Mrs. L went to be with the Lord
It's been one year and a half since I wrote a post on this series, "Conversations with Mrs. L." Yesterday morning, Mrs. L peacefully went to be with the Lord at the age of, I believe, 95. Days prior to her departure, Mrs. L was still memorizing Ephesians 1:17, pray-reading His word, and asking some young sisters in the Lord to sing hymns to her.
I had been trying to see her whenever I could but in these recent years, she was too weak to receive out of town guests so I did not get to meet her. It is okay, I have no regret. I treasure the rather brief time that I've had with her. Although my tears have not yet stopped flowing, Mrs. L's passing was peaceful, graceful, inspiring, humbling, and fragrant.
Mrs. L, we called her "our dear sister Lee," had a very particular portion in the church. She is a true pattern for us, the young sisters. The loss is massive because she was a pillar in the church. Her prayer life was strong and stable, both weapons and walls. Her shepherding life nurtured many believers, both young and old. Her person was a treasure house of experiences of Christ as life. I can go on and on, but let's just say her portion in the church was quite immense. Do you know why? Not because Mrs. L was a mere refined, perfect person, but it was because with her, the Lord Jesus had so much freedom being lived out and magnified.
Mrs. L poured out her life for the Lord's coming. That means she lived for the Bride of Christ to be prepared, the Body of Christ to be built; for the younger believers to be perfected in life and function, to love the Lord, to serve Him with our whole being, to continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4); for the gospel of the kingdom to be spread throughout the nations. Also that means she lived for God's people to be recovered to His original intention in creating humanity- to express Him and to represent Him.
In particular, Mrs. L was always burdened to pray for the young generation to rise up and strongly continue what the Lord Jesus has been doing in His recovery. The Lord's recovery is indeed very profound but simultaneously simple. Our situation today parallels with the rebuilding of God's house and God's city in Jerusalem mentioned in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament. The children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon. Later very few of them returned to recover the house and the city in Jerusalem. This recovery was the preparation of Christ's first coming. Imagine if they had never returned, the prophecy of Christ being born in the city of David, Bethlehem, could never be fulfilled.
Likewise, today the building of God's house and God's city is very crucial for the sake of His second coming but not many are willing to choose this way. Many are busy fixing their own houses, some other many are worn out by the endless oppositions against God's building, and yet another many are simply swept into the world system of pleasures and struggles.
I am not criticizing anyone. These tears cannot stop flowing mainly because Mrs. L's life has humbled me to the uttermost. She has set the standard high with her living as a sister in the church, and I fall way too short. The most painful part is the realization that I cannot fix the way that I am. Yet I am, by no means, discouraged. The vision must always be much higher than what we can presently be. That is why, it's called the controlling vision. Without it, we would live haphazardly.
The journey is still long and it is not just an individual journey. This is the journey of God's people on the road to being wholly recovered to God and His purpose.
So we are simply looking to the Lord, coming to the throne of grace to receive mercy and timely help so that we may go on and continue steadfastly, that we may receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him, the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in His people.
Ephesians 1:17-18,
17 That the 1aGod of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 2Father of glory, may give to you a 3bspirit of 4cwisdom and drevelation in the efull knowledge of Him,
18 The 1aeyes of your heart having been 2benlightened, that you may know what is the 3chope of His 4dcalling, and what are the 5eriches of the glory of His 6finheritance in the saints,
I had been trying to see her whenever I could but in these recent years, she was too weak to receive out of town guests so I did not get to meet her. It is okay, I have no regret. I treasure the rather brief time that I've had with her. Although my tears have not yet stopped flowing, Mrs. L's passing was peaceful, graceful, inspiring, humbling, and fragrant.
Mrs. L, we called her "our dear sister Lee," had a very particular portion in the church. She is a true pattern for us, the young sisters. The loss is massive because she was a pillar in the church. Her prayer life was strong and stable, both weapons and walls. Her shepherding life nurtured many believers, both young and old. Her person was a treasure house of experiences of Christ as life. I can go on and on, but let's just say her portion in the church was quite immense. Do you know why? Not because Mrs. L was a mere refined, perfect person, but it was because with her, the Lord Jesus had so much freedom being lived out and magnified.
Mrs. L poured out her life for the Lord's coming. That means she lived for the Bride of Christ to be prepared, the Body of Christ to be built; for the younger believers to be perfected in life and function, to love the Lord, to serve Him with our whole being, to continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4); for the gospel of the kingdom to be spread throughout the nations. Also that means she lived for God's people to be recovered to His original intention in creating humanity- to express Him and to represent Him.
In particular, Mrs. L was always burdened to pray for the young generation to rise up and strongly continue what the Lord Jesus has been doing in His recovery. The Lord's recovery is indeed very profound but simultaneously simple. Our situation today parallels with the rebuilding of God's house and God's city in Jerusalem mentioned in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament. The children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon. Later very few of them returned to recover the house and the city in Jerusalem. This recovery was the preparation of Christ's first coming. Imagine if they had never returned, the prophecy of Christ being born in the city of David, Bethlehem, could never be fulfilled.
Likewise, today the building of God's house and God's city is very crucial for the sake of His second coming but not many are willing to choose this way. Many are busy fixing their own houses, some other many are worn out by the endless oppositions against God's building, and yet another many are simply swept into the world system of pleasures and struggles.
I am not criticizing anyone. These tears cannot stop flowing mainly because Mrs. L's life has humbled me to the uttermost. She has set the standard high with her living as a sister in the church, and I fall way too short. The most painful part is the realization that I cannot fix the way that I am. Yet I am, by no means, discouraged. The vision must always be much higher than what we can presently be. That is why, it's called the controlling vision. Without it, we would live haphazardly.
The journey is still long and it is not just an individual journey. This is the journey of God's people on the road to being wholly recovered to God and His purpose.
So we are simply looking to the Lord, coming to the throne of grace to receive mercy and timely help so that we may go on and continue steadfastly, that we may receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him, the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in His people.
Ephesians 1:17-18,
17 That the 1aGod of our Lord Jesus Christ, the 2Father of glory, may give to you a 3bspirit of 4cwisdom and drevelation in the efull knowledge of Him,
18 The 1aeyes of your heart having been 2benlightened, that you may know what is the 3chope of His 4dcalling, and what are the 5eriches of the glory of His 6finheritance in the saints,
Comments
Post a Comment