spirital musings, mundane rantings and far more baloney

SEASONS FOR EVERYTHING

I have been excruciatingly lazy to blog though I have many things in my mind - hence much to say, grumble, rant and ramble about. So this morning, I've decided to do just that!

Aren't you glad?

This is an old newspaper article published about a week ago. But I am still very inspired by what was spoken by the judge who passed the verdict.

As you may have known from the recent spate of news since about a year ago, one national serviceman committed a grave offense when he took his rifle and 7 rounds of ammunition he had been issued with and fled out of camp. To hunt him down, police mounted an intensive manhunt, with more than 200 officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and the Police Special Tactics and Rescue. 20 hours later, Dave was caught by the police with his rifle and bullets at a public toilet in Cathy Orchard Cineleisure. Reports have suggested that he committed the act in the midst of severe emotional stress after a failed relationship with his girlfriend.

This unfortunate saga has even found its way into wikipedia.



Justice Yong Kwang says:

'MY HEART hurts for you that so young a man will have to spend some of the best years of his life in prison and have to undergo so many strokes of the cane, but I trust that you understand a deterrent sentence is unavoidable in the circumstances.

Dave, you have had a very hard life. I hope that this unfortunate and traumatic wrong turn in your life will make you much more mature and a whole lot wiser and that you will spend the next few years reconstructing your young life.

I hope that you will pursue your studies, listen to good advice from counsellors and learn many skills while in prison and that, upon your release, you will have a life full of meaning and purpose to honour the memory of your grandmother and your beloved younger brother.

It has been written, 'To everything there is a season'. There was a time when you loved, there came a time when you hated. There was a time when you felt you wanted to kill, now is the time for you to heal. There was a time you were broken down, now is the time to build yourself up. There was a time when you were at war in your being, now is the time to restore peace within.'

The different seasons of life as spoken by Justice Yong Kwang is also illustrated in the bible in the book of Ecclesiastes. No wonder, it so threw me off my feet when I first read it!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven

2 A time to give birth and a time to die;

A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal;

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn and a time to dance.

5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;

A time to be silent and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate;

A time for war and a time for peace.

Truly, the wisdom of God surpasses all human knowledge and understanding. I believe that the judge must have prayed really hard before passing the verdict, having noted that a deterrent sentence is unavoidable in the circumstances.

ANOTHER LIFE TRANSFORMED

I have a friend in my group who experienced a radical transformation in his faith by this incident. He was an officer whom was involved in conducting military exercises for the company which Dave belonged to. When the event broke out, an investigation was carried out and he was found to be indirectly responsible for certain glitches.

At that point, there were news that he would be charged by the military court for negligence. A staunch Buddhist then, he desperately sought help from the many temple gods he knew. Sharing his testimony with me, he described how his life started falling into a million pieces as he anticipated legal action against him. As a result, he picked up heavy smoking and isolated himself. Infertile with his own efforts, he decided to believe in Jesus Christ and found genuine peace and new strength. Shortly later, he was left off with a hefty fine instead.

And today, he is a pious believer and fervently serving God!

posted by kevin @ 10:28 AM