Besides Ah Mark, another ex-classmate of mine who has been receptive to the Gospel is PG who used to sit behind me in class. Since teenage years, I have always known him as an emotional person. Any jokes will make him laugh his head off while any bad news will also make his face sombre.
Last year before my departure to France, PG happened to be back to Batu Pahat for the weekend. When I asked him for a lift to Selangor and a one-night accommodation, he kindly granted the service to me and came to pick me at my house.
After I got into his car, I told him, "I've started my own blog recently. When you're free, welcome to visit it. I'll give you the website address."
"It's good that you're using your language talent. You have a brilliant writing style since school times."
"Thanks, I just want to record my life and testify my Christian faith."
Surprisingly, PG also had his own testimony. He was in a bookshop when he came across a book about Jesus' crucifixion for our sins. Touched by God's grace, he could not control his tears there and then. As none of his family members was a believer of Christ, PG just kept that experience to himself.
Since small, I had been hearing that Jesus died on the cross but that did not arouse my curiosity to read the Bible or Christian books to find out more. Even though I claimed to be a Christian, I did not truly understand how His shedding of blood was related to me and my life, let alone shedding my tears for His sacrifice.
It was in May. I had been attending a Christian foundational course and had made up my mind to attend the church service more regularly. Having seen my breakthrough in my relationship with God as well as with my surroundings, I also encouraged PG to find a church in the city, where he was based, which would help him grow spiritually. What a joy to welcome an ex-classmate to be my brother in Christ!
Jesus promises that "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:8) True enough. PG's Christian colleague in Petaling Jaya brought him to a local church where he was given a bilingual Bible by the pastor. He was also exposed to the related literature by other believers. When he went back to Johor once a month, he would still drive half an hour from his house to a church in Batu Pahat to attend the Sunday service alone. In my case, I had hardly made this effort and many of my Sunday mornings in Batu Pahat used to be spent reading the newspaper on the sofa. I might have excelled more than PG in studies in the past but he always beats me in terms of discipline since our younger days.
Later last year, he resigned from his company and found a job in the home town in order to be more present with his parents. So, I have more occasions to meet him in Batu Pahat. If I extend my stay to Sunday afternoon, I will contact him to go to church together in the morning. Then we will go for a drink to continue our fellowship. We have a lot to exchange concerning our dealings with unbelievers in our respective families, our understandings of a Bible verse or a sermon etc.
PG was not really my close friend in class. But thanks to Jesus' blood, we are now closer than ever in God's family.
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