Sometimes when there is so much to do, it is easy for us to start feeling overwhelmed. This feeling of burden can cause us to procrastinate. It is always easier to deal with reality “later” rather than sooner. It is easier to do everything else but the important things that you need to do. This video describes perfectly how a day can go by and not get anything done.
With all the transitions and the things that “need to get done,” I am praying for more focus. Lately, I am seeing the need for taking my own advice which I have given to people for so many years:
1) Spend time in prayer
2) Set some goals
3) Strategize in achieving the goals
4) Start doing it
5) Seek accountability
I have always heard about people experiencing “reverse culture shock” when they returned to their primary culture after spending some time away. I never fully comprehended their experience or feelings, even though I went on many missions trips for 3-4 weeks at a time. But now, I am realizing that until you have experience it for yourself, you will never fully understand it.
Also, the struggle of assimilating back to your primary culture is sometimes directly correlated with the amount of time you have been away. Simply, the longer you have been away, the harder it is (and the longer it takes) to assimilate back to your culture.
Even though we have only been away from the States for one year, my family and I have been experiencing a little bit of reverse culture shock. At first, when we landed in the States, everything seemed so surreal. We knew we were back to a familiar place, but yet things were so different.
Before we arrived in the States, when we were on the runway and getting ready to take off, Christina realized that our kids had tears in their eyes and they shared how they are sad to leave. This is when we concluded that we need another debriefing session with our kids (and probably many more to come in the future).
Once we overcame jetlag, we all went to a park near my parents’ place and we ended up sharing and praying together. Christina and I encouraged our kids to keep a good perspective on things. We have been tremendously blessed with our experience abroad. The friendships that we were able to experience are invaluable. We must always highlight the positives and then prepare for the changes coming up.
Then after our debriefing session, we went out to eat. I think they assimilated to that pretty quickly.
Here are some things to keep in mind with the reverse cultural shock experiences:
1) Keep processing your experience. It will take time to fully adjust back to your primary culture, therefore be patient. There will be good days and bad days; therefore, we have to commit to the process.
2) Keep perspective on things. It is easy to judge or be critical of things back home due to our experience abroad. But we have to realize that people did not experience what you have experienced. Also, we cannot forget that we have all changed; therefore we have to see things with a bigger perspective.
3) Keep persevering in community. There will be times when we will go though depression because whether you feel all alone or you start missing things and people back in the host culture. This is when we need biblical community where people can listen and pray for us.
4) Keep praying for God’s mission. Since we have seen with our own eyes all that God is doing around the world, we have a responsibility to pray for God’s mission. We need to keep on praying for the people and the work to continue so that God’s fame will spread.
The day is finally here. It is hard to believe that our family has been here for 12 months. As we were eating our final meal in Indonesia, the family and I spent some time sharing some memories throughout this past year. We laughed a lot and we felt so blessed that God gave us the privilege of experiencing His goodness here in Indonesia. God has truly been faithful.
With all the packing and cleaning done, we are about to head out to the airport soon. I just wanted to take this time to share several things that I am thankful for:
1) God’s Providence. Sometimes understanding God’s will is hard. All the different twists and turns can be confusing. But at the end, we always come to the realization that God is a loving God who has our best interest and His glory in mind. I am just humbled at how God has led us to Indonesia to show us more of His heart.
2) God’s People. More than anything else, the part that I am going to miss the most about Indonesia is the people. So often we come with a mentality that say, “I am here to serve and minister to the people” but the irony is that the people in our church ended up serving and ministering to me and my family. I feel like God sometimes brings certain people your way to show us what it means to love and serve people. With all the beautiful examples of servants in our church, I realized how much more I need to grow in my love for people.
3) God’s Provisions.I remember before coming to Indonesia, I asked God, “how are we going to start this church with the little resources that we have?” But without fail, God kept on providing people and various circumstances to remind us that He alone is our Provider. Everything that we were able to accomplish this year was through the gracious provisions that God gave through His people and even through unexpected means. A person’s trust level increases when God continue to show Himself faithful in providing for His children.
4) God’s Power. The more I reflect on the things that were accomplished in our church, the more we have to come to the conclusion that it was the power of God that transformed every single person in our church. We have seen people awakened to the Gospel. We have witnessed people being set free and released to do ministry. We have seen marriages strengthened. We have seen people more excited about living for God’s Kingdom. And the list goes on and on. It is only by His power we were able to experiences these things. We were just mere vessels.
For Christ-followers, it is never, “good-bye” but rather, “see you later” because whether in this life time or in heaven, we will be together again. I want to thank all of you in Indonesia who have blessed and graced our lives in our time here. You will never be forgotten. Though our roads may diverge for a little while, the imprints that you have made in our hearts will stay for eternity.
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Php 1:3-6).
It has been great having the new Jakarta Team here in Indonesia. Even though we have been together for only a week, we have been able to bond quickly together. Recently, our team, along with the new team went away to a retreat center to pray together and prepare for the next chapter in our church. For the next two weeks, we will be transitioning the various responsibilities over to the new team; and the current team will assist in the assimilation process.
It has been encouraging for me to see our current Jakarta Team being so helpful to the new team. It just reminds me the importance of the partnership in the Gospel. We are not doing this alone. As my family and I prepare to make the transition back to the States, I have full confidence that God will lead our church to the next level.
In the last few days, I have been thinking about the importance of transitions. Transitions in life are not easy for many reasons. So, I have been reflecting on the process of transitions for our family and the church. In my reflection, I have made some important observations on what will help in a smooth(-er) transition:
1) Talk things through. One of the major reasons why transitions do not go well is because of the uncertainties and doubts. If the people who are making the transition know what is going to happen, the more they will be able to put things into context. Preemptive communication is key, as well as on-going communication.
2) Train the people. We have to make sure that the two groups of people are trained for the transition. The group that are leaving and the group that are coming in have different things that they have to be trained in; therefore, it is vital that we leave no stone unturned.
3) Transfer the responsibilities. One of the big principles that I have been teaching people is the 5-step process of discipleship. It is simply: a) I do, you watch; b) I do, you help; c) You do, I help; d) You do, I watch; e) Repeat the process with someone else. We cannot forget this process as we transfer the responsibilities. This will require some time but the principles cannot be violated.
4) Take time to pray and then act.Often times, transitions cause so much stress that we natural want to take matters into our own hands. It is crucial that we pause and spend some time in prayer. It reminds us that we are not in control and God is greater, bigger, and stronger. When we pray, it gives us confidence as we move forward in the transition.
5) Trust in God.Ultimately everything is in the Lord’s hands. No matter how well we prepare for a transition, there are many x-factors that can cause all our planning to go out the door. This is why we need to learn how to trust and depend on God to lead us into the future. The greater our view of God, the greater we will be able to have faith that everything is going to work out for our good and for His glory.
This week, I re-read a portion of Max Lucado’s book, He Still Moves Stones: Everyone Needs a Miracle. It was a good reminder of several principles that I try to live by.
Here is a excerpt from Lucado’s book:
Most mornings Peter and his partners would sell their fish, repair their nets, and head home to rest with a bag of money and a feeling of satisfaction. This particular morning there was no money. There was no satisfaction. They had worked all through the night but had nothing to show for it except weary backs and worn nets.
And, what’s worse, everyone knew it. Every morning the shore would become a market as the villagers came to buy their fish, but that day there were no fish.
Jesus was there that morning, teaching. As the people pressed there was little room for him to stand, so he asked Peter if his boat could be a platform. Peter agreed, maybe thinking the boat might as well be put to some good use.
Peter listens as Jesus teaches. It’s good to hear something other than the slapping of waves. When Jesus finishes with the crowd, he turns to Peter. He has another request. He wants to go fishing. “Take the boat into deep water, and put your nets in the water to catch some fish” (Luke 5:4).
Peter groans. The last thing he wants to do is fish. The boat is clean. The nets are ready to dry. The sun is up and he is tired. It’s time to go home. Besides, everyone is watching. They’ve already seen him come back empty-handed once. And, what’s more, what does Jesus know about fishing?
So Peter speaks, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish” (v. 5). Mark the weariness in the words.
“We worked hard.” Scraping the hull. Carrying the nets. Pulling the oars. Throwing the nets high into the moonlit sky. Listening as they slap on the surface of the water.
“All night.” The sky had gone from burnt orange to midnight black to morning gold. The hours had passed as slowly as the fleets of clouds before the moon. The fishermen’s conversation had stilled and their shoulders ached. While the village slept, the men worked. All… night… long.
“Trying to catch fish.” The night’s events had been rhythmic: net swung and tossed high till it spread itself against the sky. Then wait. Let it sink. Pull it in. Do it again. Throw. Pull. Throw. Pull. Throw. Pull. Every toss had been a prayer. But every drag of the empty net had come back unanswered. Even the net sighed as the men pulled it out and prepared to throw it again.
For twelve hours they’d fished. And now … now Jesus is wanting to fish some more? And not just off the shore, but in the deep?
Peter sees his friends shrug their shoulders. He looks at the people on the beach watching him. He doesn’t know what to do. Jesus may know a lot about a lot, but Peter knows about fishing. Peter knows when to work and when to quit. He knows there is a time to go on and a time to get out.
Common sense said it was time to get out. Logic said cut your losses and go home. Experience said pack it up and get some rest. But Jesus said, “We can try again if you want.”
The most difficult journey is back to the place where you failed.
Jesus knows that. That’s why he volunteers to go along. “The first outing was solo; this time I’ll be with you. Try it again, this time with me on board.”
And Peter reluctantly agrees to try again. “But you say to put the nets in the water, so I will” (Luke 5:5). It didn’t make any sense, but he’d been around this Nazarene enough to know that his presence made a difference. That wedding in Cana? That sick child of the royal ruler? It’s as if Jesus carried his own deck to the table.
So the oars dip again and the boat goes out. The anchor is set and the nets fly once more.
Peter watches as the net sinks, and he waits. He waits until the net spreads as far as his rope allows. The fishermen are quiet. Peter is quiet. Jesus is quiet. Suddenly the rope yanks. The net, heavy with fish, almost pulls Peter overboard.
“John, James!” he yells. “Come quick!”
Soon the boats are so full of fish that the port side rim dips close to the surface. Peter, ankle deep in flopping silver, turns to look at Jesus, only to find that Jesus is looking at him.
That’s when he realizes who Jesus is.
What an odd place to meet God – on a fishing boat on a small sea in a remote country! But such is the practice of the God who comes into our world. Such is the encounter experienced by those who are willing to try again … with him.
Peter’s life was never again the same after that catch.
Here are the principles that I need to be constantly reminded of:
1) Walking by faith and not by sight is hard, but do it anyways.
2) Stop trusting in yourself because God is stronger and smarter than you.
3) Don’t calculate so much because you will start limiting God and yourself.
4) Don’t do things without God because He is the best wingman.
5) Obedience is always rewarded.
6) God’s past faithfulness should be a good predictor of future faithfulness
7) God reveals Himself the moment we let go & jump – no sooner or later.
In light of the shocking news of Al and Tipper Gore’s divorce, I was thinking, “how can a couple get a divorce after 40 years of marriage?!” In all news accounts and some personal testimonies from people who know the Gores well, they have mentioned that the Gores just “grew apart over the years.”
No couple enters into a marriage thinking, “We are going to get a divorce sometime in the future.” Every couple wants their marriage to succeed. As Christina and I have done many pre-marital counseling sessions with excited engaged couples, one of the things that we address is the issue of myths and expectations. It is surprising to see that many engaged couples hold on to various myths that can signal trouble once they get married.
Tony Welty wrote an article describing some of the most common myths that couples have about marriage. Welty numerates them for us by writing,
1) “Once we get married, any relational problems we’re experiencing will go away.” In short, no they will not. Because relational problems are cyclical by nature, they do not simply vanish after the wedding day. Rather, difficulties will drop below the surface for awhile, only to rear their ugly heads at an opportune time. In combating this myth, I try to encourage each couple to think soberly and realistically about the covenant they are about to enter. Relational issues are like weeds. It’s often difficult to get at the roots, so the gardeners need patience and grace. The task here is to offer premarital couples a realistic perspective along with a few tools for later use.
2) Marriage is mainly about personal happiness. As the logic goes, “The goal of my marriage is to be happy. If I’m happy, my marriage will be happy and good.” Not necessarily true. God’s design for marriage certainly envisions happiness; it’s just not the sort of happiness we’re accustomed to experiencing as self-determining individuals. Good and healthy marital relationships are profoundly other-centered. In addressing this false belief with couples, I use several different communication inventories, which require each individual to begin thinking in terms of “us” rather than “me and you.” The ultimate goal here is to train the couple to think of one another empathically.
3) “Our love is so strong we don’t need to work at our relationship. I mean, we never even fight or argue.” This logic suggests that true and pure love can be recognized by the absence of any tensions, constraints, or extra efforts. However, any couple who has been in a covenanted relationship for more than about 10 minutes knows the fallacy behind this belief. The underlying problem here is an over-dependency on the current strength of feelings. The cure is to again train the couple to think about their relationship in a different way. To do this, I will often share personal stories of how God, by taking my wife and me through tumultuous times, transformed some aspect of our marriage. When faced as a “cord of three strands” (the Lord, my wife, and me), marital trials and difficulties purify and strengthen our relationship by forcing us to depend on his faithfulness, rather than our own strength of will. The movement is away from an over-dependence on personal feelings to a settled reliance on covenant faithfulness.
These are just three of the many myths that people have about marriage. With the wedding season under full swing, it will be good to reminds ourselves that marriage is not about making us happy (even though there is a lot of joy), but more about making us holy and more like Christ.
I don’t know about you, but I have zero tolerance for false advertisement. Some companies and corporations are very sneaky to put it mildly. They will advertise in their eye-catching ads about a huge sale or a real bargain, but when you walk in to the store, you quickly come to realize that there are “terms and conditions.” In other words, “read the fine print.” Even though they did not flat out lie to the consumer, they were not completely upfront either. Who reads the fine print anyways when the information to lure you in are all in red and huge letters?
This is how marketing works sometimes and it stinks. It leaves the consumer feeling a bit deceived and betrayed, especially when what is initially promised comes with “terms and conditions.”
I am the kind of person that likes everything upfront (in big letters). In this way, I can consider all the factors, count the cost, and then make an informed decision.
As I was thinking about this, I couldn’t help but to think that churches also engaged in “read the fine print” advertisement. How many times have we preached the Gospel by telling the pre-Christian that God loves them? How many times have we shared the Good News by informing the pre-Christian that God can forgive all their sins? How many times have we presented the message of salvation by telling the pre-Christian that God has an awesome plan for their lives?
While all these factors in presenting the Gospel are true, we rarely tell the pre-Christian about the “terms and conditions.” For starters, there is a clear call for repentance. There is also the call to a life of surrender. Jesus’ words are pretty straight forward. He states that no idols and gods can take greater allegiance or supremacy in a person’s life. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 10:37-39).
Christ takes it a step further and says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-36).
To follow Christ, it means to live a life of complete surrender. But this is hard to do when we live in a world of competing allegiances.
The Church of Jesus Christ is participating in somewhat of a spiritual false advertisement. When we only preach parts of the Gospel by eliminating the “hard” parts, then we do the pre-Christian and disservice. When we talk about how God loves them, but do not share about repentance and how Jesus demands their whole life, we are not giving them the full picture.
Why don’t we share the “fine print” when we share the Gospel?
This has been the downfall of the prosperity Gospel. This is why many so called “Christians” give up on their walk with Christ at the first sign of hardship or difficulty. This is why the statistics shows that the divorce rate is the same in the world as in the church. This is why many people get disillusioned when they have to finally grapple with the “fine print” as the Gospel demands their whole life. It even contributes to the many Christ-followers who are lukewarm in the church today.
We have given people the Gospel-lite version of Christianity and this is hurting the Church and our witness to the world.
My advice to pre-Christians: “Always read the fine print!”
My advice to the Church: “Enlarge the fine print so that everyone will know what they are getting themselves into when they decide to follow Christ.”
I had the privilege of studying under Dr. Wayne Grudem while I attended seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Not only did I study all my Systematic Theology with him, but I also took some elective classes that he taught in different semesters.
There are two fond memories of him that increased my respect and admiration of him. First, I remember how we would sing a song or two before we started class. They ranged from old classic hymns to some modern praise songs. One time, as we were singing, I saw him get down on his knees and with uplifted hands singing praises to God. It was a humbling moment for me because here was a man, who graduated from Harvard (cum laude) and University of Cambridge, bowing down in humility worshiping God. Sometimes people think any signs of emotions or “charismatic” expressions are equated with a lack of intelligence, but Dr. Grudem definitely debunked that theory.
Secondly, I will never forget when I heard the announcement of his resignation from Trinity. I was in shock. In fact, I think many people in the evangelical circles were shocked. Dr. Grudem was on the height of his academic career. So the question was, “Why in the world would he step down from everything?”
His answer floored me.
It was because of his love for his wife. She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It is a disease that brings pain to various muscle groups in the body. There is really no cure for this disease. The only time Margret was able to find some relief was when she was in a place with warmer weather. Therefore, as he wrestled with the decision, Dr. Grudem realized that the most honoring thing to do was to surrender his prolific career at Trinity and go to another seminary out West with lesser credentials for the sake of his wife’s health. You can read his official response in Trinity Magazine here (you have to read it… please have some tissues ready).
Wow!
How many guys who are on top of their successful career can do the same thing?
Not many. This is why I have such admiration and respect for the man.
Real life examples are the best to follow.
Here is a funny video made as a tribute to Dr. Grudem. Check it out.
One thing great about Indonesia is the amount of holidays they have here due to religious observances. There is definitely a lot of tolerance for the various religions because everyone is trying to live in peace with one another. Couple of days ago was Ascension Day (commemorating the day that Jesus went up to heaven after His resurrection), therefore it was a national holiday.
With the relationships that I have been built with some of the international church pastors in Jakarta, we have been able to build some trust with one another. With this trust, we were able to join our congregations together and participate in a joint worship service for Ascension Day.
It was a powerful time of worship.
It was a powerful witness to the rest of the Body of Christ.
Through this gathering, God reminded me once again of several importance things:
1) We are on the same team fighting the same enemy. No sports team has ever won championships when they were fighting and bickering with one another. Championship teams usually are unified and they work well together. Too often we, as Christ-followers, find ourselves losing some big time games. Instead of seeing other churches and Christ-followers as teammates, we see each other as opponents. Shouldn’t we be focused on fighting Satan, our real enemy? But the sad fact is that we end up making each other the enemy. No wonder, we haven’t been able to do much damage to Satan and his demonic influences.
2) We need to learn how to drop our egos and logos.When was the last time, we rejoiced when we heard that another church was seeing a lot of people being saved through the Gospel? When was the last time, we celebrated the growth of another church, especially in our neighborhood? The problem with the Church today is that we are consumed with making much about ourselves rather than Jesus Christ. The sooner we drop our egos and logos and put more of the focus on Christ, the sooner we will see greater things happen within a city.
3) We are able to make a bigger splash when we come together as one Church.Do you remember when you were younger and you did the cannonball in the swimming pool? I still remember trying to jump into the pool (with one knee up) and trying to make a big splash to get the lifeguard all wet. What would happen if 10 or 15 or 30 of us all jumped in at the same time?! We would definitely get the lifeguard and the old granny on the sun chair all wet! I don’t know about you, but I want to make a huge splash for Jesus and I know that I cannot do it alone. There is power when we come together.
4) We must remember that God loves unity and so does our church members.There is something about seeing children play together without fighting that brings great joy to the parent’s heart. God loves it when His children are getting along and are unified. In fact, this was one of Jesus’ greatest prayers (Jn 17). I have observed over the years that it is usually the pastors and leaders of ministries that promote (or fuel) the disunity in the Body of Christ. When I talk with people who are “just” members, they long for their church to work together with other churches. They are hungering for it. They are praying for it. Maybe some of us who are leaders in the churches need to rethink about how God judged the leaders in the Bible so harshly. With great privileges come great responsibilities.
One thing that I couldn’t help noticing during this joint Ascension Day service was the fact that we were exactly in the center of Jakarta and lifting up the name of Jesus. It was really a prophetic statement. It is my hope and prayer that we, the greater Church of Jesus will ripple out to reach the city and to all the people groups of Indonesia with the Gospel.
Whenever discussions revolve around religion, it is always a heated and charged discussion. The reason behind this is simple: Religion is something personal. Therefore whenever our faith is attacked, a religious person will do everything in order to protect and defend the basic tenets of their faith. In this way, religion has been one of the catalysts for some of the wars throughout history. It is usually not a very pretty picture.
This notion of religion being an emotionally charged topic was illustrated perfectly in the recent South Park episode where they parodied Islam and Muslims’ reverence for the prophet Muhammad (note: spelling varies depending on the source).
In fact, after it was aired there were death threats leveled at Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. The threat came from various blogs and websites. One person in particular is Zachary Adam Chesser (a.k.a. Abu Talhah al-Amrikee), who posted something on www.RevolutionMuslim.com. Chesser said that he wrote what he did and put the picture of a murdered Dutch filmmaker to raise awareness and to show the severity of what happens to someone who mocks Muhammad. But he clearly reiterated that it was not a threat, but rather it was just an explanation of what would be the most likely outcome, if anyone criticized the prophet or Islam.
It is very clear – Islamic law prohibits any forms of depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.
Even with the recent failed terrorist car bomb attack in New York’s Times Square reminds us of another example. As facts are coming out, there is some speculation that this was linked to the South Park “transgressions.” But as the investigation is underway, authorities are finding out that the car bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was upset at the U.S. treatment of Islam. The court evidence shows that Shahzad has some ties to the Taliban militants by receiving explosives training in Pakistan’s Waziristan region. Shadzad was also in contact with people in Pakistan prior to the attempted car bombing.
President Obama in his press conference said, “This incident is another sobering reminder of the times in which we live around the world and here at home, there are those who would attack our citizens and who would slaughter innocent men, women and children in pursuit of their murderous agenda. They will stop at nothing to kill and disrupt our way of life.”
Bill Maher has even jumped into the discussion. He challenged the claim that Islam is a “peaceful” religion. I thought it was a very bold and honest interview with Anderson Cooper.
Incredibly, there are some similarities between Christianity and Islam, well, at least more than what we see at the surface (i.e. theology, Christology, views of salvation, etc). Both religions seek to claim to have the “truth.” Both religions seek to “convert” people. Both religions demand devotion from its followers. Both religions have “extremists” who take some of their holy writings out of context and justify their actions. The list goes on and on.
But in the midst of these surface or general similarities, I couldn’t help but to notice the reaction of people towards the two religions. I decided to put it in a question format to help us think through some of these issues:
1) Why is it that people are constantly defending Islam and saying that it is a peaceful religion?
2) Why is it that people have no fear or reservations in disparaging Christ and Christianity, but when it comes to Islam, people are afraid and very accommodating?
3) Why did South Park, who is well known for ridiculing and satirizing religion (especially Christianity) all of a sudden decided to censor themselves and pull out all videos associated with the episode of the Bear Muhammad episode?
4) Why is there a glorification of “homicide bombers” and “justified killings”?
As I am asking these questions, I am challenged by the Muslims’ passion for honoring their great prophet. Do I have just as much passion and is my emotion stirred when people attack or negatively talk about Christ?
But as I look at Christ and the various Gospel accounts of his last days here on this earth, I sometimes get disturbed and a bit angry. Why didn’t his disciples do anything to defend Jesus? Why didn’t Jesus call upon the twelve legions of angels (Mt 26:53) to destroy the people who were going to hurt Him?
This is when I realize that strength is found in what seems like an “apparent” weakness (2 Co 12:10). It is always harder to love people than to destroy them. It is always harder to forgive people than to get revenge. It is always harder to be humble than to demand our rights. It is always harder to obey God than to do what we want to do. It is always harder to deny ourselves than to be self-centered.
In essence, Jesus did the harder thing and took the road that many people would never have gone on. Maybe this is why I am drawn to Christ more each day. I am humbled to know how unique He is compared to anyone else in history. I am just amazed at how different He is than me, but yet, He calls me to be more like Him.
The difference? The Apostle Paul said it well to the people of Philippi:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Php 2:6-11)
Recently I received an e-mail that I found very interesting. Here is the content of the e-mail:
You were recently chosen as a potential candidate to represent your professional community in the 2010/2011 Edition of The Global Directory of Who’s Who Online.
We are please to inform you that your candidacy was formally approved April 15th, 2010. Congratulations.
The Publishing Committee selected you as a potential candidate based not only upon your current standing, but focusing as well on criteria from executive and professional directories, associations, and trade journals. Given your background, the Director believes your profile makes a fitting addition to our publication and our online network.
There is no fee nor obligation to be listed. As we are working off of secondary sources, we must receive verification from you that your profile is accurate. After receiving verification, we will validate your online listing within 7 business days.
Once finalized, your listing will share prominent registry space with thousands of fellow accomplished individuals across the globe, each representing accomplishment within their own geographical area.
To verify your profile and accept the candidacy, please visit here. Our registration deadline for this year’s candidates is May 30th, 2010. To ensure you are included, we must receive your verification on or before this date. On behalf of our Committee I salute your achievement and welcome you to our association.
Just to set the record straight, I did not respond to e-mail. Instead, I labeled it as spam mail and blocked the sender’s e-mail address.
But as I was thinking about it, I realized how smart these guys were in appealing to some of the basic desires of a person. We all want to be known and to know that we have significance. When they use phrases like, “you were… chosen,” “who’s who,” “share prominent… space with thousands of fellow accomplished individuals,” and “salute your achievement” for some reason it calls out to our pride and ambition.
I couldn’t help but to think to myself, “What have I really accomplished? Do I really need some organization to validate me or the work that I am doing for God?”
This just helped me to put all things in perspective. In fact, it was a good heart check for me. Once in awhile it is good to ask questions such as:
1) Who am I doing all these things for?
2) What is the most important thing in my life right now?
3) Why am I doing the things that I am doing?
4) How would I respond if no one ever notices what I do?
It is not easy to develop a heart that does all things for the audience of One, but this is the pursuit. If not, we will be convinced either we are better than we really are or we will forget God’s grace in our lives. No wonder there are many examples and references in the Bible that remind us that pride comes before the fall (Pr 11:2; 16:18; 18:12), but grace is always given to the humble (Pr 3:34; Jas 4:6; 1 Pe 5:5).
As I am getting older and slowing entering into an early mid-life crisis, the appeals to my pride and ambition are greater. This is when I have to keep on reminding myself of what is important. It is simply that my name is written in the Book of Life and that I am known by the One that matters the most. It is hard, but I am thankful that sometimes it takes these kinds of e-mails to remind me of this truth.
I don’t know how many of you have heard or seen Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford University Commencement speech. Usually graduates, who sit under the hot sun, rarely remember the content of the speech that is normally given by a famous person during their commencement. Honestly, I don’t even remember the graduation commencement speech of my graduation.
But there is something about what Steve Jobs shared in his speech that really espoused some important principles in life. Even though it was from a secular perspective, there were some biblical truths that resonated with me. Through the power of personal stories, I have this strange suspicion that this is one speech that many of the 2005 Stanford graduates will remember.
First, check out his speech below. It is worth every 14 minutes and 11 seconds of it. Then I will give some of my thoughts.
There are several things in his speech that struck me:
1) Perspective. For some reason, perspective is one thing that is so elusive in a person’s life. It is amazing how two people can go through the exact same thing, but then one is on top of their game, while the other is in the dumps. The difference? It is perspective. When we are able to “connect the dots” then we will see that God’s hand was in it all along. This is when we are able to have greater trust, faith and gratitude in our lives. As Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” As we go through the ups and downs of life, we have to be able to connect the dots; and the way we do that is by believing in a God who is greater, bigger, and stronger. He will help make sense of it all. God will make all things beautiful in His time (Ecc 3:11).
2) Passion.Sometimes you only discover your passion for something, when you are willing to risk what is safe and secure. Often times we are bound by our fears. So instead of doing things that we love, we end up settling for “average” and the status quo. Sometimes failure helps us to discover our passions. Usually when we fail in something, there is a process of self-evaluation. We begin to see things more clearly. God has given each one of us various passions that have been shaped by our experiences. We will never find real joy and even purpose in life unless we live out the things that we are passionate about (Ps 16:11). The best part is when people pay you to do what you are passionate!
3) Priorities. Death is the ultimate equalizer. Regardless of who you are, what status you have, what material things you own, what awards you have won, death is a common denominator of all humanity. Too often in our quest for significance in this world, we forget what is important to us. We try to find temporary pleasure in material things, but it leaves us unsatisfied and longing for something more. There seems to be this unified sentiment from people who have either lost a loved one or who have gone through a near-death experience – they all talk about priorities and what is really important. We know that we will never be able to take “things” with us when we die, but then why do we so single-mindedly pursue them? When everything is said and done, what seems to matter the most is the impact you have had on people’s lives. I am a firm believer that you can always tell how a person has lived their life by observing their funeral. For us, as a Christ-follower, at the end of our lives, we want to know that we have done everything that God has called us to do. It is hearing the words of, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Mt 25:23) that we hunger for when we see Christ face-to-face.
Perspective. Passion. Priorities. These things help us to understand our purpose in life, as well as to enable us to praise the One who gives us all things according to His will.
As Christina and I are preparing the family, the team and the church for the transition that is coming up in July, we started to talk about what it would be like if we stayed longer in Indonesia – like 5 years or even 10 years longer.
This sparked a good discussion.
I shared from my perspective that if we stayed longer in Indonesia, our relationships with people would be stronger and deeper. We would be able to see a greater impact. I also shared how we would be able to reach more people with the Gospel and see more open doors to engage the society.
In the midst of this discussion Christina said, “Then why did we only commit for one year?” For some reason this caught me off guard.
My only response to her question dealt with the issue with the kids. Then I asked, “When we were trying to decide whether to come to Indonesia or not, could you really have committed to a longer period of time, in light of the kids?”
Her response floored me.
She simply said, “Yes.”
Then, I pressed Christina and told her that I thought the major issue for her was with the children.
She responded by saying, “If we prayed and believed that God wanted us to commit longer than one year, then I would have been ok with it because I trust you and I would have followed you.”
Wow! After trying to contain my inflated ego, I sat there speechless.
It is true how hindsight has a way of helping us seeing things more clearly in the present. If I knew what I know now, I wonder how things might have been different.
Not only was I encouraged by her response, but I thought about my role as a husband, a father and a pastor. There were 3 things that came to my mind:
1) Trust is something that is earned. I have had my fair share of mistakes and even bad decisions that affected my relationship with Christina, but to know that she still trust me to lead the family, it reiterated the importance of trust. Trust is something that is not given out freely, but rather it is earned. This is something that I need to keep on growing in and something that I need to continue to make deposits into Christina’s trust account. I am still amazed that Christina followed my leadership for this long. It just reminds me what an incredible woman I have married. I am thankful her for her support, love and graciousness. 2) The responsibility is great when people are counting on you. It is always easier to take responsibility for one person – yourself. But when you know that there are people counting on you, it puts a greater sense of responsibility. It causes you to pause more and pray more. We often forget how our decisions have consequences and affect people close to us. There is no neutrality – either it will have a positive or negative impact. 3) God’s will is better understood when we look at things backwards. When it comes to doing God’s will, don’t you wish that we can always see how things will turn out first and then make a decision. In this way, we will never miss out on things and we can avoid a lot of heartaches and headaches. But then again, it would take out the fun of trusting in God throughout the journey. Life that is so planned and predictable is not the kind of life that God desires for us. The life that God wants us to live is a life of trust and faith. God is always more glorified this way.
The idea of making decisions by knowing what we know now is a double-edged sword. On one hand, we need to go through things without fully knowing everything in order to grow in faith and trust; but then, as we begin to comprehend things now, there is a greater responsibility to obey God’s will on the decisions for the future.
This whole discussion with Christina has been a challenge for me in the area of faith, trust, and obedience. It is my prayer that with what I know now that I will be able to make decisions in the future that will maximize God’s honor and glory.
Many of you have probably heard of the axiom, “Trials will make you more like Christ.” But the more I think about it, I realized that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, I have been guilty of preaching this misnomer for years. Even in my counseling sessions, I have encouraged people to have the perspective of enduring through trials because it will produce Christ-likeness.
It is important before I proceed that I establish what I am NOT saying. I am not saying that trials “cannot” make us more like Christ. The Bible teaches that trials can produce character (Ro 5) and there are whole books that talk about the benefits of trials (Job and 1 Peter). Anything is possible. What I am referring to is the “assumption” that just because we go through trials that somehow we will “automatically” become more like Christ.
Being out here in Indonesia, I am coming to the conclusion that trials do not necessarily make us more like Christ, but it reveals more of who we really are.
Think of it this way:
Why is it that when two different people go through trials, one can really go through it with joy and hope and then be transformed by it, while the other person will get bitter and even turn away from God. If trials are really supposed to make us more like Christ, then the outcome of the two people should be the same; but this is not always the case. In fact, it is more common to see people turn away from Christ.
I want to propose that trials are more revelatory in nature. It simply reveals who we really are and where we are in our relationship with Christ.
As we go through trials, we have a choice. We can either humble ourselves and conclude the truth of who God is (that He is Sovereign, loving, purposeful, etc) or we can turn self-centered and deny everything we know and learned about who God is. Honestly, there is really no middle ground; and too often we find ourselves wanting to trust in God, but we constantly lean towards what is natural in the flesh.
This is why we have a lot of practicing Christian-Atheist – Christian in our heads, but in practice, we are Atheist because we live as if God does not exist.
Therefore, trials are more like a catalyst to reveal who we really are. Trials should spark a greater dependence on God and inspire trust in God’s promises. It is like every sports team that prepares during the pre-season and regular season. All the months and years of practice come down to the championship game.
In the championship game of trials, all the devotion times, all the prayers, all the bible studies of who God is, all the church gatherings, all the blessings that we have received from God, come down to that moment of what we will do when trials come our way. Once again, there is no middle ground. We will not win the game by just holding on to the ball and wishing that we made the shot. We have to make the choice whether to trust in Him or trust in ourselves.
We were destined for greatness. If you don’t believe me, just look at the cross. It is game time and we want Christ to be glorified in the midst of our trials, so we need to do our part as God is already doing His part.
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
