Ceaseless Pursuit

"Hmm, even you are among the 'tribe with their heads lowered'?"  My mother remarked somewhat indignantly in Chinese after I casually pulled out my smartphone to check the latest basketball scores while waiting for our food at the restaurant.  I quickly took a glance around, and indeed, my wife and kids were all gazing intently on their phones as well.  My mother happened to not have a smartphone, and when she made the remark, I wasn't sure whether she was upset about our phone use, or that she wished to also have one herself.  I put my phone away and managed to keep it in my pocket through the rest of dinner; however, there wasn't a whole lot of conversation with all those heads lowered.

Our seeming dependence on these phones have become so prevalent that I've heard several versions of a tasteless joke that involves a person who has a phone surgically implanted on his or her hand.  Our phones wake us up with various ringtones, buzzes and pings during the night, and it occupies our attention throughout the day, whether we are in the toilet, in the car, at work, at school, and unfortunately, even at church.  We have become so dependent on our phones, that temporarily removing our children's phones as a discipline measure is now considered cruel and unusual punishment for some.  Our chats, status updates, tweets, posts, selfies and shared photographs of that incredible lobster dinner or chocolate cake are the fruit of our worldly desires, and we crave their transient pleasures that unfortunately do not satisfy.

Although smartphones did not exist when the books of the Bible were written, and our forefathers were not aware of the kind of hold that such devices have on our lives, there are numerous biblical references to things that we ought to be utterly dependent upon, which are worthy of ceaseless pursuit.

Jesus commanded,

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  (Matthew 6:33)

The apostle Paul wrote,

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  (Philippians 4:4)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  (Colossians 3:16)

pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

So, we need to seek the kingdom of God and pursue righteousness before all else, rejoice unconditionally, have God's word infiltrate every fiber of our being, and pray always.  That takes a lot of time...all of our time.

We ought to resist checking our phones in bed and the first thing when we arise, when we sit around or walk (or drive), and literally having them stuck to our bodies.  Only then will we have room in our hearts to observe the greatest of all commandments,

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Not just some of the time...ALL the time, and EVERYWHERE:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:7-9)

It's like having God's living word surgically attached to our bodies.

Voluntary Participation

"OK, Dr. Duh.  Looks like that's it for the questionnaire.  You seem to be a good candidate.  The next step will be for you to get the necessary blood tests..."

I listened quietly to the voice of a young woman on the phone.  I may be a doctor, but that doesn't make me enjoy the thought of having needles stuck in my arm any more than most people.

"The test results will take several days, but if you turn out to have a serious infection, we will notify you as soon as we receive a positive test result.  After you clear this phase, we will contact you about the two options that I mentioned earlier..."

Neither of the options that she mentioned sounds like much fun.  For the first option, I will need to get an injection every day for 5 days, which will make me feel ill as if I have influenza, and then I will have to sit for 4 to 6 hours while a machine sucks blood out of one arm and puts it back in the other.  The second option involves me being put under anesthesia while someone sticks a thick needle into my bone to suck out a bunch of stuff, and I was reassured that most people manage to make it back to work after several days.

"Dr. Duh, do you have any questions?"

"No.  Thank you."  Actually, I was sort of wondering how I got myself into this in the first place.

"Great.  I will send a consent form to you by e-mail.  Make sure you read it through, sign it and return to me...and please remember that your participation is purely voluntary.  If at any point you wish to withdraw from this process, please let me know immediately so we can look for other potential matches."

The phone call was from the National Marrow Donor Program.  I gave two blood samples at a church bone marrow drive 20 years ago in response to an urgent plea from the family of a dying young Asian woman with cancer who needed a bone marrow transplant.  The person on the phone informed me that my marrow may have finally met its match in an older man with acute myelogenous leukemia, and that it may potentially save his life.  Unfortunately, donating one's marrow involves some inconveniences, and not a little discomfort.  Needles, medications, more needles, and maybe a couple of holes in my hips.  I was reminded that I don't have to do it, and if I refuse, no one would know, as all records are confidential for my protection.

What am I to do?  For possibly saving someone's life, I guess a few holes in my body is worth it.  Needles...ugh!

Nevertheless, anticipating a bit of discomfort is nothing compared to the earthly experience of our Lord Jesus, who knew from the beginning that he came to do the Father's will:

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, but raise it up on the last day.  (John 6:39)

Jesus came to save every single soul that the Father has given to him, and he knew well that it was not going to be an easy task:

And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."  (Luke 9:21-22)

Anticipation of what was to come caused Jesus unspeakable anguish.  He would have to give up himself voluntarily in obedience to the Father's will:

"Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."  (Luke 22:42)

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  (Luke 22:44)

As I shared news of the phone call with one of our pharmacists, she told me that it's wonderful that I get to save someone's life, and that she also participated in the program and was hoping to get a call some day.

Bring it on.

...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:8)

Heavenly Reunion

I started to teach Sunday school at church a few years ago when our youth pastor asked me whether I’d be willing to help out with the 8th grade class.  I agreed, thinking that it was only a temporary assignment, and, as they say, the rest is history.  The youth pastor recently offered me to teach the 12th graders, and I am very eager to take on this challenge, not only because my son happens to be in the class, but also because I became a Christian 30 years ago, during the summer prior to 12th grade, and my first Sunday school teachers, Tien and Cheryl, were both medical students. This therefore is an opportunity for me, now a full-grown physician, to give back all the life-changing ministry which I received back then.

One of the great joys of Sunday school ministry is that I get to see many of my students continue to grow and mature in the Lord. I remember hearing testimonies of people with near-death experiences recalling being at the threshold of Heaven and being greeted by significant people in their lives, including parents, grandparents, other loved ones, and Sunday school teachers. Hopefully, if I get there first, I’ll be among the ones to greet my students. It will be sooooo exciting to see them saved by grace, justified by Christ's righteousness, sanctified, and with glorified, imperishable bodies.

Unfortunately, I am also tormented, knowing that many of my students will not be there, because they have rejected the faith of their parents and the Gospel message. I know, because at least once a year I would ask my students questions like, "Raise your hand if you are a Christian", "If you die tonight, do you know for certain that you are going to Heaven?", "Do you believe the message of the Gospel?", and "What is the Gospel message?" The responses have unfortunately been very disappointing. Many highly intelligent, academically, athletically and musically accomplished children of God-fearing parents either do not care about God, do not have any desire to live under God's presence (as if we even have a choice to hide from God), or openly reject the message of the Gospel. I often ask myself whether it is because of something I said or shouldn't have said, and am afraid that I might have caused some to choose Hell rather than Heaven, to choose temporal, sinful pleasures instead of eternal life under God's presence. I feared for my own soul, as teachers are admonished by the apostle Paul that they would be judged more strictly. Woe to me if I cause one of these young ones to fall!

Thankfully, the Lord addressed my anxieties via the words in John's gospel. For many years I didn't like the book of John as much as the other gospels, because it seems so tedious, and Jesus' words and prayers just went on and on and on through those really long verses and chapters. However, as I studied God's word more, those words came alive and became so meaningful.  It recorded these words of Jesus:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of the Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  (John. 6:37-40)

Jesus came to earth in order that every person that God the Father ordained before the creation of the universe to be saved would be saved. Christians are the Father's gift to the son, and Jesus promised that not even one of those that the Father gives to him would be lost. Not even one! That is great assurance for me, because whether my students believe depends not on my providing convincing arguments about the Gospel, or being clever and funny, or being a good salesman for Jesus. It is God's work and His doing. When I teach, I am only an instrument in the Master's hand. It matters not whether I am a paintbrush, a pencil, a chisel, a shovel or a sledgehammer in God's hand, I need only to do my job faithfully. If my students truly understand the depravity of their condition, truly repent, truly believe that Jesus came to earth to die for sinners, that he rose from the dead, and that Christ's righteousness is imputed to those who believe and call him both Lord and Savior, all the glory belongs to God. It is nothing that I have accomplished.  Conversely, if they do not believe after I have given my best efforts, I need not despair of my performance. To paint a picture you need the canvass, a bunch of paint, brushes, solvents and all sort of stuff. If God meant me to be a pencil for the first sketch, I may be indispensable, but also be totally invisible in the end. The important thing is not me, and it is not people. It is God. I only need to worry about being the best pencil or sledgehammer that I can be, to be used for His glory.

And, I look forward to having the most joyful Sunday school reunion when we the Lord calls us home!

Fan Support

"Hey, you are wonderful!...I admire you!...You are great!...I love you!...Thank you for being who you are!..."

It was a cool June Sunday morning in San Diego, and this thin, graying man in a T-shirt and running shorts appeared to have been belting out these phrases like a recording for at least half an hour by the time I passed him.  Oh, please, don't say that you love me.  That would be awkward....

"Sir, you are an inspiration to me!"

"Thank you!"  I quickly responded as I breathlessly ran past him.  Whew, that was close.  I didn't know who this man was, but I had seen him at roughly the same spot at the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon several years in a row.  26 miles and 385 yards is a beast of a distance for a race, and this man was on a mission to make it just a little easier. He had no clue who most of the roughly 30,000 runners were, but no one seemed to complain.  As the race unfolded, other spectators also yelled out words of encouragement.  "Looking good, Glenn!"  (I had my name on the race bib)  "Good job!  Keep it up!"  "It's all downhill after another mile!"  "Nice legs!"

When people ask me why I'd put my body through the torture of marathons, I often reply that it's cheaper than psychotherapy.  You pay a nominal fee, then go run down the street to have people say that you're wonderful, you look good, and pretend that you are some sort of a big deal.  Bands play for you.  Japanese taiko drummers rouse you with thundering rhythms.  During a half-marathon in Los Angeles, we were greeted with bone rattling pulsations by a high school drum line as we emerged from a tunnel.  The sensation was surreal.

However, those drums, bands and encouraging fans paled in comparison to the Wellesley College girls near the halfway point of the Boston Marathon.  Runners, from elite athletes to back-of-the-pack qualifiers, are greeted by the "wall of sound" that is audible more than one mile away, and the sound rises steadily for several minutes until they are met by a screaming frenzy of college women waving arms, banners and "kiss me" signs.  The reception is reminiscent of the Beatles appearing at the Ed Sullivan Show.  I seriously want to qualify for Boston again, if only to relive the thrill of the Wellesley sonic boom.

Jesus did not run marathons when he lived among us in the flesh, but he was no stranger to being the attention of large gatherings.  As his reputation grew, great crowds followed him as he healed the sick, taught about the kingdom of heaven, and fed many thousands of men, women and children with only a few small loaves of bread and some fish.  Crowds also appeared days before his crucifixion, laying down palm branches before him and crying "Hosanna!"  Yet, Jesus did not come to earth to receive admiration, praises and glory from men.  He came with another purpose:

For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  (John 6:38)

Jesus' life on earth was an act of obedience to the Father, such that...

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  (Philippians 2:8)

Jesus never succumbed to pride as the crowds gathered with increasing strength.  Instead,

But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.  (Luke 5:16)

May we be eternally grateful for Jesus' single-minded submission to the Father's will and love for us, such that when crowds gathered one last time around Jesus, shouting "crucify him!", he responded in near solitude on the cross with the words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  (Luke 23:34)

Should we not seek to please God, rather than to merely hope for the praise of men, and of a few thousand screaming college coeds?

Unquenchable Fire

A brilliant fire never fails to attract attention.  Shimmering stars in a cloudless night are wonderful, but they rarely garner the "oohs" and "aahs" of a golden, firey meteor streaking across the sky.  It catches our eyes, and refuses to let them go.  Similar mesmerizing powers can also be found in fireworks, as the lighted missiles scream into the expanses above and explode into marvelous colors and patterns, temporarily turning darkness into blinding light.  More "oohs" and "aahs".

We also like to use fire as a metaphor for other phenomena of brilliance.  A famous professor, entertainer or politician may be described as having a "meteoric" rise in prominence, stature or achievement if he or she seemingly comes out of nowhere to become a dominant presence.  An exceptional performance in the concert hall, the ballpark, the stage, the courtroom, the racetrack or the pulpit, and a person or team is described as being "on fire".  It feels good to be on fire, because you are achieving greatness in something, and everyone seems to be watching you step head and shoulders above everyone else.  It is a feeling that one cherishes...

...because it doesn't last.  Unfortunately, most fires eventually go out.  A star will spend only a very short part of its lifespan as a white-hot supernova before it shrinks into a white dwarf, and eventually into a black hole.  The superstar celebrity loses his or her grasp on prominence, and gets replaced by someone else who flashes upon the scene.  The on-fire performance becomes a once-in-a-lifetime event, never to be repeated by the same person.  If we forsake all sensibilities and work ourselves to the bone to try and fan ourselves into flame again, we are perceived as a candle being lighted on both ends.  We burn out.  We get consumed.  Spent ashes we become.

Burnout and decay appears to be the inevitable end of human endeavors.  However, there is a fire that burns but does not consume.

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”  (Exodus 3:1-3)

The bush was probably just a plain, regular bush.  If it was set on fire, it would burn into ashes, just like any plain, regular bush.  However, the fire was from God, and the bush was not the fuel.  It would burn brilliantly for however long the Lord wanted the fire to remain on the bush.

May our lives be like the bush, faithful and obedient to being used by God for His purpose, that we may be instruments for His glory.  May we not endeavor in the quest for our own brilliance, lest we have little to show for in the end but smoke and ashes.

Game Over?

Basketball is a fast paced sport that is at its most exciting when it is highly competitive, when two evenly matched teams go after each other relentlessly in a closely matched contest.  Leads are changed frequently, scores are tied multiple times in such a game, and the outcome remains unknown until the last second, when a team loses or wins on a last-second missed shot or buzzer-beater.  The game is a bit less compelling, on the other hand, when one team soundly outplays its opponent, so that the outcome of the game is essentially determined several minutes before the final buzzer.  Chick Hearn, the late great radio announcer of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, when seeing that one team had an insurmountable lead, would often calmly announce, "This game is in the refrigerator, the door is closed, the lights are out, the eggs are getting cold, the butter's getting hard, and the Jell-O's getting jigglin."

In other words, it's basically "game over".

Such was the sentiment when Jesus was nailed on the cross.  When Jesus first appeared on the scene as an adult, Satan challenged him repeatedly, "If you are the son of God..." and tempted him to turn stones into bread, to leap off a high place, and to bow before Satan.  In each occasion, Jesus countered with words of Scripture, and held his ground until Satan left him, and angels came and ministered to him.  (Matthew 4:1-11)  For the next three years, he healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, and expelled demons.  Jesus seemed to be building a comfortable lead over Satan until the final hours of his earthly existence, when the situation took a dramatic turn.  

Instead of Satan tempting Jesus to turn stones into bread to fill his hunger, he tasted bitterness at Golgotha,

"they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it."  (Matthew 27:34)

Instead of Satan tempting Jesus to leap off a high place and be saved by angels, he was mocked and scorned as he lay hanging on the cross,

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!  If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."  So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself.  He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God, let God deliver him now, if he desires him.  For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"  (Matthew 27:39-43)

Instead of Jesus being tempted to bow before Satan, he was jeered as the soldiers bowed before him,

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.  And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head."  (Matthew 27:28-30)

Satan pressed on as Jesus gasped his final breaths on that fateful Friday afternoon.  Would darkness reign?  Was this "game" in the refrigerator?

Jesus' final words..."It is finished"  (John 19:30)

It was not over.  Jesus finished, or accomplished his purpose on earth.  He died for us and paid the penalty for our sins.  Sunday was coming, Jesus would rise again, and death was defeated.  Salvation has come.

It was no contest.

Game over.

Deep Roots

"Wow, look at those palm trees...how tall do you think they are?  80 feet?  Maybe 100 feet or more?"

Those trees had been around for years, but being in Southern California, palm trees don't necessarily get as much of our attention, since they are everywhere.  They certainly didn't seem to impress the rest of my family as we passed by them on the way back home from church one beautiful, clear Sunday afternoon.

"Those?  Oh."  My wife responded sleepily, then closed her eyes.

"Mmmph..."  My kids were nearly as enthusiastic in the back seat about these towering giants.

"Yeah, aren't they huge?  I was just thinking, it'd be a very bad thing if one of those trees ever falls over.  Imaging all the damage it can cause."

The problem with having a lot of tall trees is that they sometimes will fall, and occasionally in bunches.  A major windstorm in late 2011 put the normally inconspicuous Temple City, CA, for several days on national television as unusually fierce winds knocked down about 500 trees in the city and caused about 10 million dollars in damage.  Some of the power lines toppled likewise, and we were without electrical power for 5 days.

"Glenn, you're wrong."  Suddenly my wife woke up.  The opportunity to correct me must have energized her.  "I guess you don't know that palm trees have very deep roots, and they don't fall like other trees.  Did you realize that not a single palm tree fell during the windstorm?"

I couldn't verify the facts while driving, but I knew that my wife was correct.  She is, after all, the gardener and landscape expert in our family, and being a member of the local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), she would have much more first-hand information when it comes to disaster information and readiness.  Indeed, the palm tree is characterized by the presence of both a network of shallow, fibrous roots, as well as a very deep anchoring root, whose purpose is to prevent the palm from toppling.  Palms sway and bend in the wind, but they don't break.

Just as deep, anchoring roots keep palm trees standing during windstorms, a deep-rooted and deep-anchored faith will keep our lives from collapse when severe trials and difficulties arise in our lives.  Job was described as being the wealthiest man in the world, but because his faith was in God and not in his great wealth, he was able to weather the loss of all his possessions, all his children, his health, and the respect of his wife and friends, until God not only restored his possessions, family and reputation, but provided him abundantly more than before.

Our roots also need to be in Christ and in applying his words:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  (Colossians 2:6-7)

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  (Matthew 7:24-25)

May we be deeply rooted and stand in times of adversity, like the mighty palm tree during storms.

It's a good thing that there aren't any coconut trees in the neighborhood.  Flying coconuts can be a problem....