No Looking Back

The Swallow was born in the city, in a little-known part of the world called Malaysia.  Soon after her family moved their home to a new locality, she was allowed to attend a Sunday School which was within walking distance.

Sunday after Sunday, she heard many stories from the Bible.  Most of the stories centred around a man called Jesus Christ.  After the stories, the teachers would ask the children to memorise a Bible verse.  The following week, the Swallow would recite the verse and when it was done correctly, she would be given a sticker.  The Swallow strived to learnt the verse well as the sticker seemed like a badge of honour, and she would display the sticker proudly to her siblings who were not allowed to attend the Sunday School then.

She learnt many songs and choruses that told of God and His love, and that also mentioned the man Jesus Christ.  She soon learnt that Jesus Christ was not only a man, but He was God too.  She learnt that because of the naughty things she does, she could not go to heaven.  Now the Swallow was an active child and was constantly getting into trouble with her parents and teachers.  As far as she could understand, she wanted to go to heaven and if believing in Jesus Christ would bring her to heaven, she would believe in Him then.

When circumstances were tough, the Swallow found herself singing many of these songs and choruses.  Memory verses would also be brought to mind whenever she felt sad, alone and afraid.  One such occasion came when she and her siblings stayed with her popo for a few nights.  She and her siblings would sleep in the hall as the house was small.  There were many idols in her popo's hall, and on the first night, the look of the idols caused the Swallow to fear closing her eyes.   The loud ticking of the clock in the hall, coupled with her wild imagination, made her uneasy too.  She was unable to sleep although her siblings were sleeping soundly.  It was then that she remembered a chorus she had been singing often in Sunday School...

JESUS LOVES ME (author unknown)

Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so.

In her little heart, she cried out to the Lord Jesus.  She asked Him to please take away her fears and let her be able to sleep.  Sleep came quickly then, and for the next few nights at her popo's house, the Swallow no longer tossed and turned in bed.  Each night, she asked the Lord Jesus to help her.  That was the start of a journey towards knowing who God is, and what He has done for her.

Over the years, she learnt more about Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the Lord God His Father.  Each time when she felt she had been extra naughty, she would again ask the Lord Jesus to help her to be good.  She wanted to go to heaven very much.  In her final year of primary school, she finally understood what belief in the Lord Jesus Christ was really about, and she trusted Him completely as her Saviour, Lord and King.

No, it did not mean that the Swallow was not naughty anymore.  It simply meant that when she did wrong and asked the Lord God to forgive her, she is forgiven because of Jesus' death on the cross.  The Bible says in Romans 6 : 23 (NIV), "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Jesus has paid that price when He, as the perfect Lamb of God, died on the cross for men's sins.  The Swallow's past sins, present sins and future sins have all been forgiven.  She is righteous not because of her own works (that will fail time and time she does wrong), but because of the perfect sacrifice that Jesus made, once and for all.

As she grew physically, she experienced God's love constantly in her life and this caused her love for Him to grow.  Her faith and trust in Him also grew.

When the Swallow was led to start a new life in Singapore, it was with a bit of trepidation, but with a giant leap of faith too in her Lord God, who became even more real to her. She saw His hand of blessing in the life she was called to.  It is the Swallow's greatest desire that in all things, she will glorify and honour Him.

Philippians 3 : 14 (NKJV)
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

HE'S MY LIFE, HE'S MY LIGHT (author unknown)

He's my Life, He's my Light
He fills me with delight
Jesus Christ is my Saviour
And I trust in His might
He's my King
Everything
I have is His own
When I'm living for Jesus alone!

No, there is no looking back.  The Swallow can now only look forward to the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again for her.  And while waiting for His return, she will strive to follow Him wherever He leads her.