movie night

tonight, my wife and i went out to catch a movie.  we decided to make it a point that however busy or free we are, we would keep a few hours open each week to devote to each other.  considering we don't have any kids of our own yet, i didn't think we would have to really do the whole "date night" thing, but between youth ministry, working p/t, academics, and sonya's everchanging rotation schedule, it is all too easy to see and hangout with each other without actually being there mentally and emotionally for each other. 

having said that, we watched amazing grace.  it was a movie that i've been wanting to watch for the past week or so.  i think more than for the educational value of it, i was just hungering for some inspiration that so easily gets lost from the monotonous nature of day to day living in the upper middle-class suburbs of nw phoenix.  but whether it has been living vicariously through daniel larusso from karate kid, rocky, ,braveheart, or even the brilliance of will hunting, God oftentimes seems to use some quite interesting means of inspiration in my life as he did with amazing grace, a movie on the life of william wilburforce and his role in the abolition of slave trade.  in this movie's portrayal of wilburforce, what most clearly stood out about his character was his unwavering conviction and passion for justice, a quality which seems to be so lacking in our churches today.  as christians, i feel that some of this has to do with the fact that many of us have been taught wrongly about anger.  we are told that anger is wrong and sinful.  and often, this manifests itself in wimpy christians with weak or no convictions at all.  granted, there is a wrong sort of anger as clearly shown in scripture, there is a right anger which shows itself against the things which dishonor God, namely injustice.  if our chief aim is to seek God's glory in all things, i find it a bit unsettling that in light of much injustice, too obviously seen in the likes of poverty, hunger, discrimination, violence...that many of our hearts remain unstirred.  it is my prayer that God stir our hearts to love that which he loves and hate that which he hates.  Lord, stir my heart as you did Mr. Wilburforce. 

Isaiah 59:15-16 ¹⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. ¹⁶ He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

30

i find it neat that i now have a legitimate excuse to throw around on the basketball court when i get my lunch handed to me.  "i'm old..."  now, i dared never to say such things around some of my older hyungs, but even among the younger kids, it never really had the same umph as it does now that i'm 30.  "come on...i'm 30.  what do u expect?!" or "u just got beat by a 30 year old."  just the way 30 rolls off my tongue puts me in a bit of a mini crisis.  to a certain degre, i an one of those "age ain't nothin but a number" type people, but i have to admit that ever since i became 30, my left knee has been giving me some problems.  and this is coming from a guy who's never really had any problems with his knees.  the next thing i know is that i won't look good in a nice hip pair of jeans or be able to pull off wearing a nice pair of basketball shorts and ballin' shoes.    but in all honesty, i do embrace it.  i would be lying though if i said it did not affect me any differently than did birthdays 1-29.  but overall, i think it is a big step in my maturation process. 

for instance, i am starting to think a lot more seriously about kids...as in having some of my own.  before, i always knew i wanted to have them for sure, but it was one of those timing sort of deals.  what i have been realizing more and more however is that i've kind of been influenced by this whole "i'm not going to have kids til i arrive" sort of reasoning.  growing up in america, we have a sort of ambition that gets built in that tells us that we have to go out and become somebody.  we have to become a "success" however that is defined.  and we put all of our work and energy into trying to get that position, receive that certain salary, or earn that respect that we think we deserve and finally "arrive".  i have come to see that this sort of thinking can also be referred to as idolatry.  whether we fully realize or not, that thing by which defines our so-called "arrival" becomes that which we hope to find our greatest joy in, or that which we hope to find our ultimate security in...apart from God.  but i think this false hope of "arriving" has kept me from truly thinking wholeheartedly about family until now.  i am starting to see more clearly now the gospel penetrating into even this area of my life.  indeed, i have in christ already arrived. 

until next time, may we continue to seek our greatest joy in christ jesus.  he will not disappoint. 

FOR ALL YOU AMERICAN IDOL FANS, THIS IS SOME PRETTY FUNNY STUFF! (apparently, the song he sang got edited out)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPZnIyTIUlI

below is an e-mail i received re: an interesting child custody case.

Phoenix, AZ (AP) - A seven year old boy was at the center of a Phoenix courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him.

After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Arizona Cardinals, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

does the way you go out in this life retroactively color the way in which others see ur life?  for the one who goes out having caught some rare disease while out on the mission field, his/her life is interpreted in light of being some sort of saint who left too soon.  for the one who goes out having driven off the road with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, his/her life is retroactively interpreted in light of total failure.  it is tough to argue that this is often how we interpret people's lives.  is it right?  is it fair?

do such endings negate all the "good" one may have done out of a sincere heart just because he/she may have happened to make one irresponsible decision?  who are u to say that u have not made irresponsible decisions before?  for those who have, what if that was ur time?  what if ur time came while ur footing had slipped just for that moment.  there's always tomorrow right???  though these are but a couple of examples among thousands of how things may end here for some, let us strive to go out in a way that we may be proud of, while exhibiting the grace, mercy, and understanding to see beyond the moments by which some may have left.  would we not want the same?  may we be defined not so much by the moment but by a lifetime, lest it be the moment by which we come to see Him face to face.