Lost for Words

What do you do when you know someone you love is going to be executed? on death row..

The case for Van Nguyen who was convicted of smuggling 400g of cocaine from Cambodia to Australia whilst transiting in Singapore findally ended tragically with him hung last Friday 2nd of Dec, after 3yrs of fighting for clemency in the courts with the whole world watching the story unfolded itself....

I just wrote an email to my uni friend Kelly, who's Van's best friend.. she gave up 3yrs of her life visiting him in Singapore Changi Jail (when she could've just gone straight into the corporate world as she is absolutely so intelligent) . She helped campaigning for his clemency through her very well organised Reach Out campaign which saw many Australians divided with the issue... She wrote to the Prime Minister to intervene.. which he did.. but didn't work... I just couldn't imagine how she will be feeling now.. after 3yrs of her time sewn into her best friend's life.. and to see it (the campaign, his life) all wasted...

I kept on thinking about the issue, just how terrible the whole thing is. Sure enough he did something wrong, but do u then go punish someone by killing them? That's just harsh... He didn't even kill anyone.. Yet when u look at Australia, there are so many rapist and murderers who just get away with xx yrs in jail or even worse, walk free from any punishment.

I thought about the poor mother who knew her baby will be lost forever after 25yrs of loving and nurturing him... And not having to hug his own son just before he gets hung. Who is the law trying to punish? him or his mother? It is such a cruel cruel law by the Singapore govt. All she was given the permission to do was to touch his hand, face and hair through a hole in the glass wall that separates them both....

As I was sitting on the plane back home from Singapore, I couldn't help but felt sick thinking just how terrible it is for the mother to sit on the 7hr journey there to S'pore knowing her son is going to die very soon and she can't do a single thing about it! and then the 7hr journey back, taking her son finally with her... in a coffin..

I then thought about death.. How Van would've felt when he knew he was going to die.. sure enough he took 3yrs to finally get used to the idea in jail.. but on that very day , the very hour, the very second as he walked the plank , then with the rope tied around his neck, we as humans can't help but to feel, all of a sudden, so alone, so scared, so afraid of the future unknown .. 'what happens exactly with my life after death?' knowing that the moment the plank is taken off your feet, the rope around your neck will kill you instantly. The quick pain in your neck then to your body will mean leaving your loved ones behind forever and heading towards an undefined future...

I then thought about all the ppl who don't have a faith to hold onto... a belief, call it religion if you like.. but I see it as a personal r/ship with God.. ppl who live for the moment, who holds such strong values in the materialism of life.. who invests every little penny whether or not it's money or their time sewn into the worldly pleasures...the cycle never ceases. The human desires of wanting a car, to a house, to a beautiful grand wedding, to an even bigger house, an even prestige car, to climbing the corporate ladder; you get to being the jnr in the co. then promoted to account mgr, then the exec, then u want to be the general manager, next the CEO , and then? next thing you know, u want to be the owner and hold the empire in your own hands.. What happens to those ppl then .. when all of a sudden, one fine day, they get hit by a car, or if they get struck with an incurable disease or if they have a gun to their head... You are conscious for that one split second to think Why am I all of sudden so scared and afraid ? Knowing that you are going to die the moment you blink that final time. Your eyes shuts, your entire system shuts down.. where does your spirit go?

I often wonder why is it so hard for a non-Christian to take the step of faith to just believe that there is a God.. what is there to lose? your time? sure... but isn't it better to 'waste' your time in building your character, stretch your being, bless the less fortunate than to waste it on drinking at the pub or living a life where it's all about u , u & u and more & more & more of things that will only last for a while and not for eternity..

I speak to a lot of my non-Christian friends as to why it's so hard for them to just believe? don't they think about life after death? that it'll be such a lonely road if u die knowing that u have never invested any of your time in your life of eternity in heaven.. and it still puzzles me to this day... even if they don't believe that the word of God is true (John 3:16 'Whoever believes in me shall NOT perish but have eternal life' which means, if you don't acknowledge him now that He is real that He created U on earth, then when u die, He will disown you not b/c He hates you but b/c you never acknowledge that He is your God when u had the chance to live, so why would He still accept you when u never gave a damn about Him? So if u can't enter heaven, the other place u will automatically go by default will be.... hell), the consequences of you not believing far outweighs the consequences of you believing... sure enough hypothetically, if a Christian dies and knows it in His heart, He will automatically go to heaven, but then it turns out that actually all this time there were no such things as heaven or hell... then the only thing you would've lost were all the times you invested in going to church, cell groups, helping out less fortunate ppl, reading the word during your life on earth.. etc... but then again, aren't those things good for your soul? to make you a better person? On the contrary, for all those ppl who do not believe, don't they ever think.. what happens if the entire Bible is true?? and someone who doesn't believe in Christ/God, dies.. and suddenly wakes up from their death in their spirit to see this lake of fire burning them and smelling the most putrid odour that is beyond your imagination for eternity.. by that time, it'll be all too late... Now that'll be the saddest story of the human race, the BIGGEST regret one can ever have... cos it's one with such a severe consequence... The bible clearly says that He gives everyone the choice.. whether or not you believe is your choice. Being God, He could've forced you to believe, but He didn't... He gave you the choice so that you can exercise your faith... after all faith is the substance of the things hoped for but yet unseen...If God shows to everyone that He is real by being in the physical rather than spiritual, then there wouldn't be a word called Faith...

As you read my blog, I sincerely encourage you to chew on what I just wrote for even one minute of your 'busy' lifestyle.. Do you truely know and believe without a doubt where your spirit will go after you die?

How will you live your life before it's too late? The choice is up to YOU!