Death of my grandpa
Today my grandpa passed away. He is not saved. I don't have much memory of him, I hadn't talked to him while he was alive, because he was rather senile already. But I still feel sad. And it made me think about a lot of stuff...2 Timothy 1:9 -
Who (God) hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
The Westminster Confession of faith summarized the reason of God's choice well in Chapter 3 number 5: "Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, has chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto; and all to the praise of His glorious grace."
God can forsee how our lives will be, i.e., whether one will eventually be a fruitless Christian or a Christian who will rebel but will only repent on his deathbed, or one who will do many evil deeds before repenting in his later years. But God's choice of who to save does not depend on these. Meaning, although God can see whether one will turn bad or good, He had not chosen those whom He knows will bear good fruit if He does not want to. Such is the randomness of salvation - such is the GRACE of God. God does not bestow salvation because he knows one will bear great fruit, if this is so salvation is no longer by grace, but by future merits.
The death of my grandfather reminds me of my grandmother, and also made me think about the inevitable death of my most loved parents. My grandmother was a devout buddhist. She would wake up early everyday to do her chants. She would not just go vegeterian twice a month. She had believes and compassion because her religion asks her to. My mother, too, wakes up early everyday, no matter how long she had slept, to do her chants. She tries to donate to the needy often, even though herself has not much money to begin with.
Of course, I'm not justifying their religion just because they do good works. In fact, God said that every "good" work done without Christ is still bad, as a filthy rag is. The thing is, we who know the truth, we who preach, we who insist and know that our God is real - are we as devoted? My mom, no matter how late she sleeps or how early she has to wake up, it is as if the 30 minutes chanting time is the default event in her morning whereby all else must revolve around it or be sacrificed - including sleep. I hardly do my 15 minutes devotion properly, and when I overslept, I cut that short.
Have we ever thought why God has chosen us? He chose us simply because He wills so. Sometimes I think to myself, if only my grandma or my mother are chosen, they would have loved God so much more than me and bring to Him so much more fruit. I mean, they are misled, but seeking and trying to attain what in their opinion is perfection. Yet we who HOLD the truth take God's love for granted and withhold our obedience and resources, thinking that God can understand, or that God will forgive us. True, He has forgiven us, but that is only because Christ died for us. So I always wonder, why can't we who knows the truth act like we do?
And then I see people who hear the gospel from their infancy, yet would reject it or shrink away from it. I see people who have confessed Christ but will not work for Him. I look at myself and see my lack and my own with-holdings. I get upset, if not angry.
Is salvation THAT cheap in our eyes? God saved us for nothing, you know? Nothing of what we do can add to His glory or deplete it. He didn't save us because we can be His best workers, we are only good workers (if we are, and if we actually work) because He taught us to. And others who strive their whole life to achieve heaven, perfection and peace are denied of it, simply because God did not choose them. Is our salvation so cheap in our eyes that we would not work more or love God more than these heathens?
I thank God for my salvation. And I pray He'll always remind me, and other Christians, from WHENCE we have been saved FROM, and so drives me to love Him more.
Just now, I went to my aunt's house where my grandfather lived, and saw his lifeless body on his bed. His skin has turned yellow, and his lifeless mouth gaped awide. My uncle brought his group of buddhist friends to chant for him to go heaven. I know he is not in heaven. And right now I just will not picture what hell is.