I wish you enough

An email was recently forwarded to me by my mother.  I usually hate forwarded emails, but as this particular one was from my mom, I decided to sit down and take the time to read it.  Here is what it said:

Recently I overheard a father and a daughter in their last moments together at the airport.  They had announced the departure of her plane.  Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the father said, "I love you, and I wish you enough."  


The daughter replied, "Dad, our life together has been more than enough.  Your love is all I ever needed.  I wish you enough too, dad."


They kissed and the daughter left.  The father walked over to the window where I was seated.  Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry.  I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?"


"Yes, I have," I replied.  "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?"

"I am old, and she lives so far away.  I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral," he said.


"When you were saying goodbye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.'  May I ask what that means?"


He began to smile.  "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations.  My parents used to say it to everyone..."  He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more.  "When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them."  Then, turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright, no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

Today has been a pretty rough week.  Nothing particularly bad has happened; it's just one of those weeks when everything upsets you, everything gets to you.  It happens every now and then when you're living in a foreign country.  And, although you learn to deal with it and move on as soon as you can, it's always emotionally exhausting while it's happening.

What a comfort, then, to know that Jesus truly is in control.  He's controlling both the good and the bad, and it will all work out for your best.  So on your gloomy days, during your difficult times, when you are going through rain or pain or loss, just remember that He's giving you just enough - just enough so that you can appreciate the sun and happiness and gain all the more.  This too, shall pass.  Hold onto that truth, and remember, I wish you enough :).

John 16:16-33

¹⁶ Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. ²³ In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

²⁵ “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.²⁸ I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

²⁹ Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰ Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

³¹ “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. ³² “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Waiting for the morning

I love early mornings.  The sun peeking in over the hilltops, the birds just beginning their daily chatter, the city sleepily getting going on its busy day.  I lie in my bed, listening to the sounds of life around me, just drinking it all in.

My senses are hyper sensitive in the morning.  I feel every fold of the soft blankets closing around me.  I hear every shuffle and whisper and clank of the people outside my bedroom and home.  I smell the tantalizing aromas of breakfasts in progress wafting through the air.  I see the colors of the sunrise bathing the city in an unnatural light, the kind of light that you are only privileged to see twice a day, during the death or birth of the sun.

I anticipate every morning with delight.  It's a special time for me, a time to both commune with the Lord, and to collect my own thoughts for the day.  I'm never so disoriented during the day, as when I've slept in in the morning and missed that special time.  So I can understand the Psalmist's eager anticipation for the Lord.  "My whole being waits for the Lord," he says, "as a watchman waits for the morning."

The morning is the best time of the day for the watchman because it means that he is safe, that he does not have to worry about his job until the next evening, when the darkness will settle over the land once again.  He waits for it eagerly because it means that he will be able to rest.  I enjoy the morning because I, too, find rest in the morning.  It is when I can collect my thoughts and calm my spirit, before the inevitable onslaught of the day.  Mornings are the only time in my life that I have control of, that I know what's going to happen.  I will wake up, I will get dressed, I will eat breakfast, I will leave for work.  I find comfort in the consistency of that.  After I walk out the door, all bets are off as to what may happen.

The Psalmist waits for the Lord like I wait for the morning, like the watchman anticipates the end of the night.  Do you?  How eager are you for Jesus to come - for Him to come into your life, for Him to return to this earth?  Do you eagerly anticipate it every day, and grasp any opportunity you can snatch to spend some time with Him?  Or do you just go about your own business, not really caring about whether Jesus is around or not?

Psalm 130:5-8

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.  6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.  7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.  8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

In love with Love

So I've been talking a lot lately about being a lukewarm Christian.  And, if you're anything like me, you were probably convicted by some of the stuff that I said.  But if you're anything like me, you were probably also left scratching your head and perhaps even more than a little bit nervous.

OK, so I'm a lukewarm Christian...now what??  So I know that I don't read the Bible like I should...how do I fix that??  The whole reason that we're lukewarm is because we're not in love with God like He wants us to be.  But how do we fall in love with Him?  We can't just wake up one day and decide, "ok, I love Jesus now!"  And no matter how long we force ourselves to pray, how often we try to read the Bible, it just doesn't feel...real.  Does that sound familiar?  I was talking about my own life, but I'm sure that many of you could also relate to those feelings of distance and discouragement.

But the key to loving God is not forcing yourself to do the right things.  It's not cleaning up your act on your own, and hoping that that will be enough to make you love Him.  Falling in love with Jesus has nothing to do with trying harder.  It is, in fact, just the opposite.  It has nothing to do with you earning God's love, and everything to do with just accepting it.

God loves you now, just as you are - with all of your faults, flaws, and shortcomings.  He has loved you since before you were born, and He wants nothing more than to romance Him.  All you have to do is to let Him.  He says that He is standing outside, just waiting for us to let Him in.  Ohhh, how He wants to come in.

So start small.  Don't assume that you will become a mighty prayer warrior overnight.  But say a few words to Him every day.  The more you talk to Him, the more you'll hear Him; the more you hear Him, the more you'll love Him; and the more you love Him, the more you will want to talk to Him.  It's a beautiful cycle.  It may seem daunting at first; but God is love, and He will not disappoint.  So go ahead, take the plunge!  Start a conversation with God today, and starting falling in love with Love.

Revelation 3:19-22

¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

   ²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Black and white and shades of gray

It's time for me to make a confession.  I am an incredibly sarcastic person.  That often gets me into trouble, when I use sarcasm with a person who doesn't know me well enough to realize that I'm being sarcastic.  Just last week, in fact, I upset a new Russian friend of mine who misconstrued something that I had said sarcastically in jest.  It was an ugly misunderstanding, and took a while to get smoothed over.

But I have convinced myself that my sarcasm, especially with people who know me well, is perfectly ok, since they all know that I love them.  They know I'm being sarcastic; they know that I don't mean it; so it's ok, right?  Plus, everybody does it; what can be the harm in it??

It seems to me, however, that God has a different perspective.  In Ephesians, He says very clearly to "not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths."  In James, He says that whenever we open our mouths we will either speak blessings or cursings - there is no in between.  There is no middle ground.  In a world of wishy-washy subjectivity and endless shades of gray, God stands out as a decidedly black or white kind of God.

With this binary definition, how do you think God would categorize cutting humor or sarcasm?  Do you think that He would excuse it, knowing that you didn't really mean it that way?  Do you think that He would let it slip, because your friends know that you love them?  Do you think that He would chuckle at the humor behind your cutting words?

Personally, I think not.  Now, I'm not saying that all sarcasm is bad.  There is a place for sideways humor and backhanded comments.  But you have to ask yourself...would you say what you're about to say in the presence of the Almighty God?  Because if you wouldn't, you'd probably better keep your mouth shut.

Ephesians 4:25-32

²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

 ²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Serving leftovers to a holy God

I've been thinking a lot about lukewarm Christianity these days.  I don't know why; perhaps it's because the more I study it, the more I see evidences of mediocrity in my own life.  The more I learn about lukewarm Christians, the more frightened I get - both because of the lack of passion in my own life, and also because of the prolific numbers of lukewarm Christians that I see in the Church.

I grew up hearing about lukewarm Christians, being warned to avoid living a life of spiritual mediocrity.  But I always heard it in the context of a lukewarm....Christian.  It was still a saved person, just someone who was not doing as good a job for the Lord as they could be doing.  But as I am studying God's word more and more, I am coming to a shocking revelation, one that I don't particularly like to admit. 

A lukewarm Christian does not exist.  In Revelation 3, He describes His reaction to lukewarm people - He will "spit them our of His mouth."  Does that sound like how He would act toward a sanctified saint?  Would God treat with disgust someone who has been washed and purified by the blood of Jesus Christ?  Would God counsel the redeemed to buy white clothes to cover their shameful nakedness?

In Malachi, God compares us not giving Him our best to the Israelites offering decrepit animals to the governor of their land.  "Would he be pleased with you?  Would he accept you?" asks the Lord.  Of course not.  He would be disgusted, offended, that they had disgraced his position by offering such a paltry gift.  God is the same way.  God either wants everything from us, or He wants nothing.

When we give Him part of our lives, but not all of it, it's like giving a blind and lame sheep to the king of the land.  Or, here's an analogy that may hit closer to home: it's like giving the leftover table scraps of dinner to a Holy God.  Would that please you if someone gave that to you?  Do you think it will please God?  Of course not.  It is insulting and offensive, and shows a lack of respect for Him, not the presence of it.  Think hard and evaluate your life honestly....are you serving leftovers to a holy God?

Malachi 1:6-11

 ⁶ “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty.

   “It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

   “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

 ⁷ “By offering defiled food on my altar.

   “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’

   “By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. ⁸ When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.

 ⁹ “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the LORD Almighty.

 ¹⁰ “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. ¹¹ My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.

Profile of the lukewarm

This thing called "lukewarm Christianity" has really got me thinking these days.  Perhaps it's because, in studying what it means to truly be a Christian, I'm realizing more and more how many lukewarm tendencies I have.  After realizing just how much God hates lukewarm Christians, that's worrisome, indeed.  So sat down and really studied what it is that God expects of us, what it really means when we say that we are a "Christ-follower."  I also looked at the opposite.  What does a lukewarm Christian look like?  How can you tell what you are?  In the next few paragraphs, I encourage you to honestly search your heart and test yourselves, and see if you match the profile of a half-hearted Christian.

Lukewarm people do what is right, but only when it's easy, and only because they're supposed to.  Their heart is not in it.  

"The LORD says: 'These people honor me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is made up of only rules taught by men.'" (Isaiah 29:13)

Lukewarm people rarely, if ever, talk about Jesus with the people in their lives.  They would rather not rock the boat and not step on any toes, than tell people about Jesus Christ and His gift of eternal salvation.

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)

Jesus is a part of the lives of lukewarm people.  But only a part.  Lukewarm people have never truly given everything to Jesus, but prefer instead to compartmentalize Him into the "churchy" segments of their lives.  

"As they were walking down the road, a man said to Him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.'  Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.'  He said to another man, 'Follow me.'  But the man replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.'  Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'  Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.'  Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 9:57-62)

Lukewarm people focus more on this life than the next.  Their lives are so taken over with lists, and jobs, and savings account, and retirement, and friends and family, that they have little if any time left to give to the Lord.

"For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.  Their mind is on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eargely await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:18-20)

There are few things God hates more than a lukewarm Christian.  He wants people - He demands people - who are passionately sold out for Him, who have given Him their whole life, not just a part of it.  He has no business with people who just pencil Him in around the rest of their busy schedules.  If you were honest with yourself, which kind of person would you say that you are?

Information overload

Our world these days seems to be obsessed with knowledge.  A college degree in America is becoming the equivalent to what a high school diploma or GED used to be - a near requirement for any job because of the sheer number of other people with the same amount of education, not something that will set you apart from the pack.  To stand out these days, you need at least a Master's degree, if not a PhD.  The fastest increasing quantity of anything on this planet is the amount of information that we are gathering.  It has been increasing exponentially over the last 20 years, and shows no signs of slowing down.  Everywhere you look - the internet, TV, movies, books, radio, random factbooks and quizzes...we are constantly having new information shoved in our faces.

It's easy to think that you're important because of the sheer amount of information you possess.  It's easy to think highly of yourself because you have acquired a lot of knowledge.  But God makes a stark distinction between wisdom and knowledge.  You may have knowledge, He says in Ecclesiastes, but you will only be preserved if you also have wisdom.

Once you are faced with a difficult decision, you will understand what God is talking about.  I understand only too well.  I am currently wrestling with the decision of whether I should stay in South Korea for another year, or return to America to complete grad school.  They both have plenty of pros and not many cons, making my choice a very difficult one.  I've done my homework, I've researched both, I have plenty of knowledge about my options.  But when it comes down to it, wisdom is what I'm lacking.

And wisdom is what I need.  Wisdom to realize what God's best is for me.  Wisdom, and discernment to filter out all of the pointless information and just focus on what's truly important.  Really, when it comes down to it, all of the information and knowledge that we are so proud of can become distracting.  It's like trying to write a doctoral dissertation in a roomful of blaring TVs and flickering computer screens.  It takes your attention off of what really matters.

That's why we need wisdom so desperately.  Our generation is suffering from a severe case of information overload.  We spend all of our lives frenetically trying to increase our knowledge, and never get the wisdom from the Lord to know how to properly use what we have learned.  Don't keep looking for knowledge.  You will find knowledge without looking for it.  Look for wisdom; ask God for wisdom.  That's where the real value lies.

Ecclesiastes 7:12-25

¹² Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
Wisdom preserves those who have it.

 ¹³ Consider what God has done:Who can straighten 

   what he has made crooked? ¹⁴ When times are good, be happy;
   but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one
   as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover
   anything about their future.

 ¹⁵ In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

   the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
   and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
¹⁶ Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise—
   why destroy yourself? ¹⁷ Do not be overwicked,
   and do not be a fool—why die before your time?
¹⁸ It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other.
   Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

 ¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful
   than ten rulers in a city.

 ²⁰ Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous,
   no one who does what is right and never sins.

 ²¹ Do not pay attention to every word people say,
   or you may hear your servant cursing you—
²² for you know in your heart
   that many times you yourself have cursed others.

 ²³ All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

   “I am determined to be wise”—  but this was beyond me.
²⁴ Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
   who can discover it?
²⁵ So I turned my mind to understand,
   to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
   and the madness of folly.

Our privilege

What is the difference between a privilege and a duty?  Between an honor and a responsibility?  Merriam Webster defines a privilege as "a right or immunity granted as a peculiar advantage, benefit, or favor."  Duties, on the other hand, are defined as "obligatory tasks, conduct, service, or functions that arise from one's position."  Duties and responsibilities, to me, have always had a tinge of unpleasantness to them.  You do it because you have to; it's not something that is always very enjoyable.  Privileges and honors, on the other hand, have a different connotation entirely.  It's something that you want to do, something that brings you joy and favor.

In Korea, it's easy to see the difference between the two.  One of the many duties of parents is to take care of their children - in everything.  They cook for them, they wash their clothes, they give them rides, they apply medicine when needed - even when the children are nearly-grown high-schoolers.  Children, on the other hand, have the responsibility of studying...all the time.  Korean childrens' lives revolve around their education.  They arrive to school early in the morning, and don't leave until nearly midnight - every.single.day.  It's grueling and exhausting, but it's their responsibility, so they do it.

In both of those cases, it's easy to see that duties and responsibilities are not necessarily the funnest things in the world.  It is something that is done because it must be done.  Period, end of story.  There is no other or very little reason to do it.  Privileges, however, can be seen in the lives of the elderly in Korean society.  Because Korea is such a hierarchical society, great value and respect is place upon older people, and they can get away with saying and doing things that would be scandalous coming from a younger person.  

But here is my question.  Do you regard your faith as a privilege or a duty?  Do you consider telling others about Jesus an honor, or a responsibility?  Is it something you do because you want to do it, or because you have to?  Paul said in Philemon that sharing our faith is a privilege; it affords us a realization of just how honored we are to be able to call God Father.  Do you realize just how blessed and loved you are?  Has it penetrated your core, so that it spills out of you and you just have to tell someone else about it?  Or is it simply another item on your checklist of things that you are expected to do?

Philemon 1:4-7

 ⁴ I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.  ⁷ Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Lukewarm Christianity

I have heard the term "lukewarm Christians" tossed around so often throughout my years growing up in the church.  It's always used in a negative light, often quoting the verse in Revelation 3, in which God warns that He will spit the lukewarm people out of his mouth.  But I think that, over the years and even decades, many Christians - especially western Christians - have lost sight of just what that term "lukewarm" really means.

Have you ever drank something so disgusting, that you simply could not swallow it?  Something so revolting, that you simply had to spit it out of your mouth?  That's the image that Jesus is giving us.  Being lukewarm disgusts Jesus.  It's revolting.  It repulses Him.

I have found that I often fall prey to the guiles of Satan.  It is so easy to convince myself that I'm doing alright - that, although I may not be as sold out to Jesus I could be, I'm doing much better than most.  Of course there's always room for improvement, but overall I'm doing generally pretty well.

God hates that attitude.  He hates it.  He cannot even bear to tolerate it.  He does not have an attitude of "well, I wish you'd love me more, but it's ok if you can't.  I understand, you're very busy and have other obligations."  God's attitude is one of "I am everything to you, and I demand everything of you.  Anything less than that is revolting to me."  He would rather we not even claim Christianity, not even make an attempt at loving Him, than to do so half-heartedly.

What does this mean?  It means that we value God above our jobs.  Above our spouses and children.  Above our hobbies.  Above our volunteer work.  Above our studies.  Above our friends.  Above everything.  It means that we love the people around us - not just our families, but also even the people whom many would deem "unloveable."  It means that we put loving God and loving others above our finances, above our comfort, above our reputation.  It means that God must become not only a part of our life; God is our life.

It also means that everyone will fail to do this, in one way or another.  We are all human.  We cannot achieve the standard that God has set for us.  But when you do fail, when you see yourself becoming lukewarm or getting stuck in a rut, don't let Satan accuse you or get you down.  The Lord is patient with you, always willing to forgive.  And remember, that He disciplines those He loves.  So when you are rebuked because of your lack of whole-heartedness, rejoice.  God still loves you.  He wants you to have freedom in Him, not bondage in mediocrity.  So pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and begin once again the journey to make Jesus your life - your whole life, not just a piece of it.

Revelation 3:14-18

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

   These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

The empty tomb

Today is Easter Sunday - Resurrection Day.  And I think that a day like today is a perfect opportunity to remember Jesus.

But not His sacrifice.  Of course, it's important to not forget His sacrifice.  Jesus did what almost no one else in history would ever do - gave up His innocent life so that the guilty might live.  And not only did He die; He died one of the most excruciating, horrible deaths ever conceived by man's evil mind.  He suffered shame and humiliation, and unbearable, unfathomable pain.  But not only that - He did all of this as the Son of God.  He voluntarily gave up His omnipotence, and became a man - with all of the fleshly, carnal desires and trials thereof.  His sacrifice was the greatest thing that anyone has ever given, period, in the history of the entire world.

So of course, His sacrifice is important to remember.  But today, I want to remember His resurrection.  If Jesus had stayed in that tomb, in the end all of His pain, His suffering, His humiliation, it would have all been for naught.  He would have been at best a martyr, at worst an insane blasphemer.  Our faith would have been one that was placed in a dead god, in a being that has no more power to help us than the rocks or trees have.

But Jesus did not stay in the tomb.  He rose again.  He lives.  Let me say that again....He lives!  He is alive right now!  The empty tomb is the only reason that we can believe what we believe.  The only reason that our faith, and Jesus' death, mean anything at all is because He is no longer dead.  He is no longer dead!!  This Easter, don't just remember His death - remember His life!

John 20:1-18

 ¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

 ³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

 ¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

 ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

   “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

 ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

   Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

 ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

   She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

 ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

A testimony for your town

I read a scathing indictment of Christians today.  To be fair, the author flat-out stated that his intent was not to specifically criticize Christians, a goal which I think that he largely kept throughout the course of the piece.  The purpose of the article was to point out the hypocrisy of many people (Christian or otherwise), who belong to a religion that teaches love, and yet are so hateful of so many individuals who are different from themselves - the homeless, the tattooed, the druggies, the criminals, and the homosexuals, to just name a few commonly ostracized categories.

However, with a title like "I'm Christian, unless you're gay," the article was sure to ruffle a few feathers, many of them Christian feathers.  One response was particularly moving.  A Christian woman wrote into the author, describing how his story had affected her son, herself, and eventually their entire city.  She wrote about how her son, after reading this story, had finally found the courage to come out of the closet.  About her initial anger and repulsion, until she realized that she was the acting just like the very person that this article was criticizing so strongly.  About how, because of her son's bravery, not just herself, but many other so-called Christians in her city, are now re-thinking their attitudes towards those who are different from themselves, and are beginning to choose love, not hate.  About how a revival is beginning to sweep across the entire town because of the actions of this one young man.

Hearing this story struck a chord with me.  I remember my first few months on Gyeongju, and my interactions with the many foreigners living here.  I remember my acceptance of the fact that most of them were not Christians - this was the first time in my life that I had been living in a predominantly non-Christian environment.  I remember my astonishment at realizing just how many people had an instinctive,  knee-jerk reaction of hate and repulsion when they heard the word "Christian" - and my sadness once I fully understood just how legitimate their reasons for not liking Christians were.

It is true that the Christian God is a God of justice, and holiness, and sinlessness.  It is true that He cannot tolerate sin, and that eventually everyone will be judged according to His perfect standard, and that anyone who does not have the blood of Jesus covering them will be condemned.  But somehow, somewhere along the way, Christians have gotten it into their head that judging others, is their job, that condemning others is their responsibility.  How on earth did we come up with that??  We are just as sinful as the next person, just as broken as the drug addict bouncing in and out of rehab, just as completely unqualified to judge our neighbor as anyone else.

No, our job is not to judge.  Our job is to love.  And here's the thing.  You don't have to agree with someone to love them.  You don't have to condone their lifestyle choice or participate in their sin or be an enabler for their bad behavior for you to put your arm around someone and tell them that you love them, that you are here for them.  Whatever happened to love the sinner, hate the sin?  You can disagree with someone and still love them.

The Church these days is suffering from an epidemic of self-appointed demi-gods, people who think that they are the only perfect beings in their lives, and that anyone who is different from them is worthy of their condemnation.  But we are supposed to be witnesses for the character of Jesus Himself.  If we act like that, if we give the impression that Jesus is as condemning as we are, why on earth would anyone ever want to enter into a relationship with Him??

January is long gone, but it is never too late to turn over a new leaf.  This week, I encourage you to choose love, not hate.  Put your arm around someone who you would normally shy away from.  Give a kind word to someone that you would normally ignore.  Help someone you would normally assume could help themselves.  As we saw from the example of the Christian woman's son whose actions alone sparked a revival in his town, it does not take much for God to start moving.  All He needs is someone - one person, 2 people, maybe a small group - who is willing to live for Him.  Who is willing to be a testimony for their town.  Who is willing to not only read the Bible, not only know what it says, but to truly follow it, to truly be a witness for Jesus' character.  That is what God needs.  Are you willing?

John 8:2-11

² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

   ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

   ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”