Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Japan Trip, Day 1
Hey guys, I know it's been a loooooooooong time. And instead of writing a lot, I'll just post the first of 5 videos here: Hopefully I'll be able to put up a new video each week^_^. If you click on the link, you can watch it in HD^_^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbKKa5aMe8o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbKKa5aMe8o
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
By grace, not just passion
For the past 3 weeks now I've been battling sickness and fatigue. This happens to me once or twice a year, I go through seasons of poor health. Some are longer lasting than others. But so far they have been quite regular and expected. The hardest thing for me is how to deal with them. Physically, I get through these seasons without too many problems. Yes, I often feel tired, get headaches, or get the common cold, but that's just part of life, and we all come down with things here and there. So physically, it's not so much the issue. It's more of a spiritual battle that I face with these illnesses.
I live much of my life fueled by passion. If I'm passionate about something, that's what I devote myself to. And devote all of myself to that thing. I can trace it back in my life to many different areas of speciality. Whether it was film-making, film-watching, collecting various things, hobbies, whatever it was, I have a very easy tendency to become one-track minded, and focus much of my energy on that thing. In Korea, thankfully, God pointed that tendency towards the truth of God's word. And thus I became very content just to read the Bible, listen to sermons, and study theology. And I became so passionate about it that I decided that this is where God was leading me career wise. And I still believe that is where God is leading me.
But unfortunately, while passion does produce massive amounts of energy, will, and motivation, passion can also die out, and when it does, there is very little left to fuel you. I've known this danger for a while, and I've tried to keep a close watch on it. I do believe that passion is a good thing, and one of God's tools that he gives us in order to glorify Him. I believe the Bible calls us to live with passion and worship with passion. If we're not passionate for God's glory, there's something wrong in our hearts. But what happens when the passion does fade. And then I started to think about my sickness.
Like many people, when a person becomes sick, they become very inwardly focused and also perhaps very simplistic. My passion for the bigger, greater things in life tends to diminish when I want to do is...nothing...but rest and feel better. This unsettling to me, as a man driven by passion. And in my times of sickness and diminishment, I need to pray to God that he will restore my passion for the truth of his word and the declaration of it.
But I wonder, am I really relying on God to keep me going in service for His kingdom, or am I relying on my own passion to finish out the race? This is a difficult question for me that I think doesn't have a clean-cut answer. I do believe passion alone will eventually fail you. The sheer routine of life, the set-backs, the disappointments will wear down the passion of any man or woman, no matter how strong they may feel it is. So passion alone will not cut it. But at the same time, to abandon passion for a dull, play it by the books, hollow, stick it out service mentality sounds worse in some ways to me. At least with passion, you feel like you'll make it at least some distance, but to abandon passion sounds like you're dead already.
So what do I do right now? My body, my flesh, is at odds against me. It's not helping me to live passionately for Jesus. My body is crying out for comfort and a lifestyle that requires little passion to carry on. What do I do?
I don't abandon passion, but I also don't rely on it either. I think that's the key. If you rely only on passion, you'll give up whatever you do at the first sign of difficulty, because you have no conviction, no foundation. But if you abandon passion, the whole purpose of what you're doing has been lost.
So if I desire passion, but can't rely on it, then I must rely on the giver of my passion. And that points me back to Jesus. If you can honestly say that you have a holy ambition, or a holy passion, then it is right to believe that you have been given that passion from God. And thus, he is the source we look to when we need a regeneration of that passion. The problem with my original outlook on my own weaknesses, physically particularly, is my propencity towards believing that anything good comes from me. If my passion fades when I get sick, I tend to believe that I am the one who produces the passion. And perhaps some of that is true, but that's not the kind of passion I want or need. I need a passion that doesn't fade in times of trouble. A conviction that doesn't leave me in my weak moments. And that can only come from God's wealth of grace.
The truth is, no one is 100% on fire for Jesus all the time. And we all have seasons of doubt and discouragement. But I think what I've learned is those seasons are great opportunities that God gives us in order for us to re-evaluate where our strength is coming from. Perhaps, we're relying way too much on ourselves, and God takes us out of the equation for a while in order for us to realize that it's not by our own will power and passion that we press on, but it's by his grace alone which produces an everlasting passion in us that will withstand much more than any kind of passion we muster up on our own strength.
And thus, I've been reminded yet again, that I am weak. But when I am weak, he is strong, and in my weakness, his power is made perfect. I have been reminded that through out the Bible, time and time again, God uses weak people to accomplish his deeds to show that it is not by our own strength that we succeed, but by His sufficient grace in our lives.
I would say I am on the tail end of my sickness now, and I hope and pray this will mark the beginning of a season of health and fruitfulness in my life. But often in life, as fish you can't see the water you swim in, and at times, it was hard to see the passion I know I should have for the bigger things of God and of Christ. And I pray that I will recieve my passion from Christ alone, so that next time I fall into one of my episodic illnesses, I will maintain my passion better even as my body fails me.
To Christ be the glory and honor forever!
I live much of my life fueled by passion. If I'm passionate about something, that's what I devote myself to. And devote all of myself to that thing. I can trace it back in my life to many different areas of speciality. Whether it was film-making, film-watching, collecting various things, hobbies, whatever it was, I have a very easy tendency to become one-track minded, and focus much of my energy on that thing. In Korea, thankfully, God pointed that tendency towards the truth of God's word. And thus I became very content just to read the Bible, listen to sermons, and study theology. And I became so passionate about it that I decided that this is where God was leading me career wise. And I still believe that is where God is leading me.
But unfortunately, while passion does produce massive amounts of energy, will, and motivation, passion can also die out, and when it does, there is very little left to fuel you. I've known this danger for a while, and I've tried to keep a close watch on it. I do believe that passion is a good thing, and one of God's tools that he gives us in order to glorify Him. I believe the Bible calls us to live with passion and worship with passion. If we're not passionate for God's glory, there's something wrong in our hearts. But what happens when the passion does fade. And then I started to think about my sickness.
Like many people, when a person becomes sick, they become very inwardly focused and also perhaps very simplistic. My passion for the bigger, greater things in life tends to diminish when I want to do is...nothing...but rest and feel better. This unsettling to me, as a man driven by passion. And in my times of sickness and diminishment, I need to pray to God that he will restore my passion for the truth of his word and the declaration of it.
But I wonder, am I really relying on God to keep me going in service for His kingdom, or am I relying on my own passion to finish out the race? This is a difficult question for me that I think doesn't have a clean-cut answer. I do believe passion alone will eventually fail you. The sheer routine of life, the set-backs, the disappointments will wear down the passion of any man or woman, no matter how strong they may feel it is. So passion alone will not cut it. But at the same time, to abandon passion for a dull, play it by the books, hollow, stick it out service mentality sounds worse in some ways to me. At least with passion, you feel like you'll make it at least some distance, but to abandon passion sounds like you're dead already.
So what do I do right now? My body, my flesh, is at odds against me. It's not helping me to live passionately for Jesus. My body is crying out for comfort and a lifestyle that requires little passion to carry on. What do I do?
I don't abandon passion, but I also don't rely on it either. I think that's the key. If you rely only on passion, you'll give up whatever you do at the first sign of difficulty, because you have no conviction, no foundation. But if you abandon passion, the whole purpose of what you're doing has been lost.
So if I desire passion, but can't rely on it, then I must rely on the giver of my passion. And that points me back to Jesus. If you can honestly say that you have a holy ambition, or a holy passion, then it is right to believe that you have been given that passion from God. And thus, he is the source we look to when we need a regeneration of that passion. The problem with my original outlook on my own weaknesses, physically particularly, is my propencity towards believing that anything good comes from me. If my passion fades when I get sick, I tend to believe that I am the one who produces the passion. And perhaps some of that is true, but that's not the kind of passion I want or need. I need a passion that doesn't fade in times of trouble. A conviction that doesn't leave me in my weak moments. And that can only come from God's wealth of grace.
The truth is, no one is 100% on fire for Jesus all the time. And we all have seasons of doubt and discouragement. But I think what I've learned is those seasons are great opportunities that God gives us in order for us to re-evaluate where our strength is coming from. Perhaps, we're relying way too much on ourselves, and God takes us out of the equation for a while in order for us to realize that it's not by our own will power and passion that we press on, but it's by his grace alone which produces an everlasting passion in us that will withstand much more than any kind of passion we muster up on our own strength.
And thus, I've been reminded yet again, that I am weak. But when I am weak, he is strong, and in my weakness, his power is made perfect. I have been reminded that through out the Bible, time and time again, God uses weak people to accomplish his deeds to show that it is not by our own strength that we succeed, but by His sufficient grace in our lives.
I would say I am on the tail end of my sickness now, and I hope and pray this will mark the beginning of a season of health and fruitfulness in my life. But often in life, as fish you can't see the water you swim in, and at times, it was hard to see the passion I know I should have for the bigger things of God and of Christ. And I pray that I will recieve my passion from Christ alone, so that next time I fall into one of my episodic illnesses, I will maintain my passion better even as my body fails me.
To Christ be the glory and honor forever!
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Lord rewards faithfulness above fruitfulness
Happy Chuseok everyone. I have had off this entire week, except Monday because Korea celebrated Chuseok this week, which is probably the biggest Holiday in Korea. It’s similar to America’s Thanksgiving, and it’s a time to celebrate the Harvest and be with family. This year, I was blessed by God in being able to spend Chuseok with Jungmin and her family. Jungmin and I went with her Aunt and Uncle and two cousins to CheonJu (Jungmin’s hometown) on Monday night. We stayed their until Thursday lunchtime. It was an amazing Chuseok, most definitely the best one I’ve had in Korea. We did so many fun things. We ate a lot of great food. I can’t even begin to list all of the amazing dishes we had. Each meal we ate was a feast fit for Kings and Queens, and it was just an amazing time to celebrate God’s provision for us. We also went to a fortress in Cheongju on Tuesday afternoon where we sat on the grass, caught dragonflies, played soccer and badminton, walked along the fortress wall, and chatted. We also played basketball back at Jungmin’s family’s apartment complex. And of course, we ate lots of great food, and I was able to help out Jungmin’s father a bit with grilling meat. It was so delicious. I was able to meet many of Jungmin’s cousins, her aunt and uncle, and her grandmother. They were all so kind to me and I really love spending time with her family. On Wednesday morning her relatives left back for Seoul, but Jungmin and I stayed with their with her mother, father, and sister, and her lovely dog “Happy”^_^. Her sister, Jungmin and I went to downtown CheongJu to watch the movie “Superbad.” Now this is not the dirty comedy from a few years ago, this is an animated 3D children’s movie. It was AMAZING!! I really recommend everyone of all ages to go see this film. I had a smile on my face the entire time! We also later that night went to a Karaoke room, and sang for over an hour. It was so much fun. Jungmin and I also played boggle together, and it was awesome! I had a great time with her whole family, and I thank God so much for allowing me to be part of Jungmin’s family’s celebration. I’m so blessed by them every time I see them, and I love being with them!
Jungmin and I have been reading John Piper’s devotional book “A Godward Life” together. We’re about halfway through right now. Jungmin just left for Malaysia today with her family. Please pray for them, that they have a safe and wonderful trip together. They will arrive back in Korea on Tuesday. I can’t wait to see her again, and I can’t wait to see all of the pictures from their trip.
Before she left today, we read a devotional from John Piper’s book. This devotional was entitled “Lord-Focused Living at Work.” He based the devotional around Ephesians 6:7-8 which says, “With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.” This notion of working as working unto the Lord has been a very familiar idea in my life. It’s what keeps me motivated in the tasks I am assigned. I try my best to muster up joy each day in the fact that I going to work today to serve the King of the Universe. That yes, I have my human bosses, but ultimately, I’m working for a heavenly boss. And that makes me excited to go to work every day (granted, some days I’m more excited than others). So this idea is not new, but there was one phrase that seared itself into my mind, and it’s been stewing there all day. Piper might be quoting Billy Graham here, it’s hard to distinguish in how he wrote the sentence, but the sentence wrote, “The Lord rewards faithfulness above fruitfulness.” Piper was talking about how Billy Graham was talking with his staff and telling them that he thinks that many of them will be ahead of him in line in heaven for the Lord’s rewards, and he gave that sentence as his reasoning. And this idea just brings so many emotions to the surface for me.
I’ve heard many stories, and I know of many people who faithfully serve God week after week, year after year, decade after decade, and statistically, their labor does not produce the kind of fruit that I’m sure they hope and pray for. And fittingly, often, I see the discouragement that comes with those situations. And yet, these people continue to press on, they don’t give up. They are not fueled by the comfort and gratification of immediate or exponential results, instead, they are fueled by a faithfulness to God that grows stronger and stronger as they serve and love God more, despite results. And I have to think that all of these men and women who toil endlessly for the Kingdom must have an amazing view of heavenly rewards as they work. This gives me hope as I seek to live my life in service to the King. That ultimately, results are not up to me. That is God’s area of expertise. Billy Graham did have the effect he had based on his own merits ultimately. Now granted, his faithfulness was rewarded in fruitfulness. But, his faithfulness was no more intense and focused than someone else who was just as faithful if not more, and yet saw only 1% of the fruit that Billy Graham saw. Ultimately, all we can do in service to God is offer up sacrifices to him, and it is by God’s grace that those sacrifices will spring forth and blossom into amazing results. God is the one to be praised for Billy Graham’s ministry, not Billy Graham. And thus, fruit can not be the criteria by which God rewards people, since God is the one responsible for the fruit. Now granted, as many passages like Ephesians 2 and others mention, even our faithfulness is ultimately granted to us as a gift of grace by God. But nevertheless, the Bible gives clear commands to faithfully serve him, and also gives clear rewards to those who serve him faithfully. But the Bible does not say that he only rewards people who have a certain number of converts, or a certain sized church. God looks not at the outward appearance, but at the heart. He isn’t like a manager who gives a bonus to the person who made the most sales that year. Instead, he’s a manage who gives a bonus to the person he could tell worked most faithfully at his job, despite his sales.
One side note to mention as well is that when I talk about fruit, I am specifically focusing on the obvious. I’m thinking about a kind of kingdom fruit that is recognized right away. People who’s churches flourish quarterly by the thousands have immediate fruit that anyone can recognize. So when I talk about people who faithfully serve, and yet see little fruit, that does not mean that there is no fruit. I believe anyone who serves faithfully, God will use! God does millions of things in every single little tiny event that we have no idea about. The effect of one good deed that we do could change the course of history 100 years in the future, and we’ll never know anything about it. I don’t think people’s faithfulness is ever wasted. I think God uses it all, but for some, much of it is never seen in this life. Two examples of this could be the pastor who preached the message that saved Charles Spurgeon. This pastor is still unnamed to this day. No one knows who that pastor was. That pastor probably didn’t know the effect he had. And yet, God used that pastor’s faithfulness to jump-start the service of the “prince of preachers.” Another example would be a man from Australia. I can’t remember his name, but to make a long story short, this man for almost 40 years, made a covenant with God to share the gospel with at least 10 people every day. Often it was just a simple question on the street like, “Do you know where you would go if you died today?” Not once in this man’s 40 years of faithful ministry did he ever see 1 convert!! Not one!! And yet, he remained faithful. Well, a pastor from Europe started traveling around the world and would meet many different people. As he met them he would ask them how they got saved. And on multiple occasions, people would mention a man from Sidney who approached them on the street with a simple question that got them thinking. Eventually the pastor sought out this man and found him. He was very old at this point. And the pastor told this man of the effect of his ministry, how probably 1000s of people had come to Christ as a result of this man, and the man just cried because he had never known any of that fruit, and yet he stayed faithful. So I do think that all faithfulness yields some sort of fruit, whether we realize this now or not.
But that’s not the main point. The main point I’m trying to make is that God rewards faithfulness above fruitfulness. This must be a strong conviction for anyone who wants to persevere in Kingdom work. And I pray that God will make faithfulness a strong characteristic in my life that will bring me through to the end so that God will say to me, “Well done, my good and FAITHFUL servant.” Notice, the Bible doesn’t say, my good and fruitful servant, no...it says my good and FAITHFUL servant. That is God’s requirement for his servants. Not that they are fruitful, but that they are faithful.
I think of many people when I think of this principle. First, I always think of the story of Don Carson. His father was a pastor in French Canada for pretty much most of his professional life I believe. And his father pastored a very small church his whole life. I don’t remember the number, but I want to say that it was in the 30s. But his father never stopped pastoring because he strongly believed that there were people in that area that God wanted to save through his ministry, and so he stayed strong, and committed himself to that small church. Now as many of you know, Don Carson, this man’s son, is now considered the top New Testament scholar in the world. And yet, Don Carson has not forgotten his father’s faithfulness, and thus even though Don Carson could easily fill up his schedule with only the top primary, big time speaking engagements, he has vowed to never ever deny a speaking request based on the size of the venue. That is powerful! And that makes it clear to me, that Don Carson, through the testamony of his father’s faithfulness, understands the principle that God values faithfulness more than fruitfulness.
Two men in my own life that I am reminded of are my father and my pastor from the USA. Both of them have exemplified faithfulness in their work to me that has shaped me in powerful ways. They both are faithful and loving husbands, fathers, neighbors, community workers, and are active in serving God and his church. My pastor has been the Pastor of Maple Glen Bible Fellowship for I believe over 20 years, but I’m not sure of the exact number, and my father has served as a faithful deacon and now treasurer for many years as well. The church has never been very big, and there have been many struggles along the way. Men of lesser faithfulness, and weaker backbone I believe would have given up already, but both of these men have remained faithful to God callings on their lives in their service to Him. And I know that in the grand scheme of all the churches in the world, my church from back home seems barely a blip on the radar, and I know that it has not been easy for the members of our church when things seem difficult, but I know that God has a HUGE reward awaiting them, and I really am so encouraged by their faithfulness. And I know just from personal experience, that God has blessed their faithfulness with much fruit. I think of the pro-life marches, the car washes, the volleyball summers, the baptisms, the missionaries supported, the missionaries sent out, the homeless helped, the children taught, the families cared for, the suffering who come to our church, recieve grace upon grace, and then go on their way, the illuminating sermons which have instilled in the flock at Maple Glen a robust theology that magnifies Christ, the hymns and praise songs that have been offered up to God, the lives changed, the hearts awakened, the dead being made alive, the marriages counseled, the singles counseled, the young counseled, the old counseled, the weddings performed, the funerals done, the foreigners welcomed, the weak cared for, the meals given to the poor, the youth groups provided, the Sunday School classes which enrich our souls, the friendships, the community events, and everything else that has been accomplished at Maple Glen Bible Fellowship, and I rejoice and praise God for his faithfulness to us, his fruit that was given to us through his grace, and his faithful servant who have served so faithfully through the years.
If I have my life marked by one thing, I would much rather it be marked by faithfulness, than immediate, famous fruitfulness.
Jungmin and I have been reading John Piper’s devotional book “A Godward Life” together. We’re about halfway through right now. Jungmin just left for Malaysia today with her family. Please pray for them, that they have a safe and wonderful trip together. They will arrive back in Korea on Tuesday. I can’t wait to see her again, and I can’t wait to see all of the pictures from their trip.
Before she left today, we read a devotional from John Piper’s book. This devotional was entitled “Lord-Focused Living at Work.” He based the devotional around Ephesians 6:7-8 which says, “With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.” This notion of working as working unto the Lord has been a very familiar idea in my life. It’s what keeps me motivated in the tasks I am assigned. I try my best to muster up joy each day in the fact that I going to work today to serve the King of the Universe. That yes, I have my human bosses, but ultimately, I’m working for a heavenly boss. And that makes me excited to go to work every day (granted, some days I’m more excited than others). So this idea is not new, but there was one phrase that seared itself into my mind, and it’s been stewing there all day. Piper might be quoting Billy Graham here, it’s hard to distinguish in how he wrote the sentence, but the sentence wrote, “The Lord rewards faithfulness above fruitfulness.” Piper was talking about how Billy Graham was talking with his staff and telling them that he thinks that many of them will be ahead of him in line in heaven for the Lord’s rewards, and he gave that sentence as his reasoning. And this idea just brings so many emotions to the surface for me.
I’ve heard many stories, and I know of many people who faithfully serve God week after week, year after year, decade after decade, and statistically, their labor does not produce the kind of fruit that I’m sure they hope and pray for. And fittingly, often, I see the discouragement that comes with those situations. And yet, these people continue to press on, they don’t give up. They are not fueled by the comfort and gratification of immediate or exponential results, instead, they are fueled by a faithfulness to God that grows stronger and stronger as they serve and love God more, despite results. And I have to think that all of these men and women who toil endlessly for the Kingdom must have an amazing view of heavenly rewards as they work. This gives me hope as I seek to live my life in service to the King. That ultimately, results are not up to me. That is God’s area of expertise. Billy Graham did have the effect he had based on his own merits ultimately. Now granted, his faithfulness was rewarded in fruitfulness. But, his faithfulness was no more intense and focused than someone else who was just as faithful if not more, and yet saw only 1% of the fruit that Billy Graham saw. Ultimately, all we can do in service to God is offer up sacrifices to him, and it is by God’s grace that those sacrifices will spring forth and blossom into amazing results. God is the one to be praised for Billy Graham’s ministry, not Billy Graham. And thus, fruit can not be the criteria by which God rewards people, since God is the one responsible for the fruit. Now granted, as many passages like Ephesians 2 and others mention, even our faithfulness is ultimately granted to us as a gift of grace by God. But nevertheless, the Bible gives clear commands to faithfully serve him, and also gives clear rewards to those who serve him faithfully. But the Bible does not say that he only rewards people who have a certain number of converts, or a certain sized church. God looks not at the outward appearance, but at the heart. He isn’t like a manager who gives a bonus to the person who made the most sales that year. Instead, he’s a manage who gives a bonus to the person he could tell worked most faithfully at his job, despite his sales.
One side note to mention as well is that when I talk about fruit, I am specifically focusing on the obvious. I’m thinking about a kind of kingdom fruit that is recognized right away. People who’s churches flourish quarterly by the thousands have immediate fruit that anyone can recognize. So when I talk about people who faithfully serve, and yet see little fruit, that does not mean that there is no fruit. I believe anyone who serves faithfully, God will use! God does millions of things in every single little tiny event that we have no idea about. The effect of one good deed that we do could change the course of history 100 years in the future, and we’ll never know anything about it. I don’t think people’s faithfulness is ever wasted. I think God uses it all, but for some, much of it is never seen in this life. Two examples of this could be the pastor who preached the message that saved Charles Spurgeon. This pastor is still unnamed to this day. No one knows who that pastor was. That pastor probably didn’t know the effect he had. And yet, God used that pastor’s faithfulness to jump-start the service of the “prince of preachers.” Another example would be a man from Australia. I can’t remember his name, but to make a long story short, this man for almost 40 years, made a covenant with God to share the gospel with at least 10 people every day. Often it was just a simple question on the street like, “Do you know where you would go if you died today?” Not once in this man’s 40 years of faithful ministry did he ever see 1 convert!! Not one!! And yet, he remained faithful. Well, a pastor from Europe started traveling around the world and would meet many different people. As he met them he would ask them how they got saved. And on multiple occasions, people would mention a man from Sidney who approached them on the street with a simple question that got them thinking. Eventually the pastor sought out this man and found him. He was very old at this point. And the pastor told this man of the effect of his ministry, how probably 1000s of people had come to Christ as a result of this man, and the man just cried because he had never known any of that fruit, and yet he stayed faithful. So I do think that all faithfulness yields some sort of fruit, whether we realize this now or not.
But that’s not the main point. The main point I’m trying to make is that God rewards faithfulness above fruitfulness. This must be a strong conviction for anyone who wants to persevere in Kingdom work. And I pray that God will make faithfulness a strong characteristic in my life that will bring me through to the end so that God will say to me, “Well done, my good and FAITHFUL servant.” Notice, the Bible doesn’t say, my good and fruitful servant, no...it says my good and FAITHFUL servant. That is God’s requirement for his servants. Not that they are fruitful, but that they are faithful.
I think of many people when I think of this principle. First, I always think of the story of Don Carson. His father was a pastor in French Canada for pretty much most of his professional life I believe. And his father pastored a very small church his whole life. I don’t remember the number, but I want to say that it was in the 30s. But his father never stopped pastoring because he strongly believed that there were people in that area that God wanted to save through his ministry, and so he stayed strong, and committed himself to that small church. Now as many of you know, Don Carson, this man’s son, is now considered the top New Testament scholar in the world. And yet, Don Carson has not forgotten his father’s faithfulness, and thus even though Don Carson could easily fill up his schedule with only the top primary, big time speaking engagements, he has vowed to never ever deny a speaking request based on the size of the venue. That is powerful! And that makes it clear to me, that Don Carson, through the testamony of his father’s faithfulness, understands the principle that God values faithfulness more than fruitfulness.
Two men in my own life that I am reminded of are my father and my pastor from the USA. Both of them have exemplified faithfulness in their work to me that has shaped me in powerful ways. They both are faithful and loving husbands, fathers, neighbors, community workers, and are active in serving God and his church. My pastor has been the Pastor of Maple Glen Bible Fellowship for I believe over 20 years, but I’m not sure of the exact number, and my father has served as a faithful deacon and now treasurer for many years as well. The church has never been very big, and there have been many struggles along the way. Men of lesser faithfulness, and weaker backbone I believe would have given up already, but both of these men have remained faithful to God callings on their lives in their service to Him. And I know that in the grand scheme of all the churches in the world, my church from back home seems barely a blip on the radar, and I know that it has not been easy for the members of our church when things seem difficult, but I know that God has a HUGE reward awaiting them, and I really am so encouraged by their faithfulness. And I know just from personal experience, that God has blessed their faithfulness with much fruit. I think of the pro-life marches, the car washes, the volleyball summers, the baptisms, the missionaries supported, the missionaries sent out, the homeless helped, the children taught, the families cared for, the suffering who come to our church, recieve grace upon grace, and then go on their way, the illuminating sermons which have instilled in the flock at Maple Glen a robust theology that magnifies Christ, the hymns and praise songs that have been offered up to God, the lives changed, the hearts awakened, the dead being made alive, the marriages counseled, the singles counseled, the young counseled, the old counseled, the weddings performed, the funerals done, the foreigners welcomed, the weak cared for, the meals given to the poor, the youth groups provided, the Sunday School classes which enrich our souls, the friendships, the community events, and everything else that has been accomplished at Maple Glen Bible Fellowship, and I rejoice and praise God for his faithfulness to us, his fruit that was given to us through his grace, and his faithful servant who have served so faithfully through the years.
If I have my life marked by one thing, I would much rather it be marked by faithfulness, than immediate, famous fruitfulness.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Over 6 months
Well guys, it's been a while, but I will try my best to start updating everyone again on how things are going. With blogs, once you get into a period of not writing, trying to get out is like little timmy trying to get out of the well without lassy there to help him. But even so, there are so many things to write about, so I'm sure I can make this happen.
I'll keep it short today because I'm heading to work soon, but I figured if I just wrote "something", then it would be a good first, small step.
Updates since last time.
1. God is good, all the time! And all the time, God is good!
2. I've been leading a small group bible study at my church for exactly 1 year now. Our last Bible study is tonight, and then we have a break for 1 month. I'm praying about what to do in October. Many things to consider. I'm not sure how much longer God is calling me to be a leader right now, but I'm hoping at least one more semester (3 months). There have been some great challenges with being a small group leader that I honestly was not ready to handle, but in God's grace, he's showing me that his grace is sufficient for me, and his power is made perfect through my weakness. There have also been countless blessings through the small group, and overall it's been a wonderful growing experience for me, and I value the time that I share with my members.
3. Dunamis (the college ministry I'm a part of) will be starting it's new semester this weekend. Students at Soongsil university go back to school this Wednesday, so we have our orientation this Saturday for our club. I will be teaching a media class again, using TV shows to teach English. I'm very excited to started Dunamis classes again, and I'm really excited about what I will teach, I think I've found a better method for students to have fun and learn many things. I've also been preaching at Dunamis worships on Saturday morning, and I haven't kept track, but it's probably somewhere around 10 sermons so far that I've preached. If you go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search "Dunamislove" you can find two of my messages on there. I haven't watched them, but I hope they are ok. Please pray for Dunamis, as we are really seeking God's help to share the gospel with the students of Soongsil University.
4. I've been working at my new job now for 3 months. It's been great. I just finished an 8:30-2:30 shift, and now this week I'm back to my normal 11 - 5 shift. That's how I'm able to write this blog now. I have 120 students, and they are all great. It's definitely a very different experience than my previous school, but overall I'm very happy with my new school, and I'm learning many things. It seems like for the most part, my students enjoy my classes, but I always need prayer to be a better, more creative, more patient, more loving teacher.
5. And the best update I have is that Jungmin and I are doing great! We are almost at the 6 month point in our relationship, and I couldn't be happier! We have already done so much together, and we've grown a lot as we've strived to keep God as the center of our relationship through prayer together, devotionals together, talking about God's will for our lives, and fellowship with other Christians. I thank God so much for his blessing over our relationship, and it's so amazing to see God's hand at every corner in our lives. He's orchestrating a wonderful masterpiece, and it's very amazing to see it unfold:) I've also been able to spend a lot of time with her family who lives out of Seoul. I love going to her family's town to spend time with Jungmin and her family. They are so kind and so supportive, and we have so much fun every time. Most weekends, I wish I could there:)
Overall, God is blessing me in huge ways here. There are many more things to share, but I have to get to work soon, so I'll stop now. I'll leave with a few pictures:)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
2nd Japan Trip: Tokyo
Last Saturday, on February 13th, I woke up at 6:30 in the morning, after having only gotten a few hours of sleep, ready to start on my journey to Tokyo Japan. I only got a few hours due to mere excitement about this trip. I had spent the entire week before planning and preparing what I wanted to do there. Before I get into the actual details of the trip, the way this trip happened was actually quite interesting.
Last year, at this same time, during the Chinese Lunar New Year (설날), I went to Kyoto Japan. It was simply amazing. I put up a blog post last year if you want to see it. This year, I really wanted to go to Japan, but I wanted to go somewhere different this time. See a different side of Japan. I thought that Tokyo might be as different as I could get. I talked about it with some friends, and they also wanted to go to Japan, but they wanted to go to Osaka. That seemed fine with me as well, so I decided to go with them. I told my friend from church that I was going to Japan, and she said, "I want to go to Japan too! Can I come with you?" That sounded fine to me. Then she asked some other people, and they all wanted to go to Japan as well. Suddenly, now there were about 5 people who wanted to go. Except they wanted to go to Tokyo. This turned out to be a problem. I didn't want to abandon the people I originally planned on going with, but my heart was set on Tokyo. So after much thought and prayer, I decided to go with my church friends to Tokyo. It turned out well, because my other friends ended up not going anyway.
So now 7 of us were on our way to Tokyo. We decided to stay there for 3 days and 2 nights. Tickets weren't cheap due to the holiday season, but it was worth it! There were 5 girls going and 2 guys. My friend Zack, who has gone on many adventure with me through out Korea was my other guy traveling friend. The other girls were all people from church and Dunamis, (Zack is from Dunamis too.) they're names are Hannah, Jade, Susie, Cathy, and Helen.
Zack and I rode an airport bus to Incheon at 8 in the morning to get there at 9 for our 11:30 flight to Tokyo. One of our friends Jade was lived in Japan for 6 months, so she had some host families that she was staying with, and she left for Japan the day before we did. Another friend Cathy also left a day earlier too.
So 5 of us left Incheon together for Tokyo. I brought the most money along, because I remembered how expensive Japan was the last time I went, and I didn't want to be strapped for cash while I was there. I officially named the "Bank of Sanders" while I was there; a title I reluctantly accepted (don't worry, all debts have been settled:)). We arrived at Tokyo, and proceeded with haste to find the fastest way into downtown Tokyo. There were two trains that went into Tokyo. One was half the price of the other, with only a 20 minute difference, so we went with the half-priced one. It was basically like a subway train, with very very hot heated seating that had everyone sweating once we arrived in Tokyo.
When we got into Tokyo, we went straight for our first lodging, since we had all of our luggage with us. We had to take the subway from the train station to get to our first "hotel." I had heard from people that the Tokyo subway was a nightmare to navigate, and I was a little nervous about that. But after living in Seoul for so long, it was not that different or difficult. The worst part about the Tokyo Subway is the prices. It's about double the cost of Seoul's subway. The other problem is that different subway lines are operated by different companies, so sometimes when you transfer, you have to pay a whole new fee to go on a different line. One time went about 4 stops, and we ended up paying almost 6 dollars. Where as in Korea that would have been 90 cents. But anyway, the subway was kind of fun, and not to difficult to get a handle on.
We got to a place called Asakusa, which the traditional section of Tokyo. It was where our first hotel was. But we all wanted to have the most "Japanese" experience as possible, so we decided to stay our first night in a place called a "Ryokan." This is like a traditional Japanese hotel. You slept on mats on something called Tatami floors. There were the traditional sliding, paper doors, and you even were able to drink tea in your room. It was so cool. The hallways even played traditional Japanese music. I also got to where a cool robe (just like in Kyoto).
As soon as I put my bags down at the Ryokan, I was ready to go exploring. My list of things to do was about 30 items long, and I knew that was physically impossible, but I wanted to check off as many as possible, so there was no time to waste. Thankfully other people were willing to join me on my quest to experience as much as Tokyo in the time we had. I was really so incredibly grateful to the people who went. Many people were very willing and gracious to follow the plan I had set, and I really feel so humbled by there example of patience and willingness for adventure, even when we weren't sure where we were going. People didn't argue too much over what we wanted to do, people just went with the flow, and that was so cool.
Out of the 6 of us who were at the Ryokan at that time, 4 of us (Me, Zack, Susie, and Cathy) decided to leave right away to start exploring.
We left Asakusa for Akihabara. I did a lot of research on places to go, and Akihabara was definitely high on my list of places to go to. As many of you know, back in high school and some of college, I was very interested in Anime. I watched a lot of Anime, and I always wondered what the Anime culture was like in Tokyo. Akihabara was my chance to find out. It is the electronic, anime, video game central hub of Tokyo. All the people interested in any of that stuff go there. And when I got there, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume and magnitude of everything. Each store had at least 8 floors, all filled to the brim with products. Any possible DVD or CD you could think of, they had. Every video game known to man was here. It was sensory overload being there.
The first stop we had was to a place called the "Tokyo Anime Center." I read many things about this place, so I wanted to check it out. It was ok, but smaller than I expected. They had some cool little things there, and a nice gift shop with some interesting items for sale, but overall, I would be much more overwhelmed by other places later. Still, it was worth going to. Then we went to a place called "Club Sega." I read online that this place was most popular arcade in Japan for the best gamers to come to. It was about 6 or 7 stories of all arcade games. Then we made our way to a gift shop that sold many little cute items called "Kotobukiya." I bought many little items at this shop. After exploring a few other shops, it was time for dinner.
We headed to a place called Ginza, which was the more wealthy shopping district of Tokyo. It was surprisingly empty there when we went. We looked around for some restaurants for about 30 minutes, and then finally settled on a nice little noodle(라맨)place. The noodles were sooooo good. It doesn't get much better than that place for me. We met Hannah and Helen at the noodle restaurant, and then we headed off to Tokyo Tower to end our night.
It's like the Eifel Tower of Japan, and it was worth seeing in my opinion. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there, so we couldn't go to the top. But it was still cool to say that I went there.
While we were there, we spotted Tommy Lee Jones on the front of vending machine. Earlier in the week, I had noticed that Tommy Lee Jones had done a series of commercials for some beverage in Japan, so that's why he was there. I was trying to mimic his face the best I could.
At this time, it was about 11 at night, and after a quick stop at a convenience store, it was time to go home. (Side note: at that store, I found the energy bar that would keep me going for the rest of the trip. It was called Soy Joy, and I ate probably almost 10 total during my trip to keep up my strength.)
When we came back to Akihabara, we went back to the Ryokan. We spent a nice quiet night in the traditional hotel, and woke up very early (7:15 being early) to get a head-start on the next day.
We first went to a temple called Sensoji Temple. It was literally a 30 second walk from our hotel. It was very nice to walk around, and it definitely reminded me a lot of Kyoto, and all the beautiful places I had been to there. It also reminded me how much Japan is in need of Christ.
Then we ate a quick breakfast at a very popular Japanese chain called "Yoshinoya." Japanese people love to put things on top of rice bowls. So this one was pork on top of rice. Very delicious.
Then we checked out of the Ryokan, and took our bags to our second hotel. "The Park Hotel" near Ginza. This place was NICE!!!!!! Probably the nicest hotel I ever have, and maybe ever will stay in. The lobby is on the 25th floor of the building. That tells you how nice it is. You can see so much of Tokyo, just from the lobby.
We dropped off our bags quickly, and proceeded to go to church. We went to a church called "Tokyo Baptist Church" in a place called Shibuya. When we got to Shibuya, we couldn't find the bus we needed to take, so we just got taxis. We got to the church a bit late, but we got there in time to hear most of the sermon. It was a very multi-cultural church, even more so than my church in Korea. It was very nice to go to church there, and see Christians in the midst of a country that has a very low population of Christians.
After church, we headed back to Shibuya station for lunch. Now Shibuya is one of the most famous places in Tokyo, and you've probably seen it before in movies. It's the place where they have big TV screens on the sides of the buildings, and an intersection that when everyone crosses, from a top view everyone just looks like ants, there are so many people. Shibuya is a very trendy shopping, hang out, fashion, restaurant place for youth to come. We ate lunch there, and then proceeded to look around. There were many interesting things there, and many interesting people to see.
From Shibuya, we walked to a place called Harajuku. Harajuku is known for it's worldwide fashion statement. Basically, Harajuku is the place for the youth to come and express themselves however they want, in sometimes very shocking fashion statements. This is the place where you will see many people dressed up either as Anime characters (also Akihabara) or in goth style clothes. Gwen Stefani even made a song called "Harajuku girls" because the place is so unique.
Right at Harajuku is the famous Meiji Shrine. We went to the Meiji Shrine and were fortunate enough to witness a traditional Japanese wedding party walking through the courtyards. After coming out of the Meiji Shrine, we saw a girl dressed up in a pink dress and blond hair, and many people were crowding around her in Harajuku. When we went to see what was going on, it turned out to be a middle-aged man dressed up in the costume. It was quite shocking, and not what wanted to witness.
From Harajuku, we took the subway to perhaps the most well-known section of Tokyo, "Shinjuku." First, we went to see where all the Skyscrapers were. There were some very very cool buildings there, including the famous Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. Then we went to part of Shinjuku where all the bright lights are. If you've seen "Lost in Translation," the majority of the film was made in Shinjuku. The building were very impressive, and once again, the store were massive and would take a lifetime to go through thoroughly. At this point everyone in our party was quite exhausted. We shopped around for a bit and saw all the bright lights of Shinjuku, then took a 30 minute break to have some coffee and scones. In the cafe, four Korean women were sitting behind us. It was funny being there because only Jade could speak Japanese, and Susie could speak a bit, but the rest of us only knew a few words. So when I heard those Korean women speaking, I felt so comfortable because I could understand so much of what they were saying (in comparison to what I was understanding from the Japanese language.)
After Shinjuku, we went back to Shibuya for sushi. Then I saught out the Karaoke place that they went to in Lost in Translation. And I found it! We weren't in the same cool room as they were in, but still, we went to the same place, and I can say that I've been there!
When we were done Karaoke, it was about 12, but thankfully, the JR train line was still open, so we took the train back to our hotel. Here's the view from our hotel room at night!
The next morning, I wanted to wake up to go the sea port for Sushi at 6 in the morning (that's right, in Japan, they eat Sushi at 6 in the morning), but I was too exhausted. Two girls still managed to go, but I was in desperate need of sleep. I woke up around 9, and we had a meeting about what we would do that day before we left.
Some of us decided to go back to Shibuya for some more shopping. We ate lunch there, then Zack and I went to two cool shops. When was called Mandarake, and it had the biggest selection of Anime and comic books I had seen yet. I was quite overwhelmed. Then we went to the Tower Records store where I bought a CD for 3000 Yen, which equals almost 35 dollars. But everything in Japan was that expensive. I don't know how anyone survives there with those prices.
Afterwards we went back to the hotel to check out, and then people wanted to do some more shopping, but I wanted to do more sight-seeing. So I went by myself to a place called Odaiba. It's like a man-made island which has many futuristic kinds of buildings. I went to the Fuji TV headquarters there, it was a really cool looking building. Then we all met up at the hotel again, and it was time to go to the airport.
That was the basic rundown of my trip. I'm so happy that I've been to the two major cities that I wanted to see in Japan, Kyoto and Tokyo. Did you noticed that the names of the two cities have the same letter, and can be re-arranged to spell either one:)
That's it for now! Praise God for a safe, fun, and exciting trip!
I want to write more about all of the insights I found about the culture, but this is already way too long, and I'm tired, so I'm gonna stop now.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Living with No Regrets
There are two moments in the Bible that stick out to me in a very unique and special way. I feel that these two verses will never cease to amaze me in their preciousness, seeming unattainability, excitement, and utter disregard for everything that our world shouts at us.
Matthew 13:44 - "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Philippians 1:21 - "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
I've meditated and dwelled upon these two verses so much over the past year, and the word that comes to my mind over and over again is "freedom." Joy is freedom. Freedom from regret. Freedom of worries or burdens. Free to die and loose everything for the sake of Christ.
At first glance, these two verses might seem very off-putting to the reader. Jesus calls the reader to give up everthing he has for the kingdom. Then Paul goes on to call the reader to die for Jesus. Neither of these seem like very juicy proposals upon first glance. But the very extreme nature of them is was makes them so precious. Only something so precious as Jesus is worth living and dying for. The price that you are willing to pay to attain something reveals the worth and value of it.
Taking each verse seperately, let's look at Matthew 13:44 first. The first phrase of the doubter that comes into my head is "buyer's remorse" or "regret." How many expensive purchases can each of us recall that have ended in regret. How many useless electronics, or broken-down cars have we thrown money into only to think of 10 other places where that money would have been better spent.
But I don't think that's the case with the man in the field. I don't think he bought that field, got the treasure, and then saw another treasure in another field and then tried to go pawn off the first one. I think the glory and light of Jesus shone bright enough in this man's life that he was unable to see anything but the treasure he bought.
The thing that makes this parable so beautiful is the phrase, "in his joy." The man didn't ponder over the sale. He didn't try and negotiate the price. He went and joyfully sold all his possessions to get that treasure. He didn't painfully part with his belongings. He probably would have used them for kindling if he didn't need toe money. The sum of all his possessions added up to nothing in comparison to the worth of the treasure he had found.
Jesus frees us to give up everything we have, for his sake. He frees us to do that, not regretfully, but JOYFULLY! I think over and over in my mind about the missionaries who have gone to the hard places in the world to share the gospel. I think of the people who have given up amazing careers, loving families, great friends, and comfortable lives because they saw the treasure for what it truly is, and they knew that they couldn't keep that treasure all to themselves. And I can't help but think that those people have to be the most free and joyful people on the earth. What else would make them do such a crazy thing. Only this kind of joy can produce such a self-sacrificial life.
Looking at Philippians 1:21, Paul expands on this idea, taking it to its logical conclusion. If we continue on with the story of the man and the field with the treasure, how do we find his life 5 years later. If the man with the treasure has sold everthing he has, then the only thing he has left is the treasure. There is nothing else competing for his affections. He has no other purpose than the treasure. The treasure is the ends. Thus, the treasure is his life. Thus, the man MUST have said with Paul, "for me to live is Christ." It's all he had to live for at this point, and it's all he wanted or needed to live for.
This might sound weird at first, but let me explain. I truly do believe that these two verses are in favor of the phrase, "less is more." Now I don't mean that Christ is somehow less than all of the other things in the world. Nor do I mean to say that there aren't legitimate affection to be sought after, such as marriage, family, career, fellowship, etc... But I think in our culture we have mentality that "more is more." We always need the newest technology. We always need to keep up with the newest trends. Watch the latest movies, listen to the latest music, be hip to the newest lingo. There's a slavery and bondage in that lifestyle. But for the man who has Christ and nothing else is the one who is truely satisfied. Everyone else is merely searching for satisfaction, but Paul and the man the in the field are two men who have found it.
This less is more concept clearly applies to marriage. We would all agree that 1 wife is better than 10. Why is that? Because the search is over. The mere idea of many implies some sort of dis-satisfactiton in our lives. Kids display this idea very well. So many children find one toy, one teddy bear, one blanket, and it's all they need. They don't need any other toys except that one. They don't want any other toys except that one. You could show you all the coolest new things in the world, and they would still go back to that dirty old, torn up teddy bear with drool all over it. Satisfaction is single-minded, and stable. One toy...one husband or wife...one treasure...one Lord of my life!
Being single-minded is the only way to live a life with no regrets. The moment you get greedy and start to think that you need more, is the very moment that you begin to regret things. Now being single-minded, in the pursuit of the wrong thing can certainly lead to regrets. But Christ can not and will not disappoint you. He is the very spring from which all pleasures flow. Every pleasure in the world is meant to point us to Christ. Being focused on Christ is like focusing on the sun. If you look at any beam of light, and continue to follow it, it always leads back to the sun. In the same way, if you follow any joy that you find in this life, to it's ultimate conclusion and source, it always stems from Christ.
I don't want to live my life with regrets. I want to be like Paul and the man in the field. I want to joyfully live for Christ, being single-minded on a satisfaction that comes from the bread of life. I don't want to think of all of the "what could have beens..." I don't want to think 30 years from now, "what if I would have really trusted Christ with my future back when I had options..." I want to be free to give up everything for him. When I think of hell, the first word that comes to my mind is "regret." I can't help but feel that every moment of hell, one must feel deep bitter well of regret. I don't want my life to be characterized by that feeling.
But, painfully, the only way to not live with regret is to take some huge risks. While the man sold all he had out of joy, I don't think he was blind to the risks. I think he knew the reality of the risks, it's just that the reality of the treasure made the risks seem like nothing. Thus, we must fight to see Jesus. As John Piper says, we sin so much because we don't see him clearly. If we saw him now the way we are going to see him in heaven, all of our issues of sin would become very very small. All of our petty wants and desires would become very very insignificant.
The second painful reality is that we don't take risks usually, because we don't see him. We don't believe that he'll sustain or satisfy us. We don't believe that he'll really be enough for us. We don't trust him enough to provide the kind of joy we need to desperately to take those risks. We don't believe that the living water will never make us thirsty again.
I know it's a very clique thing now that John Piper has made a big deal out of it, but I've felt this way for a long time, that "I don't want to waste my life, I want my life to count." Now, before, as many of you can probably attest to, I had an improper idea of what an unwaisted life looked like. I used to think that I had to have an important career. I had to be "somebody." I had to be significant in the world. Then my father, particularly through his humble example of living for Christ in the daily activities, particularly in caring for our elderly neighbor who didn't know Christ, really crushed that idea for me, and it was at that moment that I made the film "Got a Light." I made that film for many reasons, but the older I get, the more answers I get from a film that left me with so many unanswered questions. And the thing I am convinced of now is that the unwaisted life is one that is poured out like a drink offering for others, out of pure joy that spring from the fount of Jesus Christ. And the results are none of our concern, that's the beauty of it. The scale doesn't matter either. God is in charge of those aspects, he merely asks us to be faithful where we are. Perhaps that in our neighborhoods where we've lived our whole lives, or maybe that means we need to take a plane to the other side of the world. The key word there is faithfulness.
So many people hear, "just stay faithful where you are," and they think, "phew, now I'm off the hook from taking any risks." I don't think that's true. We need to be faithful to the spirit's calling on our lives. Have we been resisting some yearning from the spirit that has been on our hearts for years because we're scared to give some things up? I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here.
I'll end things here. I'll leave you with a phrase that was on a plaque in John Piper's house growing up. I won't say anything about it, just think about it and see what it means for you.
"Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last"
Matthew 13:44 - "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
Philippians 1:21 - "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
I've meditated and dwelled upon these two verses so much over the past year, and the word that comes to my mind over and over again is "freedom." Joy is freedom. Freedom from regret. Freedom of worries or burdens. Free to die and loose everything for the sake of Christ.
At first glance, these two verses might seem very off-putting to the reader. Jesus calls the reader to give up everthing he has for the kingdom. Then Paul goes on to call the reader to die for Jesus. Neither of these seem like very juicy proposals upon first glance. But the very extreme nature of them is was makes them so precious. Only something so precious as Jesus is worth living and dying for. The price that you are willing to pay to attain something reveals the worth and value of it.
Taking each verse seperately, let's look at Matthew 13:44 first. The first phrase of the doubter that comes into my head is "buyer's remorse" or "regret." How many expensive purchases can each of us recall that have ended in regret. How many useless electronics, or broken-down cars have we thrown money into only to think of 10 other places where that money would have been better spent.
But I don't think that's the case with the man in the field. I don't think he bought that field, got the treasure, and then saw another treasure in another field and then tried to go pawn off the first one. I think the glory and light of Jesus shone bright enough in this man's life that he was unable to see anything but the treasure he bought.
The thing that makes this parable so beautiful is the phrase, "in his joy." The man didn't ponder over the sale. He didn't try and negotiate the price. He went and joyfully sold all his possessions to get that treasure. He didn't painfully part with his belongings. He probably would have used them for kindling if he didn't need toe money. The sum of all his possessions added up to nothing in comparison to the worth of the treasure he had found.
Jesus frees us to give up everything we have, for his sake. He frees us to do that, not regretfully, but JOYFULLY! I think over and over in my mind about the missionaries who have gone to the hard places in the world to share the gospel. I think of the people who have given up amazing careers, loving families, great friends, and comfortable lives because they saw the treasure for what it truly is, and they knew that they couldn't keep that treasure all to themselves. And I can't help but think that those people have to be the most free and joyful people on the earth. What else would make them do such a crazy thing. Only this kind of joy can produce such a self-sacrificial life.
Looking at Philippians 1:21, Paul expands on this idea, taking it to its logical conclusion. If we continue on with the story of the man and the field with the treasure, how do we find his life 5 years later. If the man with the treasure has sold everthing he has, then the only thing he has left is the treasure. There is nothing else competing for his affections. He has no other purpose than the treasure. The treasure is the ends. Thus, the treasure is his life. Thus, the man MUST have said with Paul, "for me to live is Christ." It's all he had to live for at this point, and it's all he wanted or needed to live for.
This might sound weird at first, but let me explain. I truly do believe that these two verses are in favor of the phrase, "less is more." Now I don't mean that Christ is somehow less than all of the other things in the world. Nor do I mean to say that there aren't legitimate affection to be sought after, such as marriage, family, career, fellowship, etc... But I think in our culture we have mentality that "more is more." We always need the newest technology. We always need to keep up with the newest trends. Watch the latest movies, listen to the latest music, be hip to the newest lingo. There's a slavery and bondage in that lifestyle. But for the man who has Christ and nothing else is the one who is truely satisfied. Everyone else is merely searching for satisfaction, but Paul and the man the in the field are two men who have found it.
This less is more concept clearly applies to marriage. We would all agree that 1 wife is better than 10. Why is that? Because the search is over. The mere idea of many implies some sort of dis-satisfactiton in our lives. Kids display this idea very well. So many children find one toy, one teddy bear, one blanket, and it's all they need. They don't need any other toys except that one. They don't want any other toys except that one. You could show you all the coolest new things in the world, and they would still go back to that dirty old, torn up teddy bear with drool all over it. Satisfaction is single-minded, and stable. One toy...one husband or wife...one treasure...one Lord of my life!
Being single-minded is the only way to live a life with no regrets. The moment you get greedy and start to think that you need more, is the very moment that you begin to regret things. Now being single-minded, in the pursuit of the wrong thing can certainly lead to regrets. But Christ can not and will not disappoint you. He is the very spring from which all pleasures flow. Every pleasure in the world is meant to point us to Christ. Being focused on Christ is like focusing on the sun. If you look at any beam of light, and continue to follow it, it always leads back to the sun. In the same way, if you follow any joy that you find in this life, to it's ultimate conclusion and source, it always stems from Christ.
I don't want to live my life with regrets. I want to be like Paul and the man in the field. I want to joyfully live for Christ, being single-minded on a satisfaction that comes from the bread of life. I don't want to think of all of the "what could have beens..." I don't want to think 30 years from now, "what if I would have really trusted Christ with my future back when I had options..." I want to be free to give up everything for him. When I think of hell, the first word that comes to my mind is "regret." I can't help but feel that every moment of hell, one must feel deep bitter well of regret. I don't want my life to be characterized by that feeling.
But, painfully, the only way to not live with regret is to take some huge risks. While the man sold all he had out of joy, I don't think he was blind to the risks. I think he knew the reality of the risks, it's just that the reality of the treasure made the risks seem like nothing. Thus, we must fight to see Jesus. As John Piper says, we sin so much because we don't see him clearly. If we saw him now the way we are going to see him in heaven, all of our issues of sin would become very very small. All of our petty wants and desires would become very very insignificant.
The second painful reality is that we don't take risks usually, because we don't see him. We don't believe that he'll sustain or satisfy us. We don't believe that he'll really be enough for us. We don't trust him enough to provide the kind of joy we need to desperately to take those risks. We don't believe that the living water will never make us thirsty again.
I know it's a very clique thing now that John Piper has made a big deal out of it, but I've felt this way for a long time, that "I don't want to waste my life, I want my life to count." Now, before, as many of you can probably attest to, I had an improper idea of what an unwaisted life looked like. I used to think that I had to have an important career. I had to be "somebody." I had to be significant in the world. Then my father, particularly through his humble example of living for Christ in the daily activities, particularly in caring for our elderly neighbor who didn't know Christ, really crushed that idea for me, and it was at that moment that I made the film "Got a Light." I made that film for many reasons, but the older I get, the more answers I get from a film that left me with so many unanswered questions. And the thing I am convinced of now is that the unwaisted life is one that is poured out like a drink offering for others, out of pure joy that spring from the fount of Jesus Christ. And the results are none of our concern, that's the beauty of it. The scale doesn't matter either. God is in charge of those aspects, he merely asks us to be faithful where we are. Perhaps that in our neighborhoods where we've lived our whole lives, or maybe that means we need to take a plane to the other side of the world. The key word there is faithfulness.
So many people hear, "just stay faithful where you are," and they think, "phew, now I'm off the hook from taking any risks." I don't think that's true. We need to be faithful to the spirit's calling on our lives. Have we been resisting some yearning from the spirit that has been on our hearts for years because we're scared to give some things up? I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud here.
I'll end things here. I'll leave you with a phrase that was on a plaque in John Piper's house growing up. I won't say anything about it, just think about it and see what it means for you.
"Only one life, 'twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last"
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