July 12, 2009 - Bible Sunday sharing by George Chee

In Baptism we became Sons and Daughters of God and in Baptism we became missionaries for God. My view of life has slowly but surely changed since I encountered Jesus in the Word. If I have only but one wish, it would be that my life will be a testimony to how God’s word can change one’s life. Being Bible Sunday I would like to testify to the power of the Word and how it has made an impact to my life.

My name is George Chee and I am a cradle Catholic. I however began to encounter God only in the early 90s when we (my wife Celia and I) experienced stormy seas. We began searching and looking earnestly to God for comfort and help.

Up till then we took God somewhat for granted. We were believers, and we were practising Sunday Catholics but we seldom encountered Him except on Sundays even then a lot of times quite superficially.

We realised that we needed to communicate with Him and so we began to pray and by the grace of God, people (family, friends and strangers) started to come into our lives and some how with a common purpose.

They were advising us to do things they thought we should do as Christians (pray, join communities, read the bible, attend talks etc) they were asking us to do many things which we would have, under normal circumstances, refused. But now we were willing to go along, what have we to lose? We were looking for God.

From ’92 we began to join talks and prayer group activities and the one that we found particularly useful was the Life in the Spirit Seminar. That was the beginning of our awareness that the Holy Spirit can and should be an integral part of our lives.

Through a long lost cousin, we participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults where we eventually became facilitators and we joined the Rosary Crusaders where we assisted families to pray the rosary.

I joined the Bible ministry in 2000 to study and share the Word without realising the benefits. I got involved with mission awareness activities, like help conduct the mission awareness programs; participated in mission exposure trips from early 2001 and all these became increasingly relevant and real when God took hold of my life through the Word.

Together with Celia, we became facilitators/catechist in the secondary 3 Confirmation process in Holy Cross Parish from 2003.

All of these events were useful and important milestones in our spiritual journey. But looking back, encountering Jesus in the bible was the key to our discovery of him and what he stood for. Until then Jesus was just like any other famous person we know through the news. In reality I think Jesus may not have meant much to me, He had little or no role to play in my life until then.

The Bible, the word of God has really gotten us closer to Him – the Word and the Spirit have changed our lives. Has given us a clearer understanding of what the meaning of life is. Has made us stronger and convicted, has given us the courage and desire to want to share Jesus with others. The Word has made us understand our role as Son and Daughter of God and what it means when the Church said that we are missionary by nature of our Baptism. The Word has made us understand the importance of Church.

Jesus has taught us many things through the Word. He has shown us how He persevered in the face of persecutions. He has shown us who He is and His reasons for coming down from Heaven.

‘Studying’ the Word has cleared many of our doubts, about things of faith which is linked to life. Jesus showed us that it is okay not to be ‘successful’ on earth but so important to remain faithful to our Father in Heaven.

He has helped us to realise and understand that while it is ok for one to be rich, one is not useless or hopeless to be poor. He taught us the virtues of simplicity, humility and how important it is to be available to all, none excluded.

Jesus loves us in ways the secular world can never imagine. As people, schooled by the world, we would not have been able to grasp and appreciate some of these truth (more to discover) if not for us getting to know Him. Through knowing, we began to Love Him and this has made our lives and our serving Him more meaningful. Through knowing Him, we begin to understand what it means when He said, “I am the Truth, the Way and the Life.

Finally I want to share with you this passage which I came across the day I wrote this testimony and I believe that this was inspired by the Spirit. I hope that this will ring a bell for you, like it did for me. It is taken from Mt 7: 21-29:


[Jesus said to his disciples,] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name? Then I will declare to them solemnly. ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evil doers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapsed; it had been set solidly on the rock.

And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who builds his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” When Jesus finished this words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

These instructions and guidelines are as clear as day and yet I dare say that we may never know the whole truth until we know the person of Jesus through the Word, when we become authentic Disciples of Christ.

I have also come to realise that the Church and Bible are like twins, inseparable. In “The Church” we celebrate the Eucharist, the remembrance of our Lord’s passion, death and resurrection and in the “The Word” we come to know the Triune God. It is truly, both (Church and Bible) or neither.

Shalom!