Walking in a Circle?
Years ago, a man was missing in the Alps, and he was rescued after 13 days.
This man had walked more than 12 hours a day to find a village in bad weather.
But in fact, it turned out that he went around in circles within a 4-mile
radius. When a person keeps walking with the eyes closed, he or she ends up
walking around in circles. But, there is a way to avoid this! If
we would make a stop for a moment on a regular basis, rather than
keep walking, we are then able to almost walk in a straight line. Oftentimes we
are too busy and occupied with many things, and we find ourselves just keep
going without thinking, end up wandering around in circles, just like the man
in the Alps. I believe summer is a great time for us to stop and think
whether we are on the right track. Over the past eight years I have been
preaching more than 333 sermons. Now I just started to go back and read them
one by one to see the trajectory, to see where we are today, and to see where
we should be heading.
Chaff and Tree
This is my 9th year since
being sent to Hodgdon and Houlton. One of the most frequently asked questions
is “Why did you come to the US?” Or, “What brought you up here in Houlton?”
Typically, my answer is “I don’t know. That was not my plan. I was just called
and sent.” By nature I am a very organized person. I feel relieved when I plan
ahead. But nowadays, my motto is “Plan less, Pray more.” Let me tell you my
story how I end up having this motto. I was born in a pastor’s family. My
grandfather is a pastor. My father is a pastor. So when I was young, I thought
that I was a good Christian and had a strong faith. But in reality, I didn’t
have any personal relationship with God. I believed in God, but my faith didn’t
affect my daily life and my daily decisions.
You see, in Psalm 1, we find two ways of life – the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. On the one hand, the wicked are described as “chaff” – a free spirit. They are an active being, they are in charge. They do whatever they want to do. They go wherever they want to go. They follow the rule of their own hearts. But in reality, they are swayed and tossed by the waves of the world. They are slaves of sin. On the other hand, the righteous are described as a “tree.” They are a passive being. They don’t plant themselves, but they are being “planted” – planted by the gardener. They wait, listen, endure, trust, obey. They are slaves of God.
As I look back on my life, I was much more like “chaff.” I was the person in charge of my life. I always came up with my own plans, proceeded them, and then asked God for his blessings. But God was merciful and patient. One of the defining moments happened in the year 2000. I was sent to East Timor as a UN Peace keeping force. East Timor was a lonely island. There was neither the church in Korean barrack, nor spiritual mentors. Instead, sexual temptation and debauchery were lurking all around. At that time God gave me burden to start Sunday service in barrack. But, I ran away from the mission like Jonah when God told him to go to Nineveh. After this, by his grace God allowed me to fall ill with an endemic disease, ‘Dengue Fever.’ There was no way to be properly treated because at that time I was dispatched to a remote area for three weeks. I was suffering from a high fever and had a rash all over the body. My condition got seriously worse. On that night I could not eat anything, nor sleep. I became delirious from a high fever. Intuitively, I knew that I was walking through the death valley. I knelt down on a camp bed and said a simple prayer. “God, help me. Have mercy on me, a sinner. God, if you spare my life, I will humbly serve you with all my heart for life.” Then, I was able to fall asleep in peace. I woke up early next morning. And I found the fever had left me, and the rash completely disappeared. That healing experience became the starting point of my new journey – from a life of the chaff to a life of the tree.
Lot and Abram
In today’s passage we find two ways
of life – the way of Lot and the way of Abram. At first, Abram and Lot were
traveling together, but they were not able to live together anymore because
they had too many flocks and herds in the same land. So Abram did the beautiful
thing, suggesting, “Take whatever part of the land you want and I will take
what’s left.” Now listen to verse 10: “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw
that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD.”
And he chose to live and pitch his tents near Sodom. Concerning his decision,
the author of Genesis evaluates this way: “Now the people of Sodom were wicked
and were sinning greatly against the Lord” (v. 13). Lot only looked at the
outward appearance, but he failed to see the reality. After Lot had left, the
Lord said to Abram, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you
are… I am giving all this land to you and your offspring forever” (vv. 14-15).
Do you see the difference? The difference between the life “I lift up my eyes and choose and follow my ways” and the life “I am called, sent, planted.”
Terah and Abram
Abram was called, sent, planted in
the land of Canaan. But, did you know there was another person who really
wanted to go to Canaan? It was Abram’s father, Terah. Genesis 11:31 says,
“Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his
daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out
from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they
settled there.” Now we know both Terah and Abram tried to go to Canaan. On the
surface, there is no difference. Both of them seem to have the same
destination. Both of them seem to pursue the same purpose of life. But, the fruit
is different. In the end, Terah settled in Haran and lived there until he died,
but Abram arrived in Canaan.
We don’t know exactly why Terah wanted to go to Canaan. But we know that it was not from God. For some reason he wanted to go to Canaan. So, he set out for the land, but on the way he saw the land of Haran, and he liked it and settled there. But as for Abram, he didn’t make any plan to go to Canaan. Instead, he was called, then sent, then planted. What is the difference between the life of Terah and the life of Abram? Terah chose to go to Canaan because it seemed best in his own eyes. But Abram went to Canaan because God said so.
Terah lived 205 years, and the Bible summarizes his life in one verse: “He took his family, and tried to go to Canaan, but he settled Haran and died there” (11:32). That is his epitaph. Abram lived 175 years. He lived a shorter life than his father, Terah. But his epitaph reads like this: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb 11:8). Abram is still remembered as the father of faith.
Two Ways of Life
Few years ago Eugene Peterson, one
of my mentors, wrote his autobiography, titled Pastor: A Memoir. In the
book Peterson uses a metaphor from Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick to
compare two ways of life. In the story all the sailors are laboring fiercely to
hunt white whale, Moby Dick. However, there is one man who does nothing. He
doesn’t hold an oar; he doesn’t perspire; he doesn’t shout. This man is the
harpooner, quiet and poised, waiting. And then this sentence: “To insure
the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to
their feet out of idleness, and not out of toil.”
As I close, let me paraphrase Eugene Peterson’s quotation into these following words: “To insure the greatest abundance in life, we Christians of this world must start to our feet out of listening and following, and not out of toil and busyness.” Two ways of life are in front of us. May we listen and say yes to God’s call. May we follow Christ wherever he leads us. May we be deeply planted until we bear much fruit. Amen.
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*This sermon was first preached on July 6, 2014, and updated on July 10, 2022.
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