to me? Why is my caregiver, Jay, a welder as well?" I am sure He asked God many more questions, but from these 2 questions, my dad came up with the answer that he now could make a Murphy bed. And so he made a Murphy bed and many other new products as well. Is it any wonder I admire my dad so much? He is always open to the opportunities God gives him! Even if that opportunity comes cloaked in a seeming misfortune. 

Lord, may I always have a heart of faith, seeing You for who You really are. May I not forget that You are with me whatever happens!

St. Junipero Serra

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Matthew 8:19

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Junipero Serra. He really followed Jesus with zeal and dedication. He was a Franciscan missionary who went to California from Mexico at the advanced age of 56. You would think he was ready to retire and rest, especially as he was suffering in pain from a chronic ulcerated leg sore, but no! Father Junipero walked hundreds of miles to evangelize, to bring the gospel where he could. Beginning in 1769, he established eight of the 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco. He converted thousands of Indians. He also initiated efforts to protect the natives from abuse under the Spaniards by writing the grievances of the population. This led to a document which laid out the rights of the Native Americans in Spanish California and protected them under the governance of the Spanish monarchy. 

St. Junipero lived by his motto, “Siempre adelante! Keep moving forward and never turn back.” May we too keep moving forward with the cross before us, the world behind us!

https://youtu.be/teUxQpnhezY?si=Vo-TJ1ygsxSWZ_zA

Your Faith Has Made You Well

“Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Mark 5:34

In the 5th chapter of Mark, there are two very powerful stories about faith and healing. Jairus, a synagogue official, approached Jesus because his daughter was on the point of death. Then there is an unnamed woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She managed to get close enough to touch Jesus’ clothes and her flow of blood dried up. “Daughter, your faith has saved you,” Jesus told the woman. 

When people from Jairus’ home arrived to tell him that his daughter died, Jesus told Jairus, “Do not be afraid, just have faith”. They continued on their journey, and Jesus did not allow the crowd to accompany Him inside the house, except for Peter, James and John. He told everyone in the house who ridiculed Him to leave. Then He brought Peter, James, John, Jairus and the mother into the sick child’s room. “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” He commanded, holding her by the hand. The 12-year old stood up immediately and walked around. 

I believe faith is like a muscle. We need to practice it all the time, use it, by praying at all times, and confessing the Word of God. We need to claim God’s promises, searching the Bible for this treasure God left us, so our faith will grow. But as the story of Jairus shows, we also need to surround ourselves with people of faith. Even Jesus could not work miracles in His hometown because people there scoffed and did not have faith. Faith is an amazing gift that God wants to give each one of us. We just need to walk closely with Jesus, read His Word, give it a chance to come alive in our life. 

When I was praying about this, I felt God assuring me, “If you have faith, you will not be afraid of the future, of the past, of people who have the power to harm you. You need not fear for your family, or your business. If you have faith, you will know that all is in My hands. If you follow Me, listen to Me, even when you make mistakes, I can turn it into good. Trust in Me, live in My Word, and dwell in my peace.”

Finished the Race!

“I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me…” 2 Timothy 4:7-8

When we read this verse written by St. Paul, we can also remember Eric Liddell, the Scottish Olympic gold medallist winner. He is also the main character in the 1981 Oscar winning film, Chariots of Fire. 

During the Olympics, Eric, a devout Christian, refused to run for the hundred meter dash because it was held on a Sunday even if it was his best event. Instead he ran the 400 meter and won a gold medal. Eric Liddell said that he did his best in running the first half of the race, and then depended on God for the second half. In spite of an amazing career as a runner, Eric Liddel chose to leave all the fame and glory and go to China as a missionary like his father before him. He believed that is what God called him to do. When asked if he regretted his decision, he answered, “It's natural for a chap to think over all that sometimes, but I'm glad I'm at the work I'm engaged in now. A fellow's life counts for far more at this than the other.”

When he got to China, he became a teacher at an Anglo-Chinese college for privileged Chinese students. He was also in charge of Sunday school. In 1941 when the foreigners in China were advised to leave because of the danger from the Japanese invaders, Eric opted to stay behind while his wife and daughters went back home to Canada. Eric served the poor in a rural mission station in Xiaozhang, where he was always overworked and exhausted by the stream of Chinese needing medical treatment. 

In 1943, he was imprisoned in the Weihsien Interment Camp. While there, for two years until his death, he served others unselfishly, helping the elderly, leading bible study. One man who was interned with him wrote a book about his experience and mentioned that Eric Liddel was "the finest Christian gentleman it has been my pleasure to meet.” 

Another survivor of the camp, Langdon Gilkey, said of Eric: “He was overflowing with good humor and love for life, and with enthusiasm and charm. It is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known."

Wherever we are, Lord, whatever our station in life or our job, may we serve You in whatever way we can, and be a light in the darkness. May we finish the race with honor and keep the faith.