{"id":3376,"date":"2016-08-21T18:19:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T02:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/?p=3376"},"modified":"2016-08-22T16:57:26","modified_gmt":"2016-08-23T00:57:26","slug":"in-your-life-i-sawi-smelled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/p\/3376","title":{"rendered":"IN YOUR LIFE, I SAW\u2026I SMELLED\u2026 (Yvonne\u2014My One and Only Beloved)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"images<\/a>\"1535410_10155152880400131_8277650265592034625_n\"<\/a>IN YOUR LIFE, I SAW\u2026I SMELLED\u2026
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

By:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Paul Lai
\nTranslator:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jimmy Chan<\/p>\n

I Saw a Beautiful \u2018Rainbow after the Rain\u2019 Picture<\/u><\/p>\n

You have a firm faith in God. \u00a0He raised you up from the deep valley in life.\u00a0 Your life is full of energy, vitality and joy, which is truly inspiring to all who know you. \u00a0God has poured spiritual blessings to many through your life which is a rainbow after the rain. \u00a0You basked in the sunshine of God\u2019s favour in the midst of the storms of life which, in the grace of our God, turned your tears and smiles into a beautiful rainbow. \u00a0Indeed, storms and tears are like rain which must precede the rainbow.<\/p>\n

The late Rev. Dr. Samuel Tang, a renowned Old Testament Chinese scholar, once said: \u00a0\u201cFinally the rainbow appears after days of rain; the storm has subsided\u201d.\u00a0 And as the English idiom goes:\u00a0 \u201cEvery cloud has a silver lining\u201d.\u00a0 Difficult times are like dark clouds that pass overhead and block the sunshine.\u00a0 However, when one looks more closely at the edges of every cloud, the sun can be seen shining there like a silver lining. \u00a0The cloud will eventually go away and the rainbow will come out with the sun rays. \u00a0They all speak loudly and clearly about the bountiful and abundant grace of God. \u00a0\u201cAs the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. \u00a0Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord\u201d (Ezekiel 1:28a&b).\u00a0 The rainbow symbolizes the beauty of God who is the source of peace and consolation. \u00a0Yvonne, after going through all these hardships and with God\u2019s unfailing promise, you are a true \u2018rainbow after the rain\u2019, manifesting an abundant life reflecting God\u2019s radiant glory.<\/p>\n

I Also Saw the Treasure in Your Earthen Vessel<\/u><\/p>\n

Our life is just as fragile as a clay pottery vessel, easily broken when hit or dropped. \u00a0Yet the Apostle Paul said: \u201cBut we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:7). \u00a0The value of the pottery depends on what is inside. \u00a0As for us Christians, we are earthen vessels filled with Christ our Lord, not gold or jewelry, as our treasure. \u00a0What we can show the world is that Christ lives in us, and so we are not defeated by our afflictions but have victory over them. \u00a0Yvonne, you are \u201cafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:8), because our Lord Jesus is with you. \u00a0One of the original Greek words for \u201csuffering\u201d also refers to the childbearing pain of women which alludes to a temporary birth pain accompanied by the hope for the newborn and followed by an overwhelming joy when the child is born. \u00a0In the same way, our pain on earth is only temporary as we have glory of God afterwards. \u00a0Yvonne, I recall the other day you told me: \u00a0\u201cLast year, when Sister \u2018L\u2019 from our church returned to Hong Kong to visit her mother, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. \u00a0We gave her a call hoping to give her some comfort, but in the call she soon told us: \u00a0“Now I know believing in Jesus was really having a treasure inside.” \u00a0We were touched by what she said, as she was a young believer and yet realized the treasure of having Jesus in her life. \u00a0In contrast, some believers have accepted Jesus for a long time and yet often take Him for granted; only when there is a need or prayer \u2018request\u2019 do they call upon Jesus\u2019 name. \u00a0When there is nothing they lack, they simply ignore Him or put Him at the back of their minds. \u00a0Indeed Yvonne, I saw you have put Jesus Christ at the very centre of your life and respected Him as the Lord and King. \u00a0Consequently, people recognized that your life is actively revealing the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

I Smelled the Aroma of Christ<\/u><\/p>\n

Yvonne, to you to live is Christ, and you have manifested the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. (cf. Philippians 1: 21; 2 Corinthians 2:14, NASB)<\/p>\n

Indeed, the good disposition and qualities of Christ are revealed in you and shared with others like a sweet aroma.<\/p>\n

The following is an excerpt from an article written by our family dentist Dr. Nicky Leung in memory of Yvonne (written in Chinese and translated to English): \u201cYvonne was always amiable; her smile has impressed and impacted us in a miraculous way, for it leads each of the staff in our clinic into God\u2019s abundant blessings to enjoy His joy and peace despite our stressful working environment. \u00a0Even in times of distress from your sickness, you two still bear spiritual fruit and reflect godly characters. \u00a0Your teaching has influenced and nurtured countless disciples of Christ, including pastors and their wives and missionaries. \u00a0Your lives have truly reflected God\u2019s love, peace and joy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dear Yvonne, you and I are indeed sometimes like Paul who was \u201cafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IN YOUR LIFE, I SAW\u2026I SMELLED\u2026 By:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Paul Lai Translator:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jimmy Chan I Saw a Beautiful \u2018Rainbow after the Rain\u2019 Picture You have a firm faith in God. \u00a0He raised you up from the deep valley in life.\u00a0 Your life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3376"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3388,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376\/revisions\/3388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rainbowpaullai.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}