Servant

Servant by P.T.Chandapilla

This is a very profound book that I am reading and it has brought back reminders and new insights that are very challenging, extraordinary and bible (John 13) based. I have pulled out some pointers to help us look to Jesus’ example and re-evaluate our lives to help us model after our Saviour.

An excerpt in ‘Foreword’ by C V Matthew from Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India says this:

‘This book is disturbing, especially to those in the world of Christian leadership.............Christian servanthood is a call to stand at the end of the line, to be a slave with no rights, to be poor, to be considered a failure, and finally to die an insignificant death if not ignoble.’


By Author P.T.Chandapilla a little edition by me

One of the weaknesses of the church today is her lack of understanding of Christian servanthood as taught and demonstrated by the Lord Jesus. The outstanding example in the life of the Lord Jesus in John 13 is the demonstration and explanation which Jesus gave. This action of the Lord Jesus was not called forth out of a sense of duty nor because of a need that had to be met. It was the ultimate expression of His love for His fellow workers, and a closing reality of His visible and eternal relationship with them. It was love for the unlovely and unlovable. These disciples were weak and often unlovable; yet He loved them to the end. That is what makes a Christian servant. He is a true slave, one who loves to the end and dies loving.

The tragedy of Golgotha is that the game the Devil knew and moved would end in his favour. It did end in his favour and it seemed to be the final defeat of the mission of the Lord Jesus after 33 years of consistent ministry. However, paradoxically, the defeat ended with Easter. This was also a moment of personal failure for the Lord Jesus in Judas, son of Simon, whom Jesus loved very much. He was betrayed by one whom He loved.

Jesus could be what He was, because He knew His genesis and His destiny. He knew His attributes and abilities, given to Him as the Creator, and as the Only Begotten Son of God. He knew His past, His present, His future-all these were fully before Him. In this is the triumph of Christian servanthood; to know yourself as belonging to the Kingdom, when all else breaks to pieces. It is not a setting of weakness but a setting of essential personal strength.

Until we have grasped what Christian servanthood is, how can we concern ourselves about Christian leadership? To be a leader without humility in service is the world’s standard.

Christian servanthood takes initiative to do the needful.
Christian servanthood means doing that which one is not assigned to do.
Christian servanthood has no glamour, it is a despised work, to go down the rung of a ladder of power. The status symbols and equipment of servanthood are a towel and a basin at home.

`In John 13, Jesus did not only take the place of a slave, He did the work of a slave. Christian servanthood is not talk, mere discussion, but it is labour and work. Christian servanthood in action is labour, it is work, it is getting on all fours on the floor, it is the work of a slave. In John 13:8, The Lord Jesus as the One who serves even overcame resistance to service. It will be the closest to us in fellowship and those who know us well who bring resistance to our servanthood. For example, a Godly mother refusing her daughter from going to the missions field. Just as Jesus overcame that resistance (from Peter) to serve, Christian servanthood requires overcoming that resistance.

Moreover, Jesus served His enemy (Judas, His betrayer) who meant Him harm. Christian servanthood is not an easy walkover. Because one becomes a servant let us not think that all over the world Christian fellowship will do the same!

Our call is to follow Jesus and be prepared to go to any extent in practising this kind of servanthood. It is something quite different from the world’s perspective of service. The world has nothing akin to the examples of servanthood found in the Christian Gospels. In John 13:14, Jesus commanded the disciples to serve one another. The work of a slave or Christian servant is not an option but a condition for the disciples of Jesus. This call to servanthood is tested first and foremost by conduct and behaviour among fellow disciples and fellow servants.



There is a setting in the Christian world where this message of servanthood is needed. Christian servanthood is an area that needs urgent teaching and training by practice and precepts. This is a lesson that we will learn only from experience and this is what is seen exemplified greatly in the life of Jesus Christ. True learning, however, comes from practising and exercising.


Watch out for Part II

Wearing a Sari for the First Time!

This is the first time I am wearing a sari in India and not without help. ; )

Three months in India

Three months ago to India
With zeal and excitement
A beautiful place it is and very cold for equatorian
To whom winter is alien
A mountain tortoise crawling in cold Mussoorie
But praise the Lord, adjustment was smooth.
Praise the Lord for friends He gave and good
American, Italian, French, German and Indian, ‘berhuud accha’ (very good)

However taking a bath here is not so good
It is a mini-project indeed
And no longer a daily affair
Plus no excellence in Hindi, just fair
Here resides beautiful mountains and fresh air
The Majestic mountains reflect the awesome God, the Creator!
The Creator granted my prayer, snow fell! Ineffable wonder!

Blessed with fun friends to celebrate Eve of Christmas and New Year
A new experience and beginning for the New Year
May my life bring Him glory in the year
And be alert to Him in my ear!
And all my years
Hallelujah!

God’s Goodness

Three months ago I set off for India with excitement, anticipation and zeal. And not without plenty of prayer and various support rendered by cousin, cell group, good friends and pastors.

I was very thankful for the special escort by Highpoint India director and wife to settle down near language school in Mussoorie (further north of Delhi ) for language acquisition.

Wolfsburn had been my dwelling place for three months. A beautiful and quiet place with a nice professor as my landlord.
Initial adjustment was the cold. It was too chilly for me coming from the equator. I met a pastor who had been to Singapore for bible school training for four years and was very understanding, nice and friendly. He immediately offered to lend me his hot air blower. I knew absolutely nothing about a hot-air fan! A fan that blows hot air! WOW! I felt like I was a ‘mountain tortoise’ crawling in the mountains of Mussoorie!
Then came the struggle with Hindi. The sentence structure is weird, a new discovery of the type of structure and the challenge to try to verbalise it by first twisting in my brain to reform the sentence from English to Hindi, subject first, then object, then verb..... and etc, etc...
The Lord blessed me with many good friends. Firstly I was introduced to two Godly American ladies, then my nice Italian neighbour and companion for three weeks. Thereafter a nice French lady for a month and a German man for a few weeks and a few very nice Indian friends.
It never dawned upon me that to take a shower became a mini-project that I had to ‘learn’. That is, to do it the quickest way with the least ‘suffering’ of cold while showering and after. First, I have to be sure to get all things ready, clothes, slippers, shower gel, shampoo, towel, change of clothes, etc. For one missing item may mean more or longer fighting of teeth! Plus, check that the sun is there, the electricity is not cut-off when the geyser is warming up the water, with either one missing, the mini-project fails.... However, I always feel great after a shower despite it is the winter season. ; )

After spending a few nights at friends’ place, I discovered a new way of taking shower that makes it more pleasant. Keep the room warm when taking a shower! How...!? Turn on the hot-air blower! That I did and kept my toilet door open and it became a more pleasant and enjoyable time when taking a bath. Great! : )
A day visit to Dehradun (the town nearest to Mussoorie) reminded me of my future reality in Delhi, noisy, crowded, dirty and sometimes smelly in the streets. For the first 15 minutes in Dehradun, I missed Mussoorie. I will need humility and wisdom to survive in Delhi.
Beautiful, tranquil and friendly Mussoorie. One cannot help but marvel at God’s creation, AWESOME! The mountains and the vastness and expanse of them speak of the ineffable beauty of God’s hand in creation. The overwhelming loveliness magnifies in my visits to the villages, there emerges the inexpressible splendour and peace as I admire His creation. Right here, I am so pampered with consistent pleasure to the eyes of the numerous attractive mountains within sight, and I am always amazed by the Lord’s majesty.
And there was the snow! I asked the Lord to grant me my wish to be able to experience and watch snow before I depart for Delhi and He did! It was on the 13 January 2010! I spotted it (with forecast given by a friend) at about 6:30am where it began, tiny bits of snow and slowly heavier. Marvellous, I was elated, filled with unspeakable joy! Praise the Lord! : O


Festival Celebration

And Christmas time was wonderful also. I was invited to stay over at friends’ place for some celebration of Jesus’ birth on Christmas eve and days prior to that was Christmas carolling in the cold, in the night time walking from house to house. It was great fun! And I was also invited to a very good Christmas dinner at a Korean friend’s house. And a special New Year’s Eve where I visited a place of interest in Mussoorie with a nice Indian man and had freshly squeezed fruit juice (for the first time after I landed in India) and was walked home safely. And on New Year’s Day, I played badminton! WOW! I did not expect to be able to play badminton, (one of my favourite games) in India, much less in Mussoorie! I had fun!


New Lessons learnt

I developed a different attitude to taking classes here. It is not all about my interest anymore, because having a lesson means income to the teacher. Once I was not feeling very well and was thinking of cancelling the class but I had to consider the fact that if I cancelled the class, my teacher has less income for that day, and I was the only student left for her in this winter period. Therefore, I motivated myself to go, not so much for myself but more for her on that particular day. This is different in Singapore, or at least I will have a different attitude to this back in my country. And the more important thing about having lessons or services (house helper or taxi) here is the relationship and not the ‘business transaction’, it is quite unlikely to have the win-win situation, and it is not the thing to want to strive for anyways, but the relationship.

Conclusively, relationships is the thing that I treasure most in my experience and time here in Mussoorie. Praise the Lord I have pleasant relationships built with people God put in my life. Some children in the Children’s Home where I volunteered to teach are close to my heart. Some great companions whom I share my time with as well and not forgetting my teachers too.
I praise and thank the Lord for a almost health-perfect, memorable and wonderful three months in Mussoorie. ; )


Left for Delhi on 21January 2010.

After Snowfall

The topmost picture is the path and view right outside my cottage. The picture was taken a day after the snowfall.
The second from the top picture is on the way back from the village. I went for a pre-planned village visit with a team of Koreans and a local Indian, walking in the snow and rain! ; )
The third picture from the top is the heavenly view of the mountains after the snow... Awesome
The bottom-most picture is the view shortly after the snow fall stopped, the mountain was covered with snow, the picture was taken after a short time with the children in the villagers in one of their houses.

Himalaya Mountains

My Father’s 10th Death Anniversary, 28 Nov 2009

It seems so recent and I remember vividly that day I was at a friend’s church witnessing her baptism, it was at Paya Lebar Methodist Church and it was Bee Lian’s baptism.

At about 1pm I received a call from my aunty saying that my mum saw my dad fainted in the room with blood coming out of his nose. I quickly called for an ambulance and rushed to see my dad in a taxi with a few of my friends.

Upon arrival, I saw my dad lying sideway on the floor with dried blood on his moustache area. I touched his hand and it was cold, I wondered how long he had been in that position. Was it fated also that the residential line was faulty....? Do I actually believe in fate..? I don’t! But if the line had not been faulty, he could have been able to call and survived whatever he was suffering from...maybe....

The whole scenario of going to the crematorium and the events thereafter are still succinct in my memory. I remember I cried most when I was hugging his ashes with my brother driving, feeling very sorry and sad that my father had turned into ashes and what remained of him was kept in an urn so much smaller than him. What made it worse was that I knew that that was my last contact ‘with him’ because we were heading to Changi Ferry Terminal to take a ferry out to return his ashes to the sea. I felt very sorry and sympathetic that he had chosen to have it done this way. He stated it in his will.

And I dream of him there and then. The last time was about a week ago where in the dream I was seated with him in somewhere that seemed like a living room and he was telling me that he went for stage 4 and 5 chemotherapy, trying to convey to me that he had himself covered from more than serious cancer. He was wearing a navy blue polo-shirt, the one I remember he used to wear when he was alive and also his usual silver framed spectacles. In the dream he looked good.

Sometimes I wonder if it is because I miss him that I have been dreaming about him... or is it that he misses me and he comes to meet me in my dream.. but my sensibility, belief and conviction tell me the latter is not possible though sometimes I wish it is....so that I would not think that I have lost him completely and that occasionally I can still see and meet him in my dreams. However, I can only conclude that the dreams were because I miss him in my subconscious mind.

I knew he doted on me most among the three of us. And I had often wondered if he would have had been supportive of my venture to Cambodia and now India....

I think he would because he had always been very supportive of my endeavours, and that was inclusive of my choice to believe in Jesus. He was also very supportive of my desire to want to learn Taekwondo back then.

My only prayer is that the Lord would give him another chance to choose Him and that he would.