Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Greatest Thing in the World

Recently I came across this book entitled "The Greatest Thing in the World" by Henry Drummond. It was packaged very beautifully into a lovely little gift booklet. I remembered that I once received a book of the same title when I was in secondary school. Without taking a browse, I went back to my shelf of books. There it was sitting in an obscure corner.

I began to read it in bed. I finished it in one reading, not wanting to stop. How could anyone keep running and pursuing after so many things, yet miss this one thing - LOVE? How could anyone afford to miss the greatest thing in the world?

"Take into your sphere of labor, where you also mean to lay down your life, that simple love, and your lifework will succeed."

This quote stuck - because I honestly didn't take into my job any such love. To me, my day job is just a 'job'. I am just an ordinary accountant, skill above average, in a relatively good company. I give my best, I hope to get rewarded. I have a team, I supervise, I coach where needed; they get their stuff done, I get mine done, everything is good. If my team screws up, I bear the brunt because I am the leader. I swallow it. I have learned over the years that there are only very few problems that cannot be solved. But love has fallen into the cracks.

The workplace is about people. That is exactly the problem - they have emotions, they have dreams and life goals. In my experience, sometimes they like you, sometimes they even hate you. So, to safeguard myself, I 'detach' myself. But true love should not be like that at all. It is real, it results in action and wants to be generous. End of last year, I wrote to each team member a note of thanks for their efforts, just before Christmas/New Year. Their faces light up and they actually conveyed their appreciation. Two of them even displayed those cards at their workstations.

"To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever."

I could not forget this sentence. Mum and dad could not understand why my dying aunt would talk ceaselessly with her countless friends when they came to visit her at the hospital. Why didn't she just take the time to rest her body which was already so weak? In her eulogy, I penned down these words, "She enjoyed talking to people and usually with such high energy even while at the hospital. But that was her life; it was while being with her family and friends that she truly lived." I miss her.

This lifetime ends in death, no matter how beautiful it is. It is a certainty that no man can escape from. But more marvellous than this, God has in store for us eternal life which starts right here on earth and never ends. For God is love and He alone is eternal. In the words of Henry Drummond - "To love forever is to live forever."

I ask myself, "Would I stop everything else to pursue the greatest thing in the world?"


"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
(1 Corinthians 13:13)
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3 comments:

  1. Yee Min KooJanuary 30, 2009 at 9:08 PM

    .... Love is when I consider it an achievement seeing Jasmine finally manage to release some poo on the potty even though it is only part of the whole package :) (that was yesterday 29 Jan 2009)

    ..... Love was when I thought I was the one willing to sacrifice and forego my job in the Big 4. But true love was God in action when he gave me the job that many mums envy - 10 mins from the house.

    ..... Love is when YHJJ and YMJJ search high and low for 100% cotton blouses for Ma (and makes an extra trip to return/ exchange them when she finds defects on them).

    ..... Love was when YHJJ drove twice to and from Phillip Island.

    ..... Love was when YHJJ scolded TJ until she wants to vomit blood.

    ..... Love is when Pa mops the floor.

    ..... Love is when Pa takes the family out for supper.

    ..... Love is when Ma says she is not tired.

    ..... Love is when Ma says there is always a better solution (to household problems) :)

    ..... Love is when TJ sends you Zondervan Inspiration emails.

    ..... Love is when TJ keeps his sisters company and tells them which shopping centres are having sale.

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  2. Teng Joon KooFebruary 1, 2009 at 4:11 PM

    ..Love is to love God with all our hearts and all out souls and all out strengths and all our minds

    ..Love is being able to serve God with our skills and abilities

    ..Love is when Pa fetches TJ to / from work everyday

    ..Love is when TJ cooks for Pa, Ma, YMJJ and YHJJ

    ..Love is when TJ graduates with a degree from a university

    ..Love is when TJ gives Pa, Ma, YMJJ, YHJJ, Paul, Jasmine a treat when he got his first salary / credit card

    ..Love is when TJ is spending time with his family which includes Pa, Ma, YMJJ, YHJJ, Paul, Jasmine

    ..Love is when TJ is spending time with his relatvies

    ..Love is when TJ is watching tv with his family including Australian Open 2009, Astro Wah Lai Toi, Discovery Science and animes

    ..Love is when Pa, Ma, YHJJ or YMJJ calls or sms or e-mail to ask how am I doing

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  3. UnknownDecember 7, 2010 at 2:41 PM

    Love is 1 Cor 13:4-8.
    "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

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