Rain!

It is Wednesday afternoon as I am writing this. It is raining all day long here in Superior. It seemed to rain pretty heavily in the morning. Some people may consider rain to be unpleasant but I think I do enjoy the rain. I enjoy the sound of rain dropping down on the house roof. I like to tuck myself under the blanket and read a book. Or I’d love to cook ramen noodles to enjoy. (Unfortunately I can’t cook it right now due to my 3 days of fasting.) Anyways, I enjoy rain.

As much as I enjoy rain, I don’t want to see rain every single day. The reason I can enjoy rain is because I can enjoy it once in a while. If it rains too much all at once, then you’d expect a flood in the area. The first time when it rained on earth was during Noah’s time. And it rained too much. It wasn’t the kind of rain that I’d enjoy like today. Heavens and the earth broke out and the whole world flooded.

Why did God pour rain on earth? “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was evil continuously.” Genesis 6:5. What do you do after a long day of work? You shower. What do you when you have dirty clothes? You put them in the washing machine. What do you do when your car is dirty? You go through a car wash. The wickedness of man was great on earth and the Lord had to wash it. He did it with water. The Flood brought destruction to the earth.

“Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you… So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.” Genesis 8:16-19. When God brings destruction, there is always another side to it. After destruction is always a new fresh beginning God gives us. The Flood is a type of the New Creation that God will bring us in the near future. God will bring an end to all this sinful world and begin a New Earth with us. The best part is that we are in God’s plan.

No need to wait in line

“The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.” John 5:7-9.

Many years ago, I went to go see an air show with a friend in Korea. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, a perfect day to go see all the airplanes and the shows. I went to pick up my friend and we drove to the air force base.

Now, due to the limited parking space we were re-routed to a parking area in a nearby college campus. From there, we had to take a free shuttle bus to the entrance of the air show. We hadn’t purchased tickets yet. After parking the car we walked toward the shuttle bus stop and it was then when I realized how long the line was. I looked at the line and I knew it would take a good hour or two in order for us to get on the bus! There was nothing else we can do so we got in the line.

I think we waited for about 5-10 minutes. Suddenly I heard a young man across yelling at us in the line. “Are you guys going to the airshow?” I nodded and said, “Yes!” He said, “Come on, I’ll take you guys there!” You know how people say about not talking to strangers. At that moment it didn’t matter to us. We just wanted to save time. The man seemed legit and we gladly went over to him and got into his car. (Kids, never do this!) We were just thankful that we can save lots of time by not having to wait for the shuttle bus and go straight to the ticket booth. Well, it turned out that he wasn’t taking us to the entrance. As we talked it turned out that he was an airmen stationed at the air force base! He was out on a Sunday morning to play soccer and he was returning to his base. What he offered to do was to take us into the air show for free! He had access into the show and we didn’t have to pay a dime. He drove right through the side entrance for military people only.

The man who was paralyzed for 38 years was lying in line to get into the pool of Bethesda to be healed. But the opportunity never came. There is always someone in front of him in the line! But as this man was waiting, Jesus came to him. That was all he needed. No need for a line. And that man was healed and saved. If you are waiting in line, there is no need for that. Jesus is right here!

Philippians 1:15-18

“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The from preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.” Philippians 1:15-17.

Couple months ago we purchased Hyemi and Sebin’s air travel tickets to Korea over the phone. I called the airline office and I started asking the price and discussing the dates of the travel. As the airline agent and I were discussing the trip he asked me certain questions regarding the trip and it annoyed me. The questions seemed very disrespectful. I was not happy with the service I was receiving over the phone. My tone of voice started to change. I was upset and I started expressing my complaints to this agent. I sounded like an angry bird.

The agent on the phone was startled and surprised. He then expressed his apology numerous times. Hyemi looked at me. She was giving me the ‘what-are-you-doing’ face. I realized I wasn’t being a Christian. I thought I was being wrongfully treated and I snapped. Whether I was right or wrong, it didn’t matter. I was not representing Christ in the way I should. I wonder what he would of what of me if he knew that I was a Christian. What if he knew that I was a pastor? After all, as I reviewed the conversation in my head I knew that this agent had done nothing wrong. Once I realized what I did, I repeatedly apologized for my actions. It was way in to the night for this agent receiving my call from Korea. (They are open 24 hours.)

To be called a Christian must be a privileged label. Our actions and words preach Christ. “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached.” Philippians 1:18. Therefore, we must always watch out what we say and how we act. A true Christian preaches ‘out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.’ Philippians 1:17. The words I say and the actions I reveal must show the essence of the gospel that people see Jesus. When we do this Paul says, “I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” Philippians 1:18.

What will I do with my free time?

“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” Acts 1:14.

More time was what I really needed. I wasn’t able to accomplish anything at home. When I am at home, not visiting anyone, Sebin comes to me with her book from the shelf. She wants me to read it. So I read. This is just the beginning. Once I am done with the first book, Sebin takes the book to the shelf and brings another one for me to read. Once she gets done reading the books, Sebin brings crayons because she wants me to color with her. I do enjoy playing with my baby and I consider it important. But as times goes I have a list of things in my mind that I have to do for work. And I think to myself, I need more time. As long as I am in the house, I have no time. In order to get work done, I need to be in the office.

Now Hyemi and Sebin are gone for 6 weeks. I have all the time to me. The problem is, I don’t know what to do with the given time anymore. I was so used to being around my daughter that I don’t know what to do without my family. First, I caught up with the much-needed sleep in the last few days. That is enough though. Next, I got to do my office work at home. But then, what next? How will I utilize my time now that my family is gone?

This is what the disciples did when Jesus left. They could have lost motivation. They could have thought their life is meaningless now that Jesus is gone. They could have had all the wrong thoughts. But you know what they did? They gathered together and they prayed. And they preached the good news of Jesus. They centered their lives in Jesus and they did their job. That’s exactly what my mother told me on the phone. Now that I have more time on my own for the next 6 weeks, she told me to spend that time on my personal Bible studies.

Whether we have time or not, we all need to follow the examples of the disciples. We need to spend time with Jesus.