Ah Soh knew in his heart that his
birthday was important. He would be 50 years old. His friend came
into his tiny one room flat. Ah Soh was not the kind of person to
host a party. He did not have the money!
For him, whatever little money he
earned as a coffee shop assistant was just enough to make end
meets. On some of the occassions, he could not even meet his end
meets. On such occassions, he needed to seek financial and material
help from his church. Fortunately for him, his church members were
still quite ready to help Ah Soh tide through his difficult
moments.
Ah Soh wanted to be a pastor. He
wanted to preach for Jesus so much, so much. But he was not born
during biblical times. In those days, anyone could be a pastor.
Peter and most of Jesus' disciples were uneducated
people!
In Singapore, a person needed to
attend a bible college to be able to preach, officially. Ah Soh
could not be a pastor. He was not smart in his studies. He failed
his PSLE. Going to a bible college was an impossible dream for
him.
Still, Ah Soh wanted to tell his
friends about Jesus. All his uneducated friends. All of them who
spoke Hokkien like him. All of them who could not speak proper
english. So he saved up his money, little by little. He cut down on
his food. He wore the same clothe, year after year, without buying
new ones. He walked to his church instead of taking buses. He tried
his best to cut down on his transport cost.
Finally, he had just enough money
to host a birthday party. And that was what he did.
"Ah Soh, happy birthday!" His
friends greeted him one by one. When all of his friends were in his
house and they were done with eating, Ah Soh got them to sit in a
circle. He spoke about Jesus passionately to his friends. He spoke
on and on, ignoring the occassional mockeries that came from his
unbelieving friends.
His friends left his home,
seemingly unchanged and unmoved. But in Jesus' eyes, unknowingly to
Ah Soh or the church in Singapore, Jesus saw a pastor. This pastor
was uneducated. This pastor could only speak in Hokkien. This
pastor did not win a single soul. This pastor preached only 1
sermon during his entire life for Jesus.
Still, in Jesus' eyes, he saw and
smiled at pastor Soh.
P/S: Feel free to share this story
with anyone so long as you glorify God in your sharing of this
story.
It had been a long while since I
last wrote a christian short story. This was due sadly to me
falling away from God for a period of time. However, I am back with
God, again. Check up my christian short stories blog at http://www.singaporechristianfiction.blogspot.com.
I give thanks to the God who is
the inspiration behind all my stories.
