Who is your Ultimate Valentine?

Kevin Chung

Pittsburgh Standard

September 11th made a lot of people question God, a lot of people question man, and a lot of people question themselves. The experience was a reality check for me; I spent last semester delving into all of these questions, and in particular the third. I found myself asking questions that make all the sense in the world, and should be asked by each and every one of us, but rarely are. Simple questions of identity, purpose, integrity and truth are not often asked I found.

A man came to Jesus and said that he would follow Him, as soon as he performed his duty as a son and buried his dead father (who probably wasn’t dead but dying)…and Jesus responded, "let the dead bury the dead."

Another came to Jesus and said that he would follow Him after saying goodbye to his family… and Jesus remarked, "what good is a man if he takes up a plow and keeps looking back."

Another man came to Jesus, saying that he had been a good man and followed all of the commandments since he was a child (all 3,000+ of them), and wondered what he had to do to follow the teacher. Jesus responded, "to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him." The cost of being a disciple is everything…Jesus is tugging at the one thing that you won’t give up. I asked myself what that was, and why I wouldn’t give it up. If I believe what I confess; that the master of the universe, the one who created everything with a breath, and hung the stars in their place…if this God longs to be in an intimate relationship with me, why do I hold anything back?

What is it about this world that is so wonderful that it is worth taking my eyes of God to look at?

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his mother, brother, sister, father, and even himself…he cannot be my disciple. They really seem like harsh words, but if you realize the fullness of what God has in store for you…the world holds no meaning.

Immanuel Kant, in his categorical imperative, stated that a man’s meaning of life is what he considers to be the "sonus bonum", which translates "the ultimate good."

If he believes the ultimate good to be knowledge, then he spends his entire life gaining and imparting as much knowledge as possible.

Many people claim money, pleasure, love, truth, family, or any number of other things as their "sonus bonum".

For we Christians, who claim Jesus Christ of Nazareth as Lord, Savior, and God; we should live every breath to His praise and every action to His glory according to Kant.

My contention with myself is that this isn’t the case. God is a very big part of my life. Last semester I attended 9 separate fellowships/worship services a week, several of which I was actively involved in. I spend time with God in prayer and in quiet time. And though God is a large part of my life, He’s not my whole life.

I’m still trying to pigeon hole God into my life, and have recently come to the epiphany that this isn’t possible…God is just too big.

God really does make some absurd promises…but He’s God, who are we to question what is absurd. I think that God is very clear that no man can serve two masters (though it seems like we all try). I think that it’s all about the relationship.

I think that if we seek God’s face with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength…than the rest will just happen. As we seek God, he will recreate our being. He will fill our cups till we overflow, and out of that overflow will we speak, act, and live. People will then see this glow, radiating from God who dwells within us and find the fire irresistible and contagious.

This all sounds wonderful, but the problem with "Christians" today is that they don’t live up to their titles as followers of Christ. People go to revivals, seminars, and retreats and come back on fire.

How long does it take that fire to die down? How long does it take for you to fall back into the rut, walk back into complacency, and continue to be lukewarm?

For me, when people ask me who I am, I answer from different people’s perspectives. My closest friends would describe me as being Korean (and all the cultural implications) and Christian. I think I would describe myself as being a broken but forgiven man, seeking. My acquaintances would describe me as a third year information science major that is fairly good at pool and seems to know everyone. And God would describe me as His beloved…who could never do anything to make Him love me more, or less.

When people ask me what my purpose in life is, almost without thinking I respond, "I live so that one day I may die, be face to face with my Lord and hear the words "well done, good and faithful servant…come rejoice in the glory of your Lord."

How this plays out, and how I will be used to serve still remains a mystery to me, but it’s all good. I know that God holds the future, and that He’s in complete control, and that He loves me unconditionally. In this truth, I can be still and know that He is God. My goal is not to push some cultic vision on your heart, but rather to get you to be honest with yourself:

Who are you? Where does your identity lie? What are you about? What do people say you are about? What are you doin? What are you going to do? and to all of those questions, why?

We live in an extremely broken world, which to be honest, I can hardly bare to live in any longer because the place sickens me.

God has hand picked me to somehow help redeem it (this broken place) for some strange and unusual reason. I know that if you seek God, that He will find you where you are. I’m also confident that if you follow where He leads, you will do magnificent things through Him. I end with one final thought. How long have you lived?

I remember when I first came to know the love of God. The experience was so overwhelming that I cried for 5 hours, as did everyone in the room with me. I was on my knees, saying to myself "so this is what Love is…and this is what God’s about."

For that one moment in time, I was on fire, refreshed, cleaned and recreated. Sadly, the vast majority of my life has been the meaningless passage of time between those brief, fleeting moments. Submit yourself to the Lord, find all you can about Him…and you will live an amazingly magnificent moment. You will soar on wings like eagles and you will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

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