I feel that there is a time for healing and a time for moving on. This is one of them.
Serina Wee is out. So is John Lam and Sharon Tan. She has served her time with 1/3 remission taken into account. So, her 30 months is reduced to 20 months counting from 21 April 2017. She was released on 21 Dec a few days ago.
I have written much about the case and I feel there is a need to set things straight, that is, to call a spade a spade and to clean and hang up the spade once the past is buried for good.
The marathon trial in 2013 to Nov 2015 followed by the appeal, the landmark decision that led to the reduction of sentences, and Chew’s regrettable escape has undoubtedly marred the public perception of the the Christian faith and the church.
While I felt that the dragging of the trial was largely man-made, I strongly feel that the acceptance and the serving of the sentences by the accused effectively put an end to the case for good. It is also largely man-initiated.
Regardless of how small (or big) their parts were in the sham transactions they were charged with, they have eventually submitted to the law of the land.
Yes, it was a submission not without a fight to the end of the legal road where there is no more legally paved road to cross over. But still, they faced the music, save for Chew, and served their time. As such, there should be closure for them as they return to their loved ones and family (including even Chew).
God knows this experience will stay with them for the rest of their life for good or for bad. And I trust Serina, who turned 42 on Dec 14, has grown stronger thereon.
Ultimately, what is the Christian faith if it is not about admission and redemption for those who have fallen from grace, and healing and community for the rest of us who are called to love one another. Because only by abiding in love will His love abide in us, and us in Him.
This is not some sermon reminder (or preaching) for just the Christians, but a way of life even for those who do not subscribe to the faith.
And because oxygen is to survival what love is to the purpose and meaning of life, no religion therefore holds the exclusive “copyright“ to lay claim to love and the demonstration of it.
Putting it another way, no religion is complete without making love the cornerstone of their faith and action.
For me, the Christian faith is inseparable from love because God is love and is personified or embodied in Christ. And this embodiment became flesh, lived amongst us, and fulfilled his purpose for us at Calvary.
It is therefore not so much a religion about the rituals, the remembrances, the size or the methodology, but it is about a life, a sacrifice and a victory. In other words, it is a love that never gave up, kept overcoming and reconciled all men to Himself.
So, what threatens to divide us in the Christian faith is hate, but what joins us together is love. And between hate and love, darkness and light, it is our uncompromising call in the discipline of His example to always gravitate towards love, towards healing, towards moving forward, towards overcoming, towards light.
Let me end by saying that technology has given us her best and her worst. It has brought us together, but we are as lonely as ever. It has made things faster, but our busyness is endless. It has given us a voice but most times, they are voice of self, division and hate. And most pertinently, it has kept good memories for us, but it has also caused us to never forget.
We never forget what technology has sensationalised for us in the social media.
Every transgression in society from a momentary lapse of judgment call, an oversight we regret, and a fall from grace we are trying to recover from, becomes headline news in our head.
It is all that we can remember and we are made not to forget about them. And because what is sensationalised is often about how wrong the fallen are, even when they plead for a second chance to change for the better, we nevertheless like vultures keep nibbling at the carcasses of their past and readily forget that it is only in their future that true redemption can take place.
It is trite to say that all men (and women) fall, and most times, their fall makes a splash that we never forget and their resolve to get up is often hidden from sight and encouragement.
Alas, for that reason, the beauty of humanity is seldom captured because we are held captive by its shortcoming and not its overcoming.
So, I wish Serina all the best in her road to recovery. I pray for that and look forward to a life that will inspire and encourage once again.
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