Burden for our lost families

Read my SIL's email about how her in-laws (her in-laws and BIL's family were visiting from Singapore) did not wanna attend church service with them yesterday and my BIL was feeling discouraged. I fully understood his feelings... My family too, did not wanna come church with me when they were in Brissy last year.

During the church service, as we were singing songs of praise to our God and Saviour, I thought of my unsaved parents and siblings and also the unsaved parents and siblings of my other BIL (hubby's 2 sisters both married Singaporeans too) and how we all have gotten each other to pray for each one of us as we share the gospel with our Singapore families... I praise and thank God that He is our God and one who loves us. If we love our families and want them to be saved, I know that God desires that more than us... and God is also the Sovereign One in control of all our lives. I am thankful that I was reminded through the songs of the attributes of God. If we are burdened for the salvation of our families because we love them, how much more does God feel for them? Yet at the same time, I only can pray for God to be merciful and to help us trust that in His good time and will, they will come to the knowledge of His saving grace.

I wonder how 'coincident' it is for my in-laws to have Singaporean in-laws. Yet I am also thankful for the persevering faith of my hubby, parents-in-law, my sibling-in-laws and that through their witness and prayer, we have the opportunity to be Christ-like to our extended family which is our in-laws' family (i.e. both my Singaporean BILs' families). One by one, they visit Brissy to spend time with my BILs and this also give us opportunity to be Christ's witnesss. It is really nice, I thought, that eg. all my in-laws (parents and siblings) can minister to my parents and siblings when they come to Brissy to visit. I feel so privileged to belong to a Christian family that I never had (even though I have my Christian 'family' in church). Thank God for that.

Now, hubby and I are on our way back to Singapore... and we are mindful of this 'mission'. We seemed like missionaries, going overseas (out of Australia) where we now reside) to share the gospel. Except that we have a specific target group – my parents and siblings. We only can pray that God will work through us to share His love and that they will begin to know and understand who Jesus is and what He has done for all of us. I have to trust that God also love my folks and even more than I do...