Face to Face

Meaningless Gospel?

2011-12-11T22:06:00.000-08:00

"It is not difficult to see how the marketeer's evangelicalism might begin to resemble the old liberalism, the gospel H. Richard Niebuhr once described as consisting in a God without wrath bringing people without sin into a kingdom without judgment through a Christ without a cross."

God in the Wasteland, pg. 82 by David F. Wells

Wendell Berry's Take on Roads

2011-10-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

"A road, on the other hand, even the most primitive road, embodies a resistance against the landscape. Its reason is not simply the necessity for movement, but haste. Its wish is to avoid contact with the landscape; it seeks so far as possible to go over the country, rather than through it; its aspiration, as we see clearly in the example of our modern freeways, is to be a bridge; its tendency is to translate place into space in order to traverse it with the least effort. It is destructive, seeking to remove or destroy all obstacles in its way. The primitive road advanced by the destruction of the forest; modern roads advance by the destruction of topography."

Wendell Berry in "A Native Hill" from The Art of the Commonplace

This quote reminds me of times when I had to decide between taking either US Route 101's concrete monotony, and Highway 1, which hugs the Californian coast-line, bluffs, and beautiful stretches of sandy beaches. Even the times that I've chosen to take Highway 1, it seems bearable only momentarily. The twists and turns seem nauseating. Or, is it the speed at which I drive that causes these terrible sensations? Traveling, while often regarded as a movement from A to B, requires room for absorbing the sights and sounds, smells and wonders of a particular locale. Why rush and miss everything in between? Are we that impatient? On my wife and my honeymoon trip to Madrid and Montreal en route back to Vancouver, we realized that we didn't want to tour through a country at a hare's pace and hardly absorb its local culture. Yet even a week's time in Madrid hardly does the city justice, especially as honeymooners and newbies to Madrid's late-night eating culture. One of the things that Esther and I have tried to remind each other is the good that lies in knowing the streets in our neighborhood. To walk the streets and to converse with our neighbors root us more readily in this place than driving just the two of us with the sole purpose of getting there. Why lose the in-betweeness and settle for roads that avoid as Berry puts it?

How can we better know our landscape and topography? How can we better contribute and participate in the shaping of the landscapes that both define our patterns of movement but also how our neighborhoods are shaped? What would it look like to make contact with our landscape?

Acedia & Me

2011-10-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

"Savoring this stark truth [shortness of life] in a holy book, I am better able to confront my acedia, and ask myself why I am so willing to waste time, as if it were not a gift, mindlessly consuming and discarding my precious mortal life. I can pray, with the psalmist: "Make us know the shortness of our life/that we may gain wisdom of heart." I may feel lost and weary, but these words provide sustenance. If the life of faith, like depression, is a cycle of exile and return, I am a prodigal become a pilgrim, if only I can remember to turn toward home."

Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris (pg. 284)

I've just finished Kathleen Norris' insightful yet personal account of acedia's grip on people, and I too confess that acedia has had its deadly grip on me. This passage in particular resonates with my own heart as I am prone to letting time pass without any significant signs of fruit to show forth. Precious time that can never be reclaimed. I am starkly reminded of this condition (or perhaps outlook) considering the fact that I am home often these days looking for work. Time seems abundant, but often it is necessarily spent perusing websites advertising job postings that often do not materialize into a lead or interview. Weary of these endless pursuits, I settle to use my time more "efficiently" doing something else, but in fact, these other endeavors too seem fruitless.

I am grateful for Norris' candid account of the battle against acedia in her own life in order that I might recognize that which is present in mine. A commitment to begin small with a regular and consistent offering of the psalms seems like a good start.

Saturday Schedule (May 7th)!!!

2011-05-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

We're so excited to see you all this weekend! We've prepped and planned, and now we're trying to tie up any loose ends. We're especially grateful for our friends traveling from afar to be with us. To help you guys plan, we're posting our weekend schedule. Please refer back to this site for updates:

(1) Wedding @ 4pm at Convergence Community Church
* Please be wary of construction on interstate highways. Give yourselves ample time!

There is a parking lot available at the church!

(2) Photos, chats, and simple hor dourves from 5-6pm at Convergence

(3) Drive to the Durant Arts Center (10 min drive) for Reception from 6:30-9pmish

There is parking available to the side of the Durant Arts Center as well as the school parking lot in the back!

(4) Meet at Northside Social at 10pm (3211 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, VA) for drinks and conversation (http://northsidesocialarlington.com)
* Free street parking available or valet service through Lyon Hall Restaurant (1020 N Highland St Arlington, VA) for $5. It's a 2 minute walk to Northside.

Additional Hotel Accommodations!

2011-04-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Some of our friends from out of town are also staying at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. It is a bit further away from the reception site than the other other hotel, but still relatively close and a great option for those who want to save a bit of $$.

here's a link:
http://www.expedia.com/Northern-Virginia-Hotels-Hilton-Alexandria-Mark-Center.h17723.Hotel-Information?chkin=05%2F06%2F2011&chkout=05%2F08%2F2011&rm1=a2&hashTag=roomsAndRates&#

This would be another good option although it doesn't specify which hotel it would be:
http://www.hotwire.com/hotel/details.jsp?actionType=2&inputId=hotel-results&searchId=5809700378&selectedSolutionId=106074921095&selectedPGoodId=174801117174

Hotel Accommodations!

2011-02-25T16:56:00.000-08:00

For our out-of-town guests, we are "recommending":

Embassy Suites Alexandria - Old Town
1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, VA 22314
Tel: 1-703-684-5900, Toll-free: 1-800-362-2779, Fax: 1-703-684-1403
www.alexandriaoldtown.embassysuites.com

For a king sized bed with a living room suite, the price is $139.00 (plus tax).

For two double beds with a living room suite, it is $149.00 (plus tax).

Each living room has a pull-out couch, so it's great for families (as children stay for free) and conducive for friends to crash together like the olden days. Each room accommodates up to 2 adults and each additional adult is $10 per person per night. There is hotel parking at $18 per night.

The reception site is within walking distance from the hotel and very close to the King Street Metro stop. The hotel also offers such perks as free shuttle rides down to the water-front of Old Town Alexandria.

Please inform the hotel that you are booking with "Kim-Ryu Wedding Party" and book by April 9th!

We know that expenses can run high, so we also want to recommend other options (i.e., stay with one of our local friends, or try www.airbnb.com with which both Esther and I have had good experiences).

Do let us know how we can help w/ your stay!!

Wedding Invite Preview

2011-02-12T21:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a preview of our wedding invitation.
I'm thinking of using this blog to post wedding information rather than make a new site.

What are we teaching our kids in Sunday school??

2010-05-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

This will be a short posting although I haven't posted in some time; yet, in reading Rodney Clapp's A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society, I found an interesting commentary on the state of the church as a worshipping community. Clapp is questioning the legitimacy of why people go to church in the first place. In essence, wrong motives do breed poor results. He highlights this observation by quoting Will Willimon in his book entitled Peculiar Speech. Clapp writes on pg. 95:

Christians were taught that worship was preeminently their opportunity to be "fed."
But it was rarely recognized that to be fed is to be infantilized. To say I go to church
to be fed is the same as saying, "I go to church so I can act like a baby." And the irony
of this marginalized, privatized worship is heightened when we realize that even our
children find such worship boring and trivial. Will Willimon quotes a child psycho-
therapist in his congregation who complained that the problem with children's sermons
was that they never dealt with any of the real concerns of children.

"Such as?" Willimon asked.
She responded, "Concerns like death, abandonment, fear of adults, adult injustice, violence."

I don't think I have ever heard a children's sermon on any of the abovementioned topics. About a year ago, one of our teachers announced on the day of his departure that it would be his last Sunday with us. No advance notice. No warning. No time to prepare ourselves. Just like that, he announced it to me right after service. And, thus, I announced it to the youth. Questions came back at me and hit me right in the gut where I was feeling all of the same emotions the youth were feeling. So, instead of moving forward with our usual program, we just sat in a circle and talked about how crappy we felt and voiced the raw emotions that circled the room. Then, we prayed while holding hands and remembered that there is still a new day coming. This was one of the most real and authentic moments we shared as a group, and it's something that is at times palpable.

Both Clapp and Willimon are onto something. Why do we go to church? Why do we send our children to Sunday school? Are the arts and crafts that bear witness to their Sunday morning activities a legitimate enough of a reason? When we talk about being "fed", what do we exactly mean by this? Are our bellies so full that we do not know how to share? Don't get me wrong; I love to eat and be fed. But, when will the Church go beyond being and breeding babies that see little maturity?

P.T. Porsyth on Preaching the Gospel

2010-01-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

In P.T. Forsyth's The Work of Christ, he goes at great lengths to unpack what biblical preaching really is. He frames this discussion around the notion that Christ has died to reconcile us to God so that we may fellowship in communion with Him. He writes: "The grand end of reconciliation is communion" (72). He goes on to write: "It is not enough that we should worship and pay homage to a loving God. That does not satisfy the love of God. Nothing short of living, loving, holy, habitual communion between his soul and ours can realise at last the end which God achieved in Jesus Christ" (73). These are quite profound words in light of our church's youth retreat from which I returned a few days ago. There, the preacher spoke on the role of missions that leads to worship. He also quoted John Piper who says something to the extent that there is missions because there is no worship (paraphrased).

This is an interesting notion to ponder. If God's main objective through the Cross of Jesus Christ was to reconcile humanity to himself so that we may enter into communion with Him, where does worship fit in? Can worship be an end in itself? I have been taught that we have been created to worship God and give glory to Him. The image of the new heavens is that we will be a gather community of worshiping saints who praise God all day long. But, there is a certain amount of discomfort in that image. Why? It misses the mark on the role of communion which God invites us into. P.T. Forsyth calls it "reciprocal communion," one in which our relations with the Living God is altered not solely for our benefit, but so that God can also meet with us, dine with us, and enjoy His creation.

With this thought in mind, P.T. Forsyth makes certain claims about preaching in the Church. He basically draws a distinction in good preaching and other types that fall rather short. One type within this latter camp is preaching that invokes one's own impressions about Christ and the Cross. This type of preacher bases his/her preaching on experiences. He writes that this type of preacher preaches his/her impressions of Christ and the text. He argues that this ultimately lacks because it is insight of the Cross that matters, not impressions. He writes: "We do not preach the impression the Cross made upon us, but the message that God by his Spirit sent through a Christ we experience. And so with ourselves. We do not preach our impressions, or even our experience" (67).

It makes sense to use these experiences as a vehicle towards objective truth of the Gospel, but basing the Truth of the Gospel by preaching experiences falters in the end. He writes: "We want something that will stand by us when we cannot feel any more; we want a Cross we can cling to, not simply a subjective Cross" (67). Based on P.T. Forsyth's insights, the question that comes to mind is: "Where is the place of one's testimony?" I believe Forsyth would say that they are important, but should lead to a reflection upon how that experience is related to the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. I believe that this is where communion comes in. Forsyth builds his argument about preaching to tie to directly to the reconciling work of Jesus Christ, which has brought us into the communion of the Triune God. Without being about to "see into Christ and into his Cross," the message always remains an impression without insight.

These remain cautionary words for preachers (I included...) who use cultural, personal, or past experiences to preach the Gospel. It seems like a fine line one can cross easily. How do I personally see into Christ? How does the Church commune with God through the preaching of Christ? These are some questions to ponder...

Searching for Answers...

2009-10-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

Flora Wuellner writes in the introduction of her book entitled Prayer and Our Bodies: "...God wishes not so much to give us answers as to have us grow into answers...When answers are given us before we are ready, they do not answer."

I find this quote compelling b/c we are most apt to demand answers when we may not be ready for them. We earnestly seek and find something. But, perhaps that something we walk away with may actually not be the answer we are seeking. Growth happens. It takes time and cannot be rushed. How rooted are we in prayer...and how often are we able to say that we grow into answers that await us?

Reaction to Redactors?

2009-10-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm curious to see if people have actually thought about the role of redactors in the compilation and canonization of the Biblical text. Just to get our minds churning a bit, here's an example of what I mean:

In 1 Chronicles 20:1, it says: "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins."

In 2 Samuel 11:1, it also says: "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem."

Or, how about when examining 2 disparate texts on the same narrative account as found in 1 Chronicles 20:5 (" In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod.") and 2 Samuel 21:19 ("In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod.")

It seems pretty likely that these 2 accounts either drew from a common source or one from the other. But, why the change in the name of the person killed? Was it Goliath the Gittite according to the author of Samuel? Or, was it Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite according to the Chronicler?

In carefully examining the Chronicler's account with an acute awareness of the context from which he was writing, it's fairly conclusive that there are a lot of similar texts in both Samuel-Kings and Chronicles. Even when considering the 1st set of examples above, it's important at least to ask the question as to why the Chronicler states that "Joab led out the armed forces," while in the Samuel account, "David sent Joab out." Is the Chronicler trying to portray David in a different light? When paging through the Chronicles, one will be hard-pressed to find an account of David's affair with Bathsheba or the fractious relationship with his son Absalom. These accounts show up in the Samuel narratives, but not in Chronicles. Why is that? It seems as if a good Bible student cannot turn a blind eye to these questions that inevitably raise the possibility of redactors playing a role in how the Bible came together. The idea of redactors meticulously adapting traditional sources from one Biblical author and re-interpreting it by weaving in oral tradition or other sources does not seem far-fetched in terms of how the Biblical text might have come together.

If this sounds semi-intriguing or even questionable, that's good. I'd suggest one to compare Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-3. How does one respond to parallel texts like this? Does one tackle these questions to be more informed Bible reader, or do you just shy away and explain it as being inspired by the Holy Spirit? Well, it seems to me that the Holy Spirit can work through redactors and the final product is itself inspired by that arduous process. If one is so set on projecting his or her own understanding of what "inspired text" looks like, challenges will inevitably arise. Not only is that type of reading anachronistic, it's simply dangerous. There's no thought given or depth developed in truly understanding the text. It is not an easy task. How it happens and what it looks like--theses depend on the student's commitment to seriously wrestle through these questions.

Writings of Thomas Merton

2009-09-21T11:00:00.001-07:00

Recently, I picked up a collection of essays by Thomas Merton entitled No Man is an Island. The title captivated me enough to get me started. I have some of his other works, but this is the first one that I've actually been able to read. In this book, he has an essay entitled "Being and Doing." My first response is one of immediate interest because of the culture in which I live. I'm constantly in an environment that nurtures fast-paced productivity and action. The fruit of one's labor has less to do with the person's holistic journey from start to finish of one's task (even if it entails sitting and resting!), but rather, more to do with quantifiable numbers and results.

This is especially true of the Korean church, and mine is no exception. There is an overly keen interest in measuring health and success by attendance. Programs rule the day; the more you do, the holier one will get (n.b., I refrained from saying 'holier one will be'). As a result, it becomes a hub of busy-bodies: those who meddle in other people's affairs (not people who keep themselves busy as the word would seem to connote). But, perhaps this is what a life of doing eventually leads to: simply meddling. But, this experience is also relevant to school. At the peak of term, there is little time simply 'to be' because it's all about the race to get things done, or merely to survive. Oh I pray for the grace not to be like that this term.

I am simply intrigued by the interplay between doing and being. It seems as if few people I know get this right in practice of their everyday lives. Last semester, I made a conscious attempt to do nothing pertaining to school work or church affairs from sun down to sun down (usually Thurs-Fri) once a week. At times I would cheat and curb that time of rest to prepare a sermon or finish a paper during crunch time. I cannot admit to having practiced Sabbath well, but it was a small step in realizing something more about myself: I have trouble simply being. It is in this realization that Merton's words have been nagging and pressing on my heart these past few days. I hope that his words help you reflect in a similar way b/c some nagging and pressing doesn't hurt from time to time. They may do us some good.

Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island (pgs. 127-128)
"We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.

Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but because of the silence that is in it: without the alternation of sound and silence there would be no rhythm. If we strive to be happy by filling all the silences of life with sound, productive by turning all life's leisure into work, and real by turning all our being into doing, we will only succeed in producing a hell on earth.

If we have no silence, God is not heard in our music. If we have no rest, God does not bless our work. If we twist our lives out of shape in order to fill every corner of them with action and experience, God will silently withdraw from our hearts and leave us empty."

The Spiritual Transaction

2009-09-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

From the writings of J. Rendel Harris:

"But do you say, 'Are we then to seek for signs and wonders, to fast and pray, ardently longing for the divine revelation, until the vision dawns?' I do not say so; but rather add unto your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love: for if ye do these things ye shall never fall, and an entrance shall be abundantly ministered unto you into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Failure

2009-02-14T10:10:00.001-08:00

Taken from Seeds of Hope, Edited by Robert Durback

The great temptation is to use our many obvious failures and disappointments in our lives to convince ourselves that we are really not worth being loved. Because what do we have to show for ourselves?

But for a person of faith the opposite is true. The many failures may open that place in us where we have nothing to brag about but everything to be loved for. It is becoming a child again, a child who is loved simply for being, simply for smiling, simply for reaching out.

This is the way to spiritual maturity: to received love as a pure, free gift.

Can God make a square circle?

2008-01-30T22:43:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a class on Spiritual Discernment. One of our required readings is a book entitled Weeds Among the Wheat--Discernment: Where Prayer and Action Meet by Thomas H. Green. Somewhere in the book, he poses this basic but thought-provoking question: Can God make a square circle?

When one considers God's creative acts in light of His redemptive history, there is an invitation extended to us to participate in His divine works. Even our human intelligence is created to participate in God's divine works of ongoing creation and redemption. As a result, Green argues that whatever contradicts in our minds cannot be made truth by the Mind in whose wisdom we participate. It would not be consistent with God's character and actions to derive something out of left field just because He is able to.

On the flip-side, one can argue that all things are possible for and through God, including things that are contradictory for us. We are not in a position to limit God's creative acts or to rationalize what He might do. God is above all created things and man can only begin to fathom His greatness. In a sense, we begin to relinquish our personhood to be truly religious or God-centered, goes the argument against this notion.

Well...these thoughts are definitely worthwhile to chew on. A God that is supremely inviting and seeks our participation in His redemptive history does not seek us to be "robotized." I think that is safe to say without snuffing the mystery of God. Furthermore, we are not mere actors in God's puppet show. He is also not a God that operates capriciously as we see from the Book of Job. He invites us to unite our "dynamic, passionate, fully alive human will(s)" with that of God's to forge a "union of wills" that ultimately allow us to place our trust in God through obedience.

Can God make a square circle? Sure, God can do anything He wants. But, is that to know God? I believe that God draws us intimately close to Him because we bear His good image. We have been made in His likeness to be His stewards. In Him, we not only discover things about ourselves, but also about God's character. Let's press in to know God for who He really is...our Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Healer, Deliverer, etc...all characteristics of Himself that God desires to reveal to us.

Human Agency

2008-01-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a religious tradition where the overture in the message regarding the self was one of negativity. The self was utterly bad and sinful. There is no good in man except in and through the work of Christ. Growing up, I recall youth retreats where each night resulted in a massive call for repentance on our knees. We cried, wept, repented, and sought God's forgiveness for ourselves because we embodied sin. When I came back from retreats with puffy eyes and a raspy voice, my parents commended me for meeting God in such a way. And, to a large extent, I don't doubt that God met me at these retreats. However, I begin to wonder whether this overture wasn't played in a way that set the tone for the rest of the piece.

I believe that God created man in His image and saw that it was good. Even after the fall, our reflection of God's nature in us was broken in the sense that we needed renewal in relationship. But, I don't believe that it utterly changed the goodness that God saw in His creation. In a lot of ways, God's creation endures the fall. The language of "likeness" is passed on from Adam to Seth (Genesis 5:3) and is also mentioned in how God intends to preserve the life of man from crime and punishment. Genesis 9:6 states, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." In the New Testament, James writes about "God's likeness" in chapter 3:9, and how that calls for a kind of reverence for all humanity.

When we look at how God has used and continues to use humans in his great act of redemption, we see that man is not utterly bad in the sense that we lost all of God's intended goodness when he created us. Despite our brokenness, God has sustained a goodness in us that demands a recognition on our part. One Christian adage I heard growing up (even this past Sunday!) was that God calls us to decrease so that He may increase. Less of me, and more of God was our motto. Some have even extended that to say: None of me, and all of You. These sayings derive from John the Baptist when he testifies about Jesus Christ saying: "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30) In essence, John the Baptist's work was to pave the way for Christ. John the Baptist lets his followers know that he himself is not the Christ. That his work is nearing completion. As he must become less, people should see the greatness in the living Christ Himself. In view of the larger story, this popular Christian adage seems to be misleading and derivative of a saying that was intended for something quite different. I've been wrestling quite a bit with how to read and interpret the Word lately. And without opening a can of worms, I just want to quote Gordon D. Fee: "To make (a) text mean something God did not intend is to abuse the text, not use it" (from How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth).

I believe that God takes our humanness very seriously. I believe God knows our brokenness and desires to redeem it in the completion of a new heaven & new earth. At the same time, I believe God sees a goodness that has endured the fall that He sees in each of us. There is something to be said of human agency. In the history of the world, God has decided to partner with humans in such a way that human agency cannot be discounted. Some may argue here that it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who drives and propels us. Yes, the Holy Spirit works in and through each of us. But, He still works through and in. We are not mere robots. So, how are we to view ourselves? Is the picture that we paint for ourselves a Biblical one which God desires for us to see? Especially in today's society where the "self-image" is skewed more than ever, let's challenge our thinking to see more of ourselves as God does.

Face to Face

2008-01-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

How awkward it is to get in one's face! People begin to wonder. Perhaps, there's something growing on my face that you'd like to enlighten me about. Is there food stuck between my teeth that you'd like to partake in? To stare deeply into the face of those with whom you converse is not a welcomed encounter. Maybe that's why people have pointed that out to me so much in the past. I mean, honestly, if you don't look at the person's face--where else can you turn?

Well, I'm glad that God invites us to look unto Him face to face. This invitation was traditionally marked out for those that God sought out. God's Word says that Moses spoke to God face to face as a friend would. Not all of Israel knew God in this way. Jacob also wrestles with God face to face before meeting his brother and names the holy ground Peniel saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." There are other passages in God's Word that denies us the viewing of His face because it would overwhelm us to point of death. So, which is it? Do we gaze upon or look away?

This is an issue that was cleared up with the incarnate birth of Christ as man. To look upon the face to the living God in flesh and not to die is an accomplishment in itself. But, Christ invites us to something more. It is not an encounter where the "face to face" symbolizes a chasm that engulfs our whole being, but instead, Christ invites us to a "face to face" relationship with Him. The same norms hold true from the previous encounters that Moses, Jacob, and Elijah faced. We are unworthy to gaze upon His face and we will burn for it. As we draw closer to God, He will melt away the dross that inhabits our hearts. It will hurt! But, it will also be so sweet! God will embrace, nurse, coddle, and sustain us to become a better us.

This is one of my prayer requests for 2008. My desire is to keep my eyes fixed on God, even if it's awkward or painful or uncomfortable. I know that it's not an easy task because it comes at a cost--the cost of looking away from the things of this world. Indeed, as the Apostle Paul writes, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." I know that obedience is refined only as I keep my eyes on my Saviour, not the other way around. No one perfected obedience in Christ in order to look upon His face. So, may 2008 be a year when I live in a place of Peniel. Face to face with the Living God.