Come HomeTony FuIn September of 2002, I went to Malaysia to serve the Lord in a series of seminars. On the 20 hour returning journey God gave me a wonderful seat on the final leg of the trip: I sat alone in the middle aisle of the Boeing 747 with five seats available to me. Shortly after takeoff, I lay down and slept comfortably and deeply for many hours. All the physical fatigue from the two intense weeks of the journey vanished without a trace. Although I used to travel from the US to London frequently on business, I had never enjoyed such a complete rest even when I flew in First Class. Whatever God provides is always so sweet and wonderful! When I opened my eyes after the rest, the first thing I saw was a beautiful scene on the in-flight movie screen: A person was carefully passing a baby to another person, and the baby was securely and comfortably rested in the arms of the other person. I remembered that ever since I offered my life to God, God has always cradled me in His arms, and my life has always been filled with peace and joy. At that moment, a melody came to my heart with English lyrics. Even though I didn’t know much about music, I quickly wrote down the notes of this new song “Come Home.” I closed my eyes and thought about all the touching spiritual experiences I witnessed in the short two-week journey, tears rolled down my face, and very quickly I finished writing down the lyrics in Chinese as well. You’re my child, my sweetheart, I redeem you with my love. Close your eyes and rest in me, I will comfort you. You’re my child, my sweetheart, I redeem you with my love. Call on my name when you’re in need, I’ll be there for you. You’re my child, my sweetheart, I redeem you with my love. Reach out your hand to me, I will restore you. Come back to me, you are my child, Come back to me, I will take you home. When I was in Malaysia, a sister shared with me how she encountered God after she lost her unborn child… Several years ago, a few months into her pregnancy, she sadly lost her baby. She and her husband were both crushed and brokenhearted. In mourning, they dug a grave and buried their beloved baby in their backyard. With sorrowful tears, they prayed and offered their precious baby to God. At that moment, rain suddenly came down from the blue sky, and sprinkled on their faces. She and her husband both deeply believe that this was a sign from God, and that He had accepted their sincere offering in distress. They trusted that God would bless and protect the child’s soul. Afterwards, she shared this touching experience with many friends, and found out that this rain did not even fall on other parts of her neighborhood; it seemed that God only poured down the rain around their home. This helped her appreciate God’s love even more clearly and strengthened her faith. When I listened to her testimonial, I was deeply touched by God’s love and His supernatural power. Her sharing reminded me of the prophet Elijah. “He prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land; then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain [James 5:17-18, 1 King 18].” Our great God listens to our prayer, He has compassion to our feelings and needs, He is also the living God who has authority over the world. For two weeks, this sister left her family and her business and accompanied us on all our seminars in four different cities. Before arriving at the last location, she went back home briefly and even brought four people from the RCIA program to the last seminar in Penang. When I met her that day, she excitedly told me that she visited her doctor when she went home, and was told that she was pregnant again! She and her husband were both overjoyed, and thanked God for giving them another child. Once again, they clearly saw many signs of God’s blessing through this experience. When I heard her sharing, I was very joyful for her, and was also very thankful to our Lord for His blessings to His children. During the break after dinner that evening, I walked by a group of local young people attending the seminar. A couple of them were holding guitars and the group was holding the “Thinking of What is Above” song book that we handed out, and with much difficulty, they were trying to sing one of my favorite songs called “My Dearest God.” Although I am usually not outspoken, a little shy, and I usually do not start conversations with people I don’t know, I was so touched that they were using this song to praise and thank God. I asked them if I could sing the song with them. They knew I was one of the visitors and that I knew the song, so they cheerfully welcomed me to sing along with them. We sat on the stairs outside the seminar room and sang this beautiful song together. After the song, they invited me to lead them in singing other songs in this songbook. We sang one song after another; all of us were full of excitement, fire and joy in our hearts. In the open air, Penang’s gentle tropical wind caressed us tenderly like the Holy Spirit. When we reached to the song “Holy Spirit, Please Come,” I encouraged everyone to use our whole heart, whole spirit, whole strength, and whole mind, to sing powerfully with a loud voice. I said to them, “if we sing like this from the bottom of our hearts, it would be strange if the Holy Spirit does not come upon us.” Just as we wholeheartedly sang “Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit! We cry out to you!” rain came down from heaven! The gentle rain sprinkled on our faces felt like the living water of the Holy Spirit pouring upon us, all of us were filled with joy. In my heart, I cried out “God of Elijah! God of Elijah! You are so wonderful! You truly love us! We cry out to you, you are always willing to show us you are present among us!“ Alleluia! Joyful and thankful tears filled my eyes and rolled down my face with the raindrops. After the seminar, in the Mass on the morning before we departed, the Gospel reading was Matthew 12:9-14. In this scripture, on a Sabbath, Jesus asked a man with a withered hand to “reach out your hand.” As soon as that man reached out his hand, his withered hand was restored to normal. During the homily, the priest opened his heart and shared with us a very difficult situation he was facing in his life. Just like the man with a withered hand, there is nobody to help him on a Sabbath, and nobody was capable of helping him with the situation. In desperation, he reached out his hand to call for God’s help. In spirit, I felt deeply that Jesus was with us. He was holding the priest tightly, comforting him, protecting him, and healing him, and I saw a beautiful golden aura around the priest’s head. I was deeply touched, our dearest God truly loves our priest, He truly loves the sister who lost the baby, and He truly loves those young people worshipping Him from the bottom of their hearts. He deeply wants us to come back to His home; He deeply wants us to stay with Him always. He deeply wants to comfort us in His arms; He deeply wants to give us all the best because everyone of us is His dearest treasure and sweetheart. Everlasting God, God of Elijah, how deep is Your love for us! Even though we are sinners, You gave Your only son Jesus Christ as our sacrificial lamb, and He died on the Cross for us. You desire us to be Your babies resting in your arms peacefully. When we call out Your name, You are always here with us, protecting us, caring for us. When we open our hearts and look up to You, reach our hands to You, You always heal us and provide us with all of our needs. Dear God, I praise you and thank you! May Your name be glorified forever! May all of Your people come home to you, live in Your kingdom, and always see Your glory and power in our lives. May Your will be done in our lives as it is in heaven. Amen. <
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