“Journey to Perfection” (1 Cor 13:8-13)

The Source of Love

“Love is a choice.” “You have to choose to love.” We hear statements like these inside and outside of the church. Perhaps we understand what these statements are attempting to communicate. Indeed, love does engage our decisions, but the source of biblical love is more powerful than decisions. As John Piper said, love “is not just a decision you make moment by moment. It’s an overflow, a work of God within us.”

If you have been going to church for a while, this might be the 100^th time you’ve heard 1 Corinthians 13 read, and you are thinking, “Yep. Love never ends. Got that one. Yawn.” Many of us in this room already heard that without love we are nothing. We already know love is patient and kind and humble. But the point of today’s scripture is not about what love is, but about what love does and does not do. In other words, here Paul is not defining love in the abstract. He is practically applying love to the Corinthian situation and telling them why some of their attitudes are unchristian and unacceptable. At that time the Corinthians were puffed up and divided. They were insisting on their own way and so were taking each other to court. They were insisting on their own way as they ate their own meal at the Lord’s Supper without any regard to the poor. They were jealous as they compared their spiritual gifts. In this messed up context Paul is now exhorting them to apply agape love to their daily lives. If we are completely honest about ourselves, we know how hard it is to love our spouse, our children. It’s hard to love my church. It’s even hard to love God at times. We’re running on empty. So how can we apply agape love to our life? What is the source of biblical love?

The Holy Spirit

The answer is the Holy Spirit. According to a new study, more than half of self-identified Christians in America say the Holy Spirit is not a real, living being, but is merely a symbol of God’s power, presence, or purity. But the Bible says the Holy Spirit is more than just a positive energy, moral conscience, or good thoughts. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ. The coming of the Holy Spirit was promised and fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. God promised, "I will put my spirit in you.” (Ezekiel 36:27) Jesus promised, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever… the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14:16, 26) The Holy Spirit is a real, living being – the Helper, the Counselor, the Advocate, the Comforter, and the Companion. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to apply agape love to our challenging situations.

In today’s scripture Paul tells us what love does and does not do this way:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (vv. 4-7).

These attributes are all good, but the question is “Is this practical?” “Is this attainable?” All these attributes are Christ’s attributes, Christ’s character. Jesus is patient, but we know we are not. Jesus is kind and meek and humble, but we are not. The standards of agape love seem unattainable ideal. It is true that they are not easily attainable by everyone, but they are attainable all right only by those who were born from above and now have the Holy Spirit with them. The Bible says, “God’s love [agape] has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom 5:5) The Holy Spirit is the source of agape love.

Repentance

If God’s part is to pour out His Spirit upon us, our part is to welcome the Spirit and choose to allow him to change us by filling our hearts with his perfect love. It’s called repentance. Repentance does not simply mean we feel remorse or ask for forgiveness. Repentance literally means to turn. It means to turn from my ways. It means to make a real change to be in alignment with God. Repentance is a lifelong process. This morning we sang Charles Wesley’s “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” This hymn describes our Christian journey from beginning to end – how God transforms us through his Holy Spirit with his perfect love. In particular, verse 2 goes like this:

“Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast!

Let us all in thee inherit; let us find that second rest.

Take away our bent to sinning; Alpha and Omega be;

end of faith, as its beginning, set our hearts at liberty.

We all have our sinful nature – “our bent to sinning.” We all have our wandering hearts – “prone to wander and leave the God we love.” But the Holy Spirit encourages us, nudges us, gives us new desire to turn and be in alignment with God.

Recently, I had a chance to have a meal with a homeless person and listen to the story. As I was listening, I realized how ignorant I was. Millions of Americans are evicted every year because they can’t make rent. And I pretended that was not happening. The Holy Spirit nudged me to see and repent. I repented my ignorance. I repented my apathy. I repented my loveless heart. The other day during a pastor’s gathering I heard one pastor talking about how hard for him to become an U.S. citizen, and how easy for some others, as he referred to the current southern border situations. For me personally, it took 13 years to become a permanent resident. I am still in the naturalization process. As I was listening to that pastor, I realized I was also tempted to say, “I earned this. I worked so hard for this. Now I have been accepted. Shut the door after me.” The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that once I have been accepted in the system, I too worry about security. Laws, order, and security are all important. We need them. But along with them, we Christians can and must be more loving, welcoming, compassionate towards refugees and immigrants. The Holy Spirit helped me to see many biblical characters – Abraham and Sarah, Ruth and Naomi, Joseph and Mary, and most of all, Jesus himself – were all foreigners and immigrants. I repented my self-centeredness. I repented my fears and insecurities.

Already Won

Perhaps some of us in this room may feel frustrated because of our slow progress toward Christian perfection on our journey. We feel like we are still childish. It’s hard to be patient when a baby cries through the night. It’s hard to be kind when a car cuts in front of us. It’s hard not to get irritated when our best-laid plan goes awry. It’s just hard to love our spouse and our children as described in today’s scripture. But there is good news! The game has already been won. It has already been borne; it has already been endured by one person, Jesus Christ our Lord.

What does this mean? It means that we can put all of our life in perspective. When I was a child, I used to play soccer with my friends and pretend that I was my favorite athlete, Diego Maradona. I imagined myself having all of his skill. Of course I didn’t, but I was able to enjoy pretending to be Maradona because the game had already been won. He was already the all-star. He was already a champion. But what if I was deluded and thought that I actually was Maradona, that it was my responsibility to lead Argentina to a World Cup championship? That would be an impossible, unattainable task. How often we tend to be like that! How often we act like the world is riding on our shoulders, like we have to bear and endure it all! The game has already been won, and we are invited to enjoy playing a backyard game. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. You are I are a new creation. We are God’s beloved. God’s love already has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And today the Spirit invites us into his perfect love. May we listen and say yes to the Spirit. May we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his perfect love. May we turn from our way and turn to God’s way, one degree at a time. As we listen, allow, turn to the Spirit daily, Charles Wesley’s glorious hymn will be our reality.

Finish, then, thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be.

Let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee;

changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place,

till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.

 

“Building Beloved Community” (1 Cor 12:12-26)

The Last Thing I Want

We don’t want to be a burden to anyone else. The other day I had a pastor’s gathering. One of the colleagues shared about her mother, who is now 93 years old, still staying active and healthy. But her mother’s greatest and constant fear is that one day she would get sick or fall and lose her independence. My colleague hears her mother say ‘I don’t want to be a burden to anyone else. I’m happy to carry on living so long as I can look after myself, but as soon as I become a burden I would rather die.’ Though I can only imagine what her mother is going through, I had a chance to get a taste of what it feels like being a burden to others when my family and I had to isolate for 10 days because of COVID-19. All of sudden, my world stopped. I was unable to continue with my daily tasks without help of others. I had to depend on other’s help. Then I realized how much I was interrelated and interdependent.

The Body of Christ and the Church at Corinth

The human body is the chief metaphor that the Bible uses when it talks about the church. Particularly today’s scripture captures the essence of our dynamic interdependence. Eugene Peterson’s Message Bible translates today’s passage this way:

For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way--the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach… If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair? The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. (vv. 19-26)

Each of us is interdependent on one another. When Paul wrote his letter to the church of Corinth, he was keenly aware of divisions and factions in the church – especially between the rich and the poor. Corinth at that time was a commercial center of six hundred thousand people. Corinth was a strategic maritime port, a meeting point between East and West, and a wealthy civilized city. Behind this wealth were pervasive and severe poverty. Corinthian society was so riddled with competitive individualism and disregarded the poor. Sadly, this sensibility spilled over into the church. They honored the rich, the influential, the powerful; they neglected the poor, the weak, the lowly. For example, when the church came to worship and have the Lord’s Supper together, the rich went ahead and made pigs of themselves. They even got drunk. But the poor were left out and went home hungry (11:21).

Cultivating Ubuntu

What’s the cure for this? Keeping this in mind, Paul exhorts the Corinthian Christians to remember that each member of the church is interdependent on one another like the human body. So the cure for divisions and apathy and individualism is to cultivate a deep sense of communal interdependence.

In the southern-African philosophy there is a term called ubuntu. Archbishop Desmond Tutu summarized Ubuntu as follows: “I am because we are,” which literally means that a person is a person through other people. Ubuntu speaks to the fact that we are all connected and that one can only grow and progress through the growth and progression of others. Dr. King rightly said, “In a real sense all life is interrelated. All [people] are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. . . . This is the interrelated structure of reality.” The concept of ubuntu encourages us to see ourselves in other people. If we look at others and see ourselves reflected back, we inevitably treat people better. Basically, ubuntu is not something new, rather it’s an expanded version of the Golden Rule: We are called to do to others as we would have them do to us. For instance, Nelson Mandela embodied ubuntu through his moral leadership. He refused to hate his enemies, including those who kept him imprisoned for 27 years. Instead, he sought reconciliation, and envisioned a future South Africa that included Black, White and all people together.

Eastern Christianity and Asian culture also can teach us about the importance of interdependent communities. Asian culture is communal. The community and family are more important than the individual. It is believed that we cannot be fully formed as human beings in isolation. The term uri, meaning “our” or “we-ness,” captures the centrality of interdependence. For example, in Korea one never talks about ‘my school’ or ‘my church’; it is always ‘our school’ or ‘our church.’ Likewise, one will say ‘our husband’ or ‘our sister’ to express the communal culture of society. In other words, everyone is your auntie or uncle. Everyone is looking for you and is in your business, for better or for worse. It’s like one big extended family. One family, one body.

Bearing One Another’s Burdens

It’s so important to cultivate a deep sense of communal interdependence in order to overcome divisions and apathy and self-centeredness in the church and in our nation. The next question is, “How do we cultivate ubuntu interdependence in our daily lives?” The answer is by bearing one another’s burdens. In Galatians 6 Paul talks about two kinds of burdens – one is to share, the other is to carry ourselves. In verse 2 Paul says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” But then, in verse 5 Paul also says, “For each one must carry his own burden.” How can we possibly carry each other’s burdens when each should carry his own burden? The Greek word for burden is different. The first burden, baros (v. 2) means a heavy weight beyond one’s ability; the second burden, phortion (v. 5) refers to a kind of light, bearable backpack. So we are to bear one another’s ‘burdens’ which are too heavy for them to bear alone, but there is one burden (or cross) which we cannot or don’t need to share. That is our responsibility before God.

So we were meant to bear one another’s heavy burdens. By bearing one another’s burdens, we learn to cultivate a sense of interdependence. By bearing one another’s burdens, we learn to overcome our selfishness and divisions. So when we see somebody with a heavy burden on his or her mind, we must be ready to get alongside them and share their burdens. In the same way, we must be humble enough to let others share ours. Somehow we are all designed to be a burden to others. You are designed to be a burden to me and I am designed to be a burden to you. Christ himself lived a life of interdependence. He is born a baby, totally dependent on the care of his mother. He needs to be fed and wiped and helped. And at the end, on the cross, he again becomes totally dependent, pierced and stretched, unable to move. But he never loses his divine dignity. Likewise, we too are called to live a life of interdependence – bearing one another’s burdens. Once Paul wrote to the church of Corinth: “We were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within.” Then he continued: ‘But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Cor. 7:5, 6). God’s comfort was not just given to Paul through his private prayer and waiting on the Lord, but also through the companionship of a friend and through the encouragement he brought. Paul encouraged the church, and he was encouraged by the church.

Building Beloved Community

When God asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain answered irresponsibly, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:9) But, if we are followers of Christ, we are to be our brother’s and sister’s keeper. Where is your brother? Where is your sister? We are to love our brothers. We are to serve our sisters. If they are overburdened, we are to bear their burdens together. If they have gone astray, we are to reach out to them and restore them gently.

As I close, let me share the poem written by Teresa of Avila:

“Christ has no body now but yours.

No hands, no feet on earth but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

Amen.

"Greater Love” (1 Cor 11:17-26)

Greater Love

Last Sunday I shared Han family’s COVID ordeal. This past week my family and I had to face another new crisis. It was Thursday afternoon right after the cross country practice Lydia said she had severe headache and double vision. At first I thought she was whining. But it was not. Lydia was then vomiting and losing her consciousness. She was taken to the ER, and then transferred to Bangor by ambulance for further tests. Doctors and nurses were concerned about the possibilities of bleeding in the brain or a blood clot. While we were waiting for the test results, I prayed, “God, take me instead of Lydia. I am willing to give my life for her.” Then, during my devotional time, I realized how great is our God’s love for us. I would be willing to give my life for Lydia and my children. But am I willing to sacrifice my children for anyone? No! It’s unthinkable! But that was exactly what God did for us. God in his great mercy did not spare his only son to save us. John 3:16 says it all:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV)   

We are God’s beloved. And as children of God, now we have a job to do, that is, 1 John 3:16:

“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” (NRSV)

Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it out in our daily lives. So how do we love our neighbors? Going one step forward, how is it possible to love our enemies?

Lord, Open My Eyes!

Today’s scripture is our guide. It teaches us about the Lord’s Supper. The more we learn about the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, the more we can also learn how we can love our enemies. First of all, it is possible to love our enemies when our eyes are open and see our end. In the early church Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper as often as possible. Every time they celebrated it, they proclaimed this truth: “Jesus has died, Jesus is risen, Jesus will come again.” (cf. v. 26) And they greeted one another, “Maranatha!” “Come, Lord Jesus, come!” They always lived with the end in mind. Today we too proclaim the same truth: “Jesus has died, Jesus is risen, Jesus will come again.”

Forgiveness comes when we see the big picture, when we see our end. In Psalm 39 (“Call to Worship” today) the psalmist had a hard to forgive his enemies. He said, “I will guard my ways that I may not sin with my tongue… I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse, my heart became hot within me.” Then by God’s grace the psalmist continued to pray this wise prayer: “Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is… But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” His eyes were open, and he was then able to forgive and love his enemies. For 24 hours, while Lydia was in the hospital bed, Joyce was with her. Recently, Joyce was struggling to forgive. Interestingly, while she was waiting for Lydia’s test results, she prayed the same prayer: “Lord, I am willing to give my life for Lydia.” But then, God asked Joyce, “Are you able to give your life for that person you struggle to forgive?” Joyce said yes. As she was taking care of Lydia, she realized what really matters, what are the most important things in life. Then, she was able to let go, forgive, and move on.

The Perfect Example

Secondly, it is possible to love our enemies when we see and follow Jesus’ perfect example. John 13 begins this way: “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Jesus did everything with the end in mind. On the last night with his disciples Jesus did two things – washing their feet and feeding them. What he chose to do was to love his people. He knew within an hour they would all desert him and disown him. But he still loved them anyway. Jesus washed their dirty feet – one by one, even Judas’ feet. Symbolically, Jesus embraced and loved the worst in them. Then he said these last words, “Love one another. As I have loved you, love one another.” Jesus also shared his last meal with his disciples. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you.” Then, he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and said, “Drink from it, all of you, this is my blood which is poured out for you.” Here Jesus was telling them what would actually happen on the cross. On the cross Jesus’ body was broken for us. His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

We are able to love because he first loved us. For me personally, I have received so many communions so far. There is one particular communion I always remember. It was a district day. Many pastors and church leaders were gathered to discuss a controversial issue. The conversation was intense and emotional. At the end of the meeting the bishop invited us to come to the Lord’s Table. And before receiving the communion, the bishop encouraged us to ask for forgiveness to each other. At first, we were reluctant. We did it anyway. As we asked for forgiveness and then received the communion, we felt we became “one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world.” We love because Jesus first loved us. We forgive because Jesus first forgave us.

Strength to Love

The first and the second are important, but without the third, we are not just able to love our enemies. The third is this: it’s possible to love our enemies when we receive the power of the Spirit to love. When Jesus took the cup, he said, "This cup is the new covenant between God and his people – an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” (v. 25 NLT) What is the new covenant? What is the old covenant? The old covenant refers to the particular relationship that God established with Israel on Mount Sinai – the 10 commandments and Mosaic Law. Although God’s law was good and perfect, it couldn’t change peoples’ hearts and make them love God. So through prophets, God promised the new covenant, the new relationship between God and his people mediated by Messiah. The Lord said, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). “I will put my Spirit within you, and make you follow my statues” (Ezekiel 36:27). God’s promise has come true. The promised new heart has been given. The enabling power of the Holy Spirit has been poured out into our hearts through faith in Jesus Christ. So we Christians have strength to love our enemies.

There are so many good examples how Christians love their enemies by the power of the Spirit. But this morning I want to share the example of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1956 Dr. King’s home was bombed. Right after this, he urged his peers not to resort to violence and remain calm. Later, in his sermon, “Loving Your Enemies,” Dr. King said,

We will meet your physical force with soul force. Do to us what you will, and we will still love you… And so put us in jail, and we will go in with humble smiles on our faces, still loving you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and we will still love you. Send your propaganda agents around the country and make it appear that we are not fit morally, culturally, and otherwise for integration. And we will still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities at the midnight hours, and drag us out on some wayside road and beat us and leave us half dead, and we will still love you. (That’s right) But be assured that we will wear you down (Yes indeed) by our capacity to suffer. (Yes) And one day we will win our freedom, but not only will we win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process. (Yes, Lord) And our victory will be a double victory. This seems to me the only answer and the only way to make our nation a new nation and our world a new world. Love is the absolute power.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, we are called to love. We are called to love different people who don’t look like us, don’t think like us, don’t act like us. We are called to love difficult people who hate us, give us a hard time, consider us less than children of God. May the Lord open our eyes to see our end and to see what are most important things in life. May the Lord give us grace to see the perfect example of loving our enemies in the life of Jesus. May the Lord give us strength to love and forgive, that we may be worthy to be called children of God who is love. Amen. 

"Learning to Depend on God” (Deut 8:1-6; 1Cor 10:5-14)

Intro: COVID at the Hans

-          Monday, August 23. I felt weak. Came down with the cold; body chills, headache, fever.

-          Tuesday. Tested positive -> more family members too.

-          The lowly, the sick, the weak

-          Mandatory isolation. We were at the mercy of others.

-          Felt weak, vulnerable, frustrated, impatient… humiliated.

-          Experiences of weakness and dependence and humiliation were the road to humility.

 

At the School of Wilderness

-          Purpose 40 Years of Discipline in the Wilderness: Deut 8:2-3

“Remember the long way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments. He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

-          "Learning to depend on God”

-          Moses’ Life = an abridged version of Israel's experience

o   Somebody: Prince of Egypt

o   Nobody: murderer, run away, forgotten shepherd

o   God's body: leader, shepherd of Israel

 

Somebody: “I Can Do It”

-          Default mode: “self-reliant”

-          “So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” (v. 12)

-          With love, God drives us out into the school of wilderness –> God humbles us, God tests us -> We feel we are “nobody”; feel “humiliated” in the wilderness.

Nobody: “I Can't Do It”

-          God is faithful!

“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (v. 13)

-          What testing? What temptation?

(1) Sexual sin (vv. 7-8) - Numbers 25

- God is my joy? Or Baal is my joy?

- Baal: god of wealth, health, happiness in life (sex)

- Israel chose both – God and Baal

- Don’t do that!

“Do not become idolators as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day.” (vv. 7-8)

(2) Sin of Complaining (vv. 9-10) – Numbers 21

- lack of provision (water, food)

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food”

-          Examples of testing: Lack of wealth and health, Lack of provision, danger from enemies, adversity, hardships -> cancer, illness, loss of job, financial crisis, relational breakdown.

-          All temptations are tests of faith – Don’t give in. Don’t worship both. Don’t grumble. – God is faithful. God is sovereign.

-          Purpose of testing: humbles us to learn to depend on God, that we can be a God’s body. “God-reliant”

God's Body: “I Can Do It Through Him”

-          Paul’s confession; learned this at the school of wilderness

“I know how to be humble, and I know how to prosper. In each and every situation I have learned the secret of being full and of going hungry, of having too much and of having too little.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:11-13)

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.” (2 Cor 4:7-10)

At the School of Wilderness

-          Like it or not, we are all in the school of wilderness.

-          What/ How are you learning today?

-          Ex. My daily reminder – Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, at ordination service. Humility and Humiliation

 

1.      Thank God, often and always...Thank God, carefully and wonderingly for your continuing privileges...Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.

2.      Take care about the confession of your sins. Be sure to criticise yourself in God’s presence: that is your self-examination. Put yourself under the divine criticism: that is your confession...

3.      Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly, but they help you to be humble. There can be the trivial humiliations. Accept them. There can be the bigger humiliations...All these can be so many chances to be a little nearer to our humble and crucified Lord...

4.      Do not worry about status...There is only one status that our Lord bids us to be concerned with, and that is the status of proximity to himself...

5.      Use your sense of humour. Laugh about things, laugh at the absurdities of life, laugh about yourself, and about your own absurdity.

 

 

 

 

Q. What challenges, what testing are you facing today?

- Unique challenges and hardships

- universal ones – “ageing” process – becoming a child again

- Ageing can be a humiliating experience. But it can be an excellent opportunity to learn to be humble, learn to depend on God.

 

- Ex. 10 years ago. When Lydia was an infant, I travelled with my parents. We went to Grand Cannon and Niagara Falls together. (1) My father carried Lydia on his shoulders. (2) My mother carried Lydia on her back and ran here and there fast and easily. athletic. Good at every sports. (3) We travelled all day long, not tired.

- They said something like this. "Now I feel old and humiliated.” So easily tired. Now Lydia is taller, smarter, faster, stronger, healthier, better. (translator, helper) I am proud of her. I feel sad and strange.

 

- My prayer is that in the school of wilderness, when testing comes, we will not give in, we will not complain. Instead, may we thank God always. May we be ready to accept humiliations. May we learn to depend on God more and more, and become more like his Son Jesus Christ in every way. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Strategy of Love” (1 Cor 9:19-27)

Missionary Mindset

John Nicol Farquhar, a Scottish missionary to India, noticed something about Indian culture that was pretty much identical to our contemporary world. Thanks to the efforts of his senior missionaries, Christianity in India by that time was seen as something compelling and engaging. But Christianity was beginning to be no longer seen as culturally relevant and intellectually credible to the broader culture in India. “Just preach the gospel” approach didn't work anymore. To help people take Christianity seriously again, Farquhar emphasized rigorous intellectual and cultural training.

I think the same thing is happening in our world today. There are so many questions to be addressed before Christianity restores credibility. How do you reconcile Christianity and science? If God is good, why so much suffering and pain?  Why is the church so messy and divisive? What impact does the gospel have on our pluralistic society – on politics, peacemaking, and the public sphere? Barna research group refers to the current U.S. culture as “churchless.” As many as 70 percent of younger people do not find the church either relevant or meaningful and therefore see no reason to attend. As Christians, we are surrounded by a culture estranged from the Christian context. So in this spiritually foreign context how can we love our neighbors and help them to come to the faith?

Becoming All Things

In fact, the Apostle Paul had the same question we have, and he had a strategy for that. I would call it "the strategy of love.” In verse 20 Paul says:

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. (vv. 20-22, NRSV)

Although Paul is free from everyone’s expectations, he has voluntarily become a servant to all of them to reach out to a wider range of people. It doesn’t mean that he took on their way of life – “to the thief I become like a thief,” or “to the adulterer I become an adulterer.” No! He kept his bearings in Christ, but he entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. The essence of the gospel is incarnation – God became man to be with us and to save us. Paul didn’t just want to talk about it; he wanted to be in on it. As a missionary, Paul cultivated two types of mindsets: a steward mindset, and an Olympic mindset to win more people.

Self-Awareness: “A Steward Mindset” 

First of all, Paul had a strong sense of self-awareness as a steward. Before reaching a wide range of people, Paul was well grounded and deeply rooted in Christ. He was keenly aware of his own religious tradition (Pharisee), his past sins (persecuting the church), his conversion (Damascus experience), his calling (apostle to the gentiles). He knew who he is in Christ. We can summarize Paul’s reasoning this way:

1.     I am free from all; I am subject to none.

2.     But, I am under the lordship of Christ.

3.     Therefore, I choose to be a servant of all, subject to all willingly and freely.

Paul had a steward mindset: “I own nothing, Jesus owns everything.” Some in the Corinthian church doubted and challenged Paul’s apostleship. Some were saying, “Paul is not a true apostle, because he is not paid. He is just an amateur.” Some were saying, “Paul is not good enough to be an apostle.” Some were saying, “Paul can’t be an apostle because he did great harm to the church in the past.” Responding to those harsh accusations, since Paul has a clear sense of self-awareness (who he is), Paul is able to stand firm and say, “Although I am Christ’s apostle, I choose not to make full use of my rights, so that I might win more people.” (cf. vv. 18-19) On another occasion Paul also says, "By God's grace I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I, but God's grace that is with me.” (1 Cor 15:10). Paul found his identity, deeply rooted in Christ alone.

Rabbi Edwin Friedman tells the story of the bridge. There was a man who started on his journey. After starting across the bridge, he noticed someone coming from the opposite direction. The stranger began to unwrap the rope as he walked. Just as the two men were about to meet, the stranger said, “Pardon me, would you be so kind as to hold the end of the rope for me?” The man agreed without a thought, reached out, and took it. Then all of sudden, the stranger jumped off the bridge. He yelled over the edge, “Why did you do this?” “Remember,” said the other, “If you let go, I will be lost.” “Why did you do this?” he asked again. “Don’t you see what you have done? What possible purpose could you have in mind?” “Just remember,” said the other, “my life is in your hands.” Finally, the man devised a plan. He said to the stranger, “I will not accept the position of choice for your life, only for my own; I mean, simply, it’s up to you. I will become the counterweight. You do the pulling and bring yourself up. I will even tug some from here.” “You cannot mean what you say,” the other shrieked. “You would not be so selfish. I am your responsibility. Do not let go of me. Do not do this to me.” After a long pause, the man on the bridge at last uttered slowly, “I accept your choice.” In voicing these words, he freed his hands and continued his journey over the bridge.[i]

This story tells us the importance of self-awareness and self-differentiation. In reality we face these kinds of dilemmas all the time. Paul was not any different from any of us. But he was able to differentiate himself from the other apostles, his past, his wounds. And he was able to gain self-awareness in Christ. “I am not Peter, but I too am called to be an apostle to the gentiles. (v. 5)” “I am an apostle, but I don’t want to make full use of my rights. (v. 18)” “I am free from all, but I want to be a servant for all. (v. 19)” A steward mindset.

Self-Control: “An Olympic Mindset”

The second mindset we can learn from Paul is an Olympic mindset. In verse 25 Paul says, “Athletes exercise self-control in all things… So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.” It’s so much easier for a Christian to stay in the church, stay in the comfort zone instead of staying in the world. It takes a lot of work and intentional focus to know our neighbors and the broader culture – to know their struggles, their hopes, their questions. It requires discipline. That’s why Paul compares it to the rigorous training. We need an Olympic mindset.

To cultivate an Olympic mindset, walking can be a great start. Gracy Olmstead describes walking as “a ritual of love”: “Walking is a slow and porous experience… To walk is also to be vulnerable: it forces us into physical interaction with surrounding streets, homes, and people. This can delay us, annoy us, even put us in danger. But it connects us to community in a way that cars never can.”[ii] While Jesus was here on earth, he always walked at 3 miles per hour. Jesus walked 3 miles per hour to see a Samaritan woman – her pain and brokenness. Jesus walked 3 miles per hour to see Zacchaeus – his loneliness and thirst. Jesus walked 3 miles per hour to touch the sick, to chat with widows, and to meet children. We never see Jesus running anywhere. But he was able to say on the cross: “It is finished!” Jesus redeemed the entire world at three miles per hour. There are hurting people all around us. Now is the time to slow down enough to walk along with them from where they are at 3 miles per hour.

Recently, I read an article about how the Amish community puts faith in God’s will and herd immunity over vaccine. In Ohio’s Holmes County, home to the nation’s largest concentration of Amish, just 14 percent of the county’s overall population is fully vaccinated. The Amish often rely on family tradition and advice from church leaders, and a core part of their Christian faith is accepting God’s will in times of illness or death. Most now say they have already had the virus and believe their communities have reached herd immunity. So they don’t see a need to get vaccinated. For example, Mark Raber, who is Amish in Daviess County, Indiana, said, “As long as everything stays the same, I don’t think I’ll get it.”[iii]

It’s not just the Amish story. It is our story. There is a lot of confusion, hesitancy, misinformation, and distrust among us. And it’s so politically charged. In this case what won’t work is bombarding people with statistics and confrontation. What we need is to walk along with them, listen to them, and build trusting relationships. If we get vaccinated, we do it in order to love our neighbors. If we wear mask, we do it in order to love our neighbors. If we read the news, we do it in order to love our neighbors. Love is our aim. May our faith be deep enough to stand firm in Christ no matter what. May our love be wide enough to reach a wide range of people and lead them to Christ. Amen.

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[i] Adapted from Edwin H. Friedman, Friedmans Fables (New York: Guilford, 1990), 9–13.

[ii] Bilbro, Jeffrey. Reading the Times (p. 167). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

[iii] John Seewer, “Amish put faith in God’s will and herd immunity over vaccine,” Christian Century (July 12, 2021)

“Just As You Are” (1 Corinthians 7:17-24)

You Are the Beloved

What does the Bible say about who you are? Who are you according to God’s word? If we summarize who the Bible says you are in one word, it would be “beloved.” You and I are God’s beloved. We know this is true from the story of the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved. I am well pleased with you!” (Matt. 3:16–17; Mark 1:10–11; Luke 3:21–22). After this, Jesus was immediately driven out into the wilderness by the Spirit. There he was tempted by Satan. When Satan tempted Jesus, three times he began by saying, “If you are the Son of God.” Here the tempter was saying, “If you are the Son of God, prove it. Do something relevant, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will be loved and accepted.” But we must remember even before Jesus started his ministry, God already said to him, “You are the Beloved just as you are.”

We live in a world filled with voices that shout: “You are no good, you are not enough, you are ugly, you are worthless, you are nobody.” We hear loud voices saying, “Prove that you are worth something; do something special, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will earn the love you so desire.” But God says to us three times through today’s scripture, “You are the beloved just as you are.”

“However that may be, let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you” (v. 17)

“Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called” (v. 20)

“In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God” (v. 24)

You don’t have to prove that you are worth something. You don’t have to do something or change something to earn God’s favor. You are the beloved just as you are. But oftentimes, we don’t feel like we are the beloved. To help us to remember our identity in Christ everyday, Jesus used daily bread as a remembrance. On the night when Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. These four words – “take,” “bless,” “break,” and “give” – summarize the life of Jesus and also our life as a Christian, because we are called to become bread for the world. As a Christian, we are taken, blessed, broken, and given. These four words encourage us to live out our identity – the beloved of God.

Taken

First, we are taken. Another word for “taken” would be “chosen.” We are chosen, we are called, we are invited. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Some of us in this room may feel like we are nothing special. No reason to be chosen. But God’s ways are different from ours. When God chose Israel to be his people, he said to them through Moses, “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you…” (Deut 7:7-8a NKJV). God just loves you, so you are chosen. Not in spite of our weakness, but because of it, we are chosen. Every time you don’t feel like you are chosen, remember how God chose Israel. Remember how Jesus chose his disciples.

Blessed

As the beloved children of God, we are chosen, and we are blessed. God is determined to bless his people. Balak summons Balaam to curse Israel. But God turns every curse into a blessing three times when Balaam opened his mouth to prophesy. Then Balaam realizes that God is determined to bless Israel (Numbers 22-24). God is determined to bless you and me.

Henri Nouwen once shared how he was deeply moved by witnessing a bar mitzvah (coming-of-age) – most of all by the parents’ blessing. The father said to the son something like this: “Son, whatever will happen to you in your life, whether you will have success or not, become important or not, will be healthy or not, always remember how much your mother and I love you” (Life of the Beloved, 67-68). That’s how our heavenly father blesses us. When we come to a quiet place to pray, we can listen to the blessing. For me personally, God’s blessings have delivered me out of many pits of despair. When I was so discouraged in my early years of ministry, the voice said, “Don’t be afraid. Keep doing it. I have many people in this city.” When I was about to give up preaching, the voice said, “Keep on speaking. You are little, but you are a mighty warrior.” When I hit the bottom and didn’t know what to do next, the voice said, “You are called. Abide.” God is determined to bless you if you are willing to listen. We are chosen, and we are blessed.

Broken

Thirdly, we are broken. I am a broken person, and you are a broken person. What we learn from the Bible is that the leaders and prophets of Israel, who were clearly chosen and blessed, all lived very broken lives. And we, the beloved children of God, cannot escape our brokenness either. What matters is how we respond to our brokenness. We can either face it or deny it. We can either take a step toward it or take a step away from it. When we choose to face it, confess it, embrace it, healing begins.

A friend of mine used to work for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). I was impressed by how they introduced themselves. In the meeting there are diverse people who are in the different stages of addiction. Some are serious, and others are not. But every member must introduce themselves in the same way: “Hello, everyone. My name is Victor, and I am an alcoholic.” There is no exception. Even though I quit drinking for a decade, still I have to introduce myself. “My name is Victor, and I am an alcoholic.” The first step to healing is to confess, “I am broken.” Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mark 2:17, NRSV). There is hope for those who say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Given

We are chosen, blessed, and broken so as to be given. As the beloved children of God, we are chosen, blessed, and broken not simply for our own sakes, but so that we may be given to others. When God chose and blessed Abraham, he said to him, “I will bless you, and you will be a blessing to others. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:2-3).

Some of us might feel that there is not much to offer to others. But no matter which stage of life we are at, we have something to give. The other day I had a chance to visit Ed and Priscilla Clark. They both fell at different times. Ed is now at Stillwater Rehab, and Priscilla at Eastern Maine. I heard from their daughter that the day when Priscilla had surgery, somehow Ed got the news. He called every hospital and finally got hold of Priscilla. Ed said to Priscilla, “I am so concerned about you. I miss you. And I love you.” Priscilla replied back, “I love you too. I think we are set.” (Ed broke his left hip, and Priscilla her right one) As I was listening to the story and visiting each of them, they taught me what’s most important in life. I felt inspired, blessed, honored to be part of their life journey. Friends, we are given to each other. And each of us has something to give.

Jesus and I

The story of the five loaves and two fish echoes the same truth. When Jesus saw a great crowd, he was moved with compassion. And he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples asked him to send them away. But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They found one boy who was willing to share what he had, five loaves and two fish. By faith the boy brought what he had to Jesus. He had no idea what Jesus would do with it. But he had simple faith that Jesus would do something with it. Once one of my colleagues encouraged me to put the boy’s shoes on and asked me this question. She said, “Have you ever thought how the boy would tell the story to his parents later?” Do you think he would simply say, “Mom, Dad, today Jesus fed the 5,000?” Probably not! He would say with excitement, “Mom and dad, today Jesus and I together did feed thousands of people!”

We don’t need to be young, healthy, strong, rich to be happy. Just as we are, just as we are called, we are the beloved of God. What we need is simple faith – the faith enough to be open to his invitation. God is already and always at work in our lives, and he invites us to join him in his work. May we say “yes” to his invitation today. As the beloved children of God, may we be taken, blessed, broken, and given to others. And our heavenly Father will get the glory. Amen.

 

“Glorify God in Your Life” (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

Post-Pandemic Church

After the pandemic Americans are not the same. The church can’t be either. The Barna Research Group found that a third of practicing Christians had dropped out of church at some point and 29 percent of senior pastors said they “seriously considered” quitting in the past year. According to the Pew Research Center, during the first months of the year, fewer than half of regular churchgoers in the US made it to an in-person service, though more than three-quarters said their churches had reopened. Across the country, the churches and their leaders have ushered weary congregants through virtual worship setups, lonely hospital stays, funerals, strained marriages, mental health struggles, job losses, intense political tensions, racial trauma, and relentless debates over pandemic precautions. Today we, as a church, still carry the burden of trauma and divides built up over more than a year.

Although it’s a challenging and disturbing time for the church, it can be also a great opportunity for us to live up to our calling and to glorify God in our suffering. At the end of today’s passage 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” As we navigate next steps in the midst of the pandemic, how may we bring healing and help people to go forward and look forward instead of going back? How can we?

Choose Love

Today’s scripture gives us two guidelines. The first one is, “Choose to be loving, rather than to be right.” Paul says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are beneficial” (v. 12). In other words, don’t ask, “What is right?” “What do I have to do?” Instead ask, “What is love?” “What is the most loving thing for me to do in this situation?”

In Corinthian church there was a dispute. Paul had to face the unpleasant issue of one Christian going to court against another one. Paul’s advice is like this, “If you must go to law against another Christian, allow the church to choose people who are godly and competent to try cases” (vv. 2-6). Then, he gives an even more challenging advice that it would be better that Christians didn’t go to law against one another at all (vv. 7-8). Eugene Peterson’s Message Bible interprets these verses as follows:

These court cases are an ugly blot on your community. Wouldn't it be far better to just take it, to let yourselves be wronged and forget it? All you're doing is providing fuel for more wrong, more injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family (vv. 7-8).

Here the point of Paul’s message is to choose love instead of being right. We can be right all the time and still be a horrible human being. We can “win” an argument and push people further away from Jesus. I share this from my own experience. When I was a sophomore in high school, there was one classmate who was very critical of Christianity. Since I was a pastor’s kid, I took it personally. One day he and I entered into intense debate, and I won an argument. But the result was that I pushed him further away from the church. Yes we can be right and show the opposite of God’s love for them. And we can do that in Jesus’ name.

 

We don’t have to choose love at the cost of truth. Truth and love can go together. Truth and love must go together, because Christian love rejoices in the truth (1 Cor 13:6). I think Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-A, can be a good example. He believes marriage is designed for a man and a woman. Because of his stance, his business was boycotted by many. In response to the boycott, scores of Cathy’s supporters rallied for “Chick-fill-A Appreciation Day,” buying millions of chicken sandwiches in a show of solidarity – a protest against the protest. Dan Cathy did not personally affirm or join in the protest against the protest. Instead, he quietly reached out to one of this strongest critics, gay activist Shane Windmeyer, who eventually shared these words in the Huffington Post[i]:

Never once did Dan or anyone from Chick-fil-A ask for Campus Pride to stop protesting Chick-fil-A. On the contrary, Dan listened intently to our concerns and . . . [he] sought first to understand, not to be understood. . . . Dan and I shared respectful, enduring communication and built trust. His demeanor has always been one of kindness and openness. . . . Dan expressed regret and genuine sadness when he heard of people being treated unkindly in the name of Chick-fil-A—but he offered no apologies for his genuine beliefs about marriage.

Compassion without compromise. Love and truth. At the same time. In this weary and divided world we can glorify God as we choose to be loving rather than to be right.

Choose Freedom

The second guideline from today’s scripture is, “Choose freedom in Christ.” Paul says in 6:12, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything” (ESV). In other words, don’t ask, “Am I permitted to do this?” Instead ask, “Am I a slave to this act?” “Is this food or drink or sex or hobby or work or money becoming my master instead of my servant?”

In our culture many believe that freedom is to be able to do whatever we want. Freedom is the ability to adopt any lifestyle that we like, to choose any sexual partner, to escape any obligation. The more choices we have, the freer we are assumed to be. Some in Corinthian church believed they can eat and drink and have sex any way they like because the body is morally irrelevant. They believed the body will be destroyed in the end. For them, what matters is what they know and think and believe (8:1-3). But Paul proclaims the truth by the Spirit, “The body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. The body is not just going to be destroyed; it is going to be raised. The body is not morally indifferent. It is for the glory of God. So glorify God in your body.”

How can we glorify God in our body? We can glorify God by not being enslaved by anything (negatively), by choosing freedom in Christ (positively). The Bible says we were all slaves to sin, the root of which is self-centeredness. But Christ Jesus set us free from the dark prison of our own self-centeredness. Not only that, but Jesus gave us freedom to be our true selves. John Stott rightly said, “True freedom is the ability to be who we are made to be — people made to love God and to love others.” 

Just as love and truth go together, so love and freedom must go together. Christian freedom must be guided by Christian love. In 8:1 Paul says, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” Some Christians in Corinth used to eat any food, including food offered to idols, because they knew that an idol is nothing at all and that there is no God but one. They had that knowledge. But the thing is because of that, some who didn’t have that knowledge saw them eat food scarified to idols and thought of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences were violated. So Paul said to the church, “You must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble” (8:9 NLT). Then, he concluded this way, “So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live – for I don't want to cause another believer to stumble” (v. 13). We are free when we live under the lordship of Christ. We are free when we see ourselves as servants of others. And we glorify God as we choose freedom guided and shaped by agape love.

Perfect in Love

God is glorified when we savor his love and freely serve others. Probably many of you know the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” written by Isaac Watts. Charles Wesley said that he would give up all the hymns he had penned if he could have written this hymn. In this great hymn Isaac Watts invites us to join him at the foot of the cross and witness the pain and shock of Jesus’ death:

“See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

or thorns compose so rich a crown?”

For us who were cleansed and forgiven, who were set free from fear, self, and addiction, who were given freedom and power to live a new life of love and service by the blood of Jesus, this Calvary story becomes so real, so powerful, so personal, so transforming, and we cannot but join Isaac Watts in singing:

“Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were an offering far too small;

love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.”

We just want to love God, give ourselves to God and in service to others with undivided heart. John Wesley calls it “Christian perfection.” It doesn’t mean sinless perfection. But it does mean perfect in love – the heart undivided in its love for God and others. Let me give you an illustration. Robert Coleman, my seminary professor, once shared his story. He was working in the garden on a hot summer day, and sweat was pouring off his body. His little son saw him working hard outside, and decided to bring him a glass of water. He went down to the kitchen, pulled up a stool, and managed to reach up to sink. He picked up a dirty glass laying in the sink, filled with lukewarm water, and brought it out to his dad. Robert commented, “The glass was dirty, and the water warm, but it was brought to me in perfect love.”  

Our life might be broken and stained with all kinds of sins like dirty glass, and our best efforts like lukewarm water. But when we bring it to the Lord with love, he takes it, and calls it “perfect love.” The difficult times and issues we have to face as a church are ahead of us – different political visions, racial justice, human sexuality, just to name a few. But as Christians, as we choose to be loving and kind and to freely love and serve others, people will see it and ask, “Why are Christians so loving? They are different. I want what they have.” They will be drawn to God, and God will be glorified in our lives. Amen.

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[i] Scott Sauls, Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.), Kindle Edition. Location 386 of 3622.