Dear audience, shalom! Welcome to our last episode of Divine Encounters at Marketplace. In the past few months, I’ve been sharing with you Stanley’s testimony from his book, Divine Encounters at Marketplace. Today marks the last chapter of Stanley’s testimony.

What shall we talk about in this last episode? Well, I’m going to share with you Stanley’s plan for his Christian funeral. But please don’t be alarmed! Stanley is very healthy and is living his life to the fullest every single day by God’s grace! Erm… then you may wonder why the hurry to plan his own Christian funeral?

Stanley is now over 65 years old. Having been to the valley of death a couple of times, he is no longer scared of death as he gets older. But the 2 death incidents have reminded him to seriously consider his own Christian funeral and to make plans for the inevitable sooner or later.

Stanley would like his Christian wake to be held for three days just as Christ resurrected after three days. He would also like all his family members and friends who would attend his Christian wake not to be clothed in somber black and white, but to dressed colorfully and to rejoice with delightful music and songs. What songs to sing then? His two favorite Christian songs are “Heavenly Father, I Appreciate You” and “Renew My Life”. Stanley also hopes that these songs would be played by his children using the musical instruments on which they specialize. After the Christian funeral, Stanley’s will is that his body be buried in a Christian cemetery in Singapore. No cremation. His tombstone would be engraved with words and a Bible verse in blue, his favorite colour. The words would read, “Stanley Cheng, a big sinner saved by Christ will rise with Him when He comes again, perhaps today!” And the bible verse from 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Dear friends, having heard Stanley’s sharing on his plans for his Christian funeral, what’s on your mind? Do you have mixed feelings? Or perhaps, somewhat confused? Stanley regards death as a major event which requires his conscientious planning. But at the same time, this event is not a tragic and sad matter. This is an ending, but it is also a beginning - a beginning to a better future home in heaven, which Jesus promised He went to prepare when He ascended to heaven in the presence of His few hundred disciples! Stanley wishes to take this opportunity to remind family and friends around him that if we live our lives with the end in mind, wouldn’t this change the way we live? It is not the years in your life but the life in your years that count. In view of eternity, perhaps we should ponder the following words every day:

“This is the beginning of a new day. I have been given this day to use as I will. I can waste it, or use it. I can make it a day to be remembered for its joy, beauty and achievements. What I do today is important because I am exchanging 24 hours of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded. Let that be a gain, not a loss; good and not evil, in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it.”

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Stanley: “When I leave this world, I am sure of where I am going to, and I will awake to find myself in Jesus’ bosom. This gives me direction and courage to live the life that God wants me to live.”

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I think we all get this one important message from Stanley that he planned his Christian funeral early, so that he can remind himself to treasure every day in this world. Just as Philippians 1:21 tells us, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”Even with his homecoming in mind, Stanley acknowledges the human weakness to feel sudden sadness or shock at the deterioration of the human body brought on by age. It helps him to remember something he once read, written by a 92-year-old lady named Wanda. The poem goes…

“I looked in the mirror and what did I see, but a little old lady peering back at me. With bags and sags and wrinkles and crispy white hair, and I asked my reflection, how did you get there?

You once were straight and vigorous and now you’re stooped and weak. When I tried so hard to keep you from becoming an antique. My reflection’s eyes twinkled as she solemnly replied, you’re looking at the giftwrap and not the jewel inside.”

Stanley reminds himself that despite the aging face and body, a precious, living gem of unimagined worth lies underneath. Unique and true, the real you, the only you exist on earth. The cruel years that spoil the giftwrap should purify, strengthen and polish that jewel. Every time, he thinks of this poem, he will remind himself to focus his attention on the inside, not the outer covering, on being kinder, wiser, more content and more devout. Then when the giftwrap is stripped away, the jewel will be set free to radiate God’s glory throughout eternity.

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Stanley: “May the Spirit of God bless and work within me, so that I may be empowered by the Holy Spirit. To let God work in me to do the work He wants. Because we are God’s work, created in Christ. Amen!”

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Dear friends, we have come to the end of the series on Stanley’s life testimonies. In this last episode, Stanley shares with us his plans for his Christian funeral. He hopes that through this sharing, every listener will have a new life. Is your giftwrap brand new or starting to get wrinkled? Is it even broken and old? The giftwrap is not important! What’s important is the jewel inside the giftwrap. One day, when each of our giftwrap finally gets stripped away and thrown to the earth to be turned to ashes, where would our jewel be?

We hope that Stanley’s life story and testimonies have uplifted you. Besides your honest feedback on these 1-16 episodes of this “Life Testimony” series, we also wish to hear from you regarding your life stories. Do share with us on this channel as encouragement to each other.

With this, we have reached the end of our series, Divine Encounters at Marketplace. We hope to hear from you soon! Goodbye!