Baggage – Carrying our Past With Us

“We are born broken. We live by mending. The grace of God is the glue.” ~ Eugene O’Neill


I saw this on Twitter posted by Pastor Eugene Cho.  Normally, I would’ve just passed it by.  However, this quote spoke volume to me.

You see, I believe we all have baggage.  All the little and big things from our past be it mistakes, people, or secrets, we all carry that into the present and future.  No matter who you are, and whether you are a Christian or not, we all carry that.

We as Christians don’t feel like going to church or work with others.  I still remember from my mission trip to Thailand in ’93, that the number 1 reason that the missionaries leave their posts and return home is none other than other missionaries.  I was only 20 at the time so I did not know what that really meant.  Over the years though, I have felt that and lived that.  It’s so true that it’s hard to live with other people around us.  So to work with others would be even more difficult.

Younger people don’t want to go to church but just stay at home and use TV and the Internet to receive the message these days.  While that may seem efficient on the surface, inside, it reveals something darker.

If you recall the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35), this servant that was forgiven a million dollars could not forgive the debt of a friend who owed him $1000.  The master who had originally forgiven him of that million dollars found out and put him in jail for being ungrateful and unmerciful.  We all are that unmerciful servant in that we were all forgiven million dollars.  What others have done to us and do to us are small compared to what God has forgiven.

As the playwright Eugene O’Neill stated, “we are born broken”.  We are born messed up and none of us are in “good condition” to begin with.  This is why when we try to work with others or live together in harmony, it is so freaking hard.  I have holes in my heart.  So do you.  And all those around us.  Our own imperfections can’t deal with each others’ on top of our own.  None of us should be surprised to learn that.

We try to be islands and become ascetic.  For anyone else, that may be fine.  But I believe God has put us to live with each other for a reason.  If we truly understand the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant and realize just how much we have been forgiven, we can forgive others.  And second sentence of Eugene O’Neill’s quote becomes possible.  “We live by mending”.  Why?  Because “the grace of God is the glue.”

As the life unfolds before me and life goes on, I am reminded of the million dollar debt I am cleared of and that God asks me to love others just as He has loved me and accept others with their imperfections just as they are as we all struggle to mend ourselves.  We shall truly fail if we use our own strength.  We will only succeed if we use the grace of God as glue.

Recent Thoughts on What a Church Should Be

None of us are perfect.  Even after being Christians.  Actually, let me correct myself…  Especially, after becoming Christians.  So I was naturally more and more disappointed to find out that we are even less and less tolerant of those that are not Christians, let alone being different.   After all, that’s exactly the same groups that Jesus warned us NOT to be like – the Pharisees!

However, we become more and more reclusive people that only accept “clean” people.  Today’s Sunday school was about how God accepts and loves EVERYTHING about us.  Yet, we as church, seem to require that people change before we come to God’s church to grow and receive Him.  Jesus often compared Himself as a doctor who came to heal the sick.  That would imply that the people were still not saved.  Yet, over 2000 years, we somehow changed to allowing “pre-requisites”.  We want “decent” people only… if we lack any skills, be it social or intellectual, if we lack any riches or economic standing, we don’t seem as receptive.

I say the more screwed up we are, the more we need Christ in our lives!  That can only happen if we receive all those that enter God’s doors just as they are!  Is that too much to ask?!  Is that too crazy to demand of?!

Anna’s Second Birthday

So on a positive note, upon coming back from work, my wife tells me the best news I can hear!  That our duaghter, Anna received Christ at school that day!  Before you freak out what kind of public school allows this, it is an after-school program called “Good News Club” that meets every Wednesday at her shcool.

And I must say, they must have done an awesome job!  So we celebrated her “second” birthday by giving thanks… it will be somewhat easier to remember this day since it’s our pastor’s birthday.  Oh on that note, happy birthday again Pastor Shawn!  😀

Two Generations of Pastors

Article

I wanted to show my pride in the two generations of pastors in our family.  My father had sent me this article where he and my younger brother were featured in Korean Christian Daily newspaper.  Loosely translated, my brother Paul states that he had become a pastor “from watching our father’s faithfulness in pastoring… not focusing on tough life of now but focusing on the eternal importance of the future.”  Good stuff… I wanted to show my pride in two people that have dedicated their lives to serving God.

Faith, Power, & Influence: Episode 1

A friend from my college years, Kwon Cho, who went to same church at the time, now hosts and works for a very needed Korean-American Christian media company, KAC Media, and started his very first show!  😀  So here’s a shameless push for his show… it’s very good and insightful!  His first guest, is a Korean-American Internet entrepreneur who participated in “The Apprentice 6” and became a finalist!

Anna’s Card to God

Kids are rather insightful a lot of times. I think it’s their untainted mind that allows them this capability. They will tell it to you like it is. No candy wrappers around what they say… unlike politicians or adults. Case in point – Anna loves to make cards for people. She normally makes cards for us but we found this one yesterday.

You have to pay attention to the details here. You see the nature on the card, right? The sun, sky, flower, and the land? There is a smiley in it… that’s God. Why? According to Anna, that’s because God is everywhere! 😀 That is just so precious! And on the back, the recipient and the sender…

We were so pleased… it made our day! I sure hope my heart will be as pure as hers! God is everywhere…