Little Piece, Big Masterpiece

Last year, Joy and I moved to our first house. Moving was always not so easy, especially in America. In my country, South Korea, you can hire a moving company and they can move and place your things just as they were in your old home. Literally you can go out and shop on your moving day without worrying about your moving. In America, you need to do all your moving by yourself, although you can hire movers or borrow the hands of your friends. My hardest part of moving last year was putting furniture together. I was already exhausted from the moving; however, I had to assemble the pieces of my beds, dining table, and some more furniture all by myself. When I looked at the pieces of furniture that needed to be assembled in my new home, I was thinking, "O, no.. when do I ever finish this!" I couldn't see how beautiful my furniture was from looking at the separate pieces of wood. I patiently assembled the pieces one by one. When I finished putting them together, I was surprised and I shouted to myself, "Wow~... this is so beautiful!"

From that experience, I have learned a lesson: first, pieces that do not seem beautiful in our lives can become beautiful if we patiently work on them. And second, we as individuals can become a part of a big and beautiful masterpiece when we try to put ourselves together into one community.

I think my lesson can be applied to many aspects of our life and we can also apply it to our Christian faith. Sometimes we do not see the beauty of God's big picture in our life. All we can see is pieces that are scattered and disordered in our troubled lives. However, God sees each piece of those as special and He has a plan to make those pieces into God’s masterpiece. I think that our Christian life as the church is also a part of God’s plan to create a masterpiece. This is why we need Christian friends and families in our lives so that we can hold and sustain each other and finally become God's big and beautiful masterpiece.

I have served in the English as a Second Language ministry at First Church for four years. My faith, thoughts, and relationship have been enriched by meeting our students from different cultures and backgrounds. We have learned so many things--not just English-- but also the diversity of our world that can expand our understanding of God's family.

There are two good opportunities in which you can experience this richness of God’s family here at First Church in upcoming weeks, the All-Church Picnic (September 30) and World Communion Sunday (October 7). I am sure that these events will make you feel that you are part of God’s Big Family and will also enrich your faith in Christ through meeting other people from around the world. We want to celebrate our unity and diversity in Christ Jesus by participating in the events on those days. On World Communion Sunday our E.S.L. students from many parts of the world will usher and greet us at the doors.
I hope and pray that you can come to these two events and enjoy the beauty of God’s big and beautiful masterpiece as each of you participates in the events as a little piece of the whole.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
(Ephesians 2: 19-22)

a Fairy Tale and Eternal Life

First Church offers an English as Second Language (E.S.L.) class every Thursday morning from 10 a.m. to noon.
People from many countries have come and learned together basic skills to live in this country, such as American idioms, traffic system, insurance policies etc.

This summer our teachers have decided to teach on "fairy tales". Familiar stories our students have already known in their languages have helped them to understand the story quickly enough to discuss many serious questions. We have learned "Little Red Riding Hood", "Jack and the Beanstalk", and "the Beauty and the Beast" so far.

We had a very interesting discussion two weeks ago while we were studying "Beauty and the Beast."
Cathy Bingaman, one of our teachers, brought a very interesting question to the students at the beginning: "Isn't it possible for a beast to be tamed?".

Obviously this question was from a line from the fairy tale. Cathy explained that this question was the last one that the princess asked her father while she was walking back home with him. In responses, many students discussed many things: how a person becomes a bad person, failure of school system, American justice system etc. Finally our discussion went into religious issues as wee discussed about how people can be redeemed.

When students were asked about the definition of "redemption", many people immediately said that 'redemption' in religion is going to heaven or to some kind of paradise. However, when one Korean lady told her opinion about 'redemption', it really got my attention and made me think about the faith we have in Jesus Christ. She said, "Many Christians and Buddhists in Korea talk about 'eternal life' or 'going to heaven' after our death, but it does not appeal to me.", and she continued, "I don't care about eternal life after my death, but the most important thing to me is that how I should live on this earth right here and now."

I think she really challenged the Christian faith though she may not realized it at that time. She summarized very well what our Christians faith must do in our life as we are living each and every day. Jesus said that eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom God sent (John 17:3). We have already believed in God and put our faith in Jesus Christ, and, then, this faith naturally leads us into 'eternal life'. We don't have to wait to receive eternal life after our death, or we don't need to wander this world to pursue something eternal. When we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have experienced God’s forgiveness, love, peace through him. And Christ’s presence resides in us and works in us no matter what happens in our life so that we may find strength and hope in him everyday. This experience in Christ Jesus is eternal. This is the redemption we have in Jesus. In Christ Jesus we can live eternal life here and now.

Many times we as Christians miss this opportunity and possibility to live this eternal life in Jesus right here and now. Many people outside the church do not see in us the power that can change their lives because we do not live this eternal life that Jesus gave us.

Christ calls us to live out this faith in him TODAY, not tomorrow. When we live out this eternal life here and now, a fairy tale story can become a reality. And, I am sure that it is possible for a beast, no matter who it is, to be tamed in Christ's love and care if we live out eternal life and share it TODAY in Jesus' name.