Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Chris Jong
“Live a life worthy of the calling you have received”. As I sit here two week after coming back from Urbana, I ask myself what the calling I have received is. I even question if I have received my calling.
I was not quite sure what God had in store for me, or if in fact he had anything in store for me. Days leading up to the day of departure, I was somewhat frustrated with God, wondering why I hadn’t really heard from Him in a while. On top of that, I had really been seeking and trying to find out why the life of a Christian was so boring. Isn’t being a son of the highest God supposed to be exciting?
God spoke to me at Urbana, and it wasn’t at all where I expected. Sure, I was moved by the joint musical worship with 22,000 lifting their hands high to Jesus. In the same way big name speakers with big sermons truly spoke on behalf of the word of God with conviction and passion. But just like Elijah found out when he scaled Mt. Horeb, God’s voice is in the small things.
Lying in bed early in the morning reflecting on how far people came to unite and to, together, study and worship the Lord and His word. Applying what I learnt of the gift of grace that was so heavily enforced during Bible Studies to the small portion of food sitting in front of me. God spoke through my eyes; seeing the face of Jesus in the annoyed man on the bus who had heard just about enough of Jesus. As the preacher at the front spoke about taking Christ’s fame to the ends of the earth, I couldn’t help but notice the sole worker in the upper stands of the arena sweeping the floors; wondering if she knew the creator of her heart.
What can I say about Urbana? After several pages of notes, scribbles all over Ephesians, and a stack high of books, I can honestly say that God taught me a lot, and through reflection and reminiscing, I am still learning things about things I heard two weeks ago. But it is through the small things, the things that pass us so quickly, that God penetrated my heart. Through all these things I realized that God was calling me to be something bigger, something bolder than what I was at that moment. That God doesn’t call us to live mediocre lives: that we should be up in the stands rather than in our seats; by exclaiming “how great is our God” by praying for the man cynical about Christ to be transformed, instead of joining along in song with the rest of the bus. He calls us to flee from the norm and everything that is easy to do; challenging us to take on the scary, tough, dangerous, yet exciting mission he has planed for us.
So as I sit here two weeks after Urbana wondering what the calling I have received is, I can honestly say, I’m not sure. I am hoping that my ears will be open and my heart willing when God reveals His plan for my life. I don’t know when God will reveal more to me, nor will I sit on my hands and wait for His voice. However, if there is one thing I learnt from Urbana, it’s this: that God has an amazing and exciting calling for His son, Chris Jong, and it is up to me if I want to embrace it at its full value, or if I want to toss it aside and live a mediocre and boring life. Brothers and sisters of Christ, I hope you embrace it.
“Live a life worthy of the calling you have received”. As I sit here two week after coming back from Urbana, I ask myself what the calling I have received is. I even question if I have received my calling.
I was not quite sure what God had in store for me, or if in fact he had anything in store for me. Days leading up to the day of departure, I was somewhat frustrated with God, wondering why I hadn’t really heard from Him in a while. On top of that, I had really been seeking and trying to find out why the life of a Christian was so boring. Isn’t being a son of the highest God supposed to be exciting?
God spoke to me at Urbana, and it wasn’t at all where I expected. Sure, I was moved by the joint musical worship with 22,000 lifting their hands high to Jesus. In the same way big name speakers with big sermons truly spoke on behalf of the word of God with conviction and passion. But just like Elijah found out when he scaled Mt. Horeb, God’s voice is in the small things.
Lying in bed early in the morning reflecting on how far people came to unite and to, together, study and worship the Lord and His word. Applying what I learnt of the gift of grace that was so heavily enforced during Bible Studies to the small portion of food sitting in front of me. God spoke through my eyes; seeing the face of Jesus in the annoyed man on the bus who had heard just about enough of Jesus. As the preacher at the front spoke about taking Christ’s fame to the ends of the earth, I couldn’t help but notice the sole worker in the upper stands of the arena sweeping the floors; wondering if she knew the creator of her heart.
What can I say about Urbana? After several pages of notes, scribbles all over Ephesians, and a stack high of books, I can honestly say that God taught me a lot, and through reflection and reminiscing, I am still learning things about things I heard two weeks ago. But it is through the small things, the things that pass us so quickly, that God penetrated my heart. Through all these things I realized that God was calling me to be something bigger, something bolder than what I was at that moment. That God doesn’t call us to live mediocre lives: that we should be up in the stands rather than in our seats; by exclaiming “how great is our God” by praying for the man cynical about Christ to be transformed, instead of joining along in song with the rest of the bus. He calls us to flee from the norm and everything that is easy to do; challenging us to take on the scary, tough, dangerous, yet exciting mission he has planed for us.
So as I sit here two weeks after Urbana wondering what the calling I have received is, I can honestly say, I’m not sure. I am hoping that my ears will be open and my heart willing when God reveals His plan for my life. I don’t know when God will reveal more to me, nor will I sit on my hands and wait for His voice. However, if there is one thing I learnt from Urbana, it’s this: that God has an amazing and exciting calling for His son, Chris Jong, and it is up to me if I want to embrace it at its full value, or if I want to toss it aside and live a mediocre and boring life. Brothers and sisters of Christ, I hope you embrace it.
# posted by elessar @ 9:18 PM 
The SCBC Urbana 2006 team has much to share about their experiences in St. Louis, Missouri. Read what each of us have to say about what God has shown us. Oh yea, there's pictures and movies and sounds too!