Dear BPCWA worshipper, This week, though on Australian soil, many will be wishing their families here and across the miles “Happy Lunar New Year”. In China, daily life almost grinds to a standstill on this occasion of celebrations. A major traditional event for the Chinese, the Lunar New Year begins on the 1^st of February, 2022 this year. Culturally, many will keep the night on the eve of this day to have dinner with their families, in a meal affectionately called the “Reunion Dinner”. This is a practice that many adults continue to keep in their homes even if they are living far away from where they grew up. Many others would even hazard long journeys do so. Eating together has often been an important mark of family occasions. And this Chinese festivity is no different where the old and young gather together over dinner. While children look forward to their favourite food being cooked on this special occasion, the adults typically just look forward to being together. It is a renewal of familial bonds. This is why many make the effort to keep that date free and attend. With more challenges of COVID-19 looming on the WA horizon, travel is off the radar for many who may otherwise have hoped to travel back for this dinner with their families. With such anticipation for many regarding Reunion Dinners, let us, as Christians, remind ourselves to look forward to a far more wonderful reunion meal that God promises!

The heavenly reunion dinner to look forward to. As I mentioned in the Lord’s Supper at the beginning of this year, as Christ had His last meal with His disciples on earth, He pointed them to a far more significant meal with Him to look forward to. While He was on earth, Christ often shared meals with His disciples. For His last supper, which was also the Passover meal, Christ had a strong yearning for it. He made special preparations for it by even arranging for the room (Lu 22:7-14). This meal was also culturally an important one and it meant a lot to the Lord to have it with the disciples, “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer” (Lu 22:15). Yet, He told them that that would not be the last supper, because there is an even greater event which He pointed them to. Mentioned in 3 of His gospels, He said “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt 26:29). There is a meal with Him that Christ wants us to look forward to! This refers to the occasion when we are told to “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready” (Rev 19:7). This is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It is a culmination and final meal toward the consummation of the relationship with Christ. There will be no pandemic or any disruption that can prevent us from having that most blessed supper of the Lamb! It will truly be a time of rejoicing as we sit with our LORD and can have that undistracted and blessed communion with Him at this supper.

Who will be at this reunion meal. “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). From Rev 19:7, we know that these will be the Lamb’s wife. It is the fullness of the revelation of the mystery of Christ, the Lamb of God, and His church, His bride.  This refers to the universal church consisting of true believers. It then means that not everyone in the visible local churches will be there. Today, the visible church consists of a mix of wheat (genuine believers) and tares, those who outwardly resemble Christians and may even profess Christianity (Matt 13:30). God warns us that there will be false believers who are not saved but are yet found among believers in the visible church. We feel sad and disappointed when we cannot have a reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s eve because we are separated. But, the undesirable feeling of fear will be beyond description if you are to find out that you are a goat, ie false believer, who is separated from the sheep, ie born again believers, and you are to be cast into everlasting punishment! Be sure that you are indeed saved in Christ. Only those who are born again are God’s children, part of God’s family. Only the true believer will be part of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! Be sure that you are indeed in the family of God as a child of God. How can we be sure? Have you truly gone to the Lamb of God to seek cleansing in His Blood? Have you turned to Jesus Christ with a repentant heart and sincerely confessed in person Him that you are a hopelessly unclean sinner, and begged Him to be your God and Saviour? If you say you have, then have you known of the change that has come over you in your life since then, or are you still without remorse when you fall into sin, or have no evidence of any fruit of the Spirit? Do you think you are saved just because you are a church member, are born in a Christian family, know Bible stories, and come to church on Sundays as a matter of ritual and habit? God warns us in James 2:19-20 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” This means that if you say that you believe in Jesus, but your life shows no spiritual fruit, then your so-called faith in Jesus Christ is fake and is therefore dead faith. But if you are truly saved, there awaits a reunion feast with immense rejoicing with the Lamb of God that you can look forward to, even as you watch for His soon coming!

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor