Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Experience of Abraham (Conclusion?) - In America

I'm back at home for break, yet I'm busier than ever. Anyhow, this may or may not be the last post on the Abraham series. I feel that this series has helped me secure my dad's experiences into my brain more. However, as we inch closer and closer every week, it's been getting a bit hard to write. Like, I'm not writing for the sake of making it a biography or get something out of it, but even in writing biographies, it can be pretty awkward in writing it when the person is still alive and the events had happened the day before. And plus, I haven't had the precious opportunities to hear my dad's recent experiences as much. Many of the past blogs, my main sources were times of fellowship over dinner with other saints who had asked how my dad had come into the church life. Maybe another time in the future, I can have another opportunity to hear both of my parents' experience in the 21st century, and blog that as well.

To sort of give you a sense of direction, after this blog, I guess I'll mainly focus on (not trying to be conceited or anything) my personal experiences of enjoying Christ. A lot will be happening in the next few weeks, so it'll be a combination of posts regarding the past and the recent past. Anyhow, just in case for the sake of those who may have missed earlier posts, I'll add a little insertion in the end on the importance of our Christian heritage - the portions of Christ acquired by those who have gone before us.

Anyhow, my parents basically came to America to follow the vision and the ministry they had seen in Chile. Giving up futures, finances, and comfort, it has been a long journey over two continents in a span of time a bit longer than 3 years. In America, they started working. My mom worked in various kindergarten and preschool places. My dad jumped around in various occupations ranging from almost being a pool-man, food deliveries, book distributing, to burger shops. His original intention was to enter the Full-Time Training in Anaheim (yes, I also asked him "HA. At your age?") after 3 years or so of working and learning English. Anyhow, that desire in itself shows that my dad was serious in following this ministry. Well, shortly after we arrived in the US, it was announced in one of the international gatherings that the Middle Age FTT was being opened up to the Korean-speaking saints. From then on with some direction from the Lord and the Body, my dad begun to serve the Lord ful-time. My mom followed later, after my sister and I both left LA, to also be trained.

And now a little insertion regarding the importance of the experience of those who have gone before us. My original intention in writing this was to share my enjoyment and experience of the most wonderful person in the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. But I felt like so much of my experience had to do with what my physical and spiritual parents have gone through. I feel like I would have been a totally different human vessel if I didn't go through some sheltered hardship and suffering by following my parents.

This is also seen in the Bible. The first family in the Bible is of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. We all know the story how God was pleased by Abel's offering of animal sacrifice over Cain's sacrifice of his produce from the field. Well, how in the world did Abel know that he had to sacrifice the firstling of the flock? It must have been because he listened to his parents. Adam and Eve were supposed to be sentenced to death, but God made coats of animal skin to cover them (meaning that He killed an animal in their stead). Same thing with Noah - he was one who followed the patterns of the generations before and enjoyed what God had reveal to those before him (Adam's way of salvation, Abel's way of proper offering, Enosh's way of calling on the name of Jehovah, Enoch's way of walking with God). Without the experiences of those who had gone before him as pioneers, Noah would have had to start from the starting mark.

Same picture seen with Abraham and Isaac. Abraham suffered much and had to leave his own country and cross many rivers and experience much hardship to get to the good land. Isaac, on the other hand, because of what was done prior to him, just very happily received all the enjoyment.

My point here is this: we stand on the shoulders who have gone before us and thus, we should appreciate and receive much from those who are before us - our parents, the saints who are our parents' age, our serving ones, and even those who are just a few years older than us. We thank the Lord for all our spiritual fathers that fought for the testimony of the Lord, beginning from the apostles who have physically met the Lord and were martyred, to many who fought with blood and tears to fight the opposition from within and without. We thank the Lord for those who stood according to the revelation seen by the Word - that justification is by faith, baptism by immersion, church grounds, and against the Nicolaitan work of the clergy-laity system. We thank the Lord for those laboring to translate and safeguard the Bible to make it so available today. We thank the Lord for the brothers who have given up their entire life for the proper interpretation of the Bible.

Without them, we would be at ground zero in bringing the Lord back.


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