Actually I don't think it is because of the nightmare that I cannot go back to sleep. It is probably due to all the nuggets of thoughts I needed to flush out of my mind. It has been also 2 weeks since I organized my thoughts and my reflections. This might help me sleep...
No, this will not be a Teens Conference reflection, I'm not ready for that yet. And sorry, I will not be translating this posting - at least not tonight.
This chain for thought began from a Bible Study in Panama. How do we know we are content (知足)? My answer to that question was "when you know this is exactly where God wants you to be". And this is the attitude Jenny and I embraced ever since we were married, "seeking God's will to find out exactly were He wants us to be" - whether this is a physical location, our place in ministry, our financial situation, and etc. We are content with everything we have, furthermore, we feel extremely blessed with everything God provided for us and the position He has placed us. Of course there is always temptations such as Jenny wanting a Blackberry or myself looking at camera equipment. But we are extremely blessed with what we have.
Ministry wise, we praise God for giving Jenny a job that perfectly complement my pastoral ministry. 9 to 5 in a convenient location, this allows me to prep during the day and give me the chance to pick her up from work and have dinner before any evening meetings. We could not ask for anything better.
However, what challenged me over the past few weeks - and especially after walking out of the Kin Village meeting today - is that while we should be content materialistically, we should never be content spiritually. I've realized the whole idea of being content has lead me to want just the status-quo spiritually. Walking out of the Kin Village meeting today made me realized that there's so much more to do in our communities - to love our neighbours. We if we operate our ministries under status-quo our priorities will merely be looking out for ourselves. However, God calls us to be the salt and light to the world, and we should not be just content and hide under a bowl.
Being content in our earthly needs, being relentless in Kingdom matters.
Yet in contrast, there is another troubling matter in my mind walking out of the Kin Village meeting today. We have lost another pastor due to burnt out... Churches, how many spiritual leaders you want to chew up and spit out completely burnt out several years down the road? Yes, we are to obey our Sabbath and find ways to feed ourselves spiritually. Will you please learn to feed yourself spiritually too instead of having the church leaders spoon feed you every Sunday? I don't know about you, but I like to eat every day. But apparently some people are completely okay with eats on only Sundays, and that's only if they are spoon fed. I am sorry for being harsh, but I find many are instead "content in Kingdom matters, and relentless in earthly needs."
My job is to teach you how to feed yourself spiritually, and to bring the Gospel to our neighbours. Maybe you didn't get the memo, but I think that is your job too.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.Good night.
~ Matthew 28:19, 20
3 comments:
A good reflection, Joel. We all struggle with the "now and not yet," where we are and where we sense we would like to be or where we think God wants us to be. We continue to trust the Lord in the present. We long for Christlikeness and wish that for our congregation. May we continue along this journey.
As the Apostle Paul noted,
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14 NIV)
I agree a lot with your first point.
For your second point, I agree and disagree. It is possible that in any church, individuals can easily become lazy.
I've always struggled personally with knowing whether I am "sharpening another brother/sister" when I am I tell them I see something wrong, or whether I am just "judging them". I'm sure it must be even more difficult for pastors to not only have wisdom to understand, but have the capacity to love.
I disagree with the second point, because we are all lost sheep. Some people find their way home, some people get distracted by "other things", some sheep just follow other sheep, some sheep get scared and stop and just hide, some sheep just don't know what to do. Some people just needs to experience God. They need to personally want to see God, and accept that God is moving. It's not that they're lazy, they just don't know how. You don't grow up instantly knowing "social norms". Likewise, you don't grow in Christ instantly knowing the "norms of how to push yourself to know God more".
It's a two-way street.
I'm sure it's been a problem in the past, and in the present across cultures, across ages, across gender. No one can pinpoint the exact problem. But when we do see certain problems, as brothers and sisters, we do what we can through God. God will give us the wisdom to discern the best way to approach this problem.
We're in a lazy society. That's why it is so important to pass on the right, respectful, and most importantly... THE TRUTH to the next generation. Pass the baton right.
Thank you, Dr. Wong, for your wonderful words of encouragement. And thank you, anonymous, for sharpening my faith with your comments.
In my comments I do not mean to judge. I completely agree with you that we are all lost sheep, because I am one myself, and we all need guidance to the Lord. As a pastor, my task is literally to shepherd sheep - and to do so with love. The congregation expects their pastor to lead the congregation and fulfill their spiritual needs, and we do so by leading the sheep to the pasture (the Biblical Truth). Once at the pasture, we cannot force the sheep to eat. He/she must eat by their own will. The only thing we can do is to convince the sheep that they are hungry and the grass is good.
This is the same issue faced by the writer of Hebrew (5:11-14). The more I reflect on this issus the more I realize that only the mighty hand of God can help us.
Thank you for your ending statement that we need to teach the Truth to the next generation. However, being in the "next-generation" ministry myself, I also see that we need to equip and empower the current- and last-generation to teach this to the next-generation.
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