Nov 27, 2012 | Faith, Life Reflections
This Is My Story, part 9, the Finale.
This day, thirteen years ago, marked the beginning of my publicly declared and lifelong commitment to follow that lovely Man whose likeness cannot compare to any other. Did I know inside out what that commitment would entail, or understand the full import of following Jesus? Absolutely not. But there’s such thing called growth, and the thrill of being surprised.
Sure, there should be research and thoughts before making any commitment, but if one insists in knowing 100 percent of everything that would happen afterwards, what’s the fun in that, right?
The impact of the Gospel, of knowing God, His kingdom, and His righteousness, has been pervasive in my life. It is true that there have been many moments of God’s special gifts and miracles, but what amazes me even more is His influence that is steady, His work that continues for years, silent, unglamorous, but radically transforming me into a newer and newer person.
It’s like He is planting a seed in me and waits for it to grow. Slowly, but surely, life transforms that seed into a tree, but one does not necessarily see the evidence of that life until years after. And once evidence starts to pile up, hindsight provides the opportunity to say, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” Gen 28:16.
The Gospel has changed me, in character and in personality. It has weaved new relationships and rejuvenates old relationships (here, here, and here) that multiply my joy in this earthen life. It has given meaning to my education that is higher than any common ambitions, and it has expanded my world beyond anything I ever dreamed before. The entire world is open enough to learn from, malleable enough to impact, destitute enough to joyfully serve, and rich enough to enjoy. God wants to take the Gospel to all corners of the earth, and because I am His child, He takes me on this global ride as well. I am on a path of infinite growth (again, a plug for the book Education), and God will not stop being my Teacher until eternity.
But wonderful though they may be, they still pale in comparison to the one gift that is so incredibly, fundamentally central, without which any of the others would not be possible. This gift is Jesus Christ Himself, His sacrifice, and the forgiveness of sin.
Since the focus of this blog series has been on God’s blessings, perhaps it makes me look more saintly than I really am. The truth is, I’m still wretched, still poor, still selfish, and still needing grace, more than ever. The core reality of my day-to-day existence is written in this poem, which is why I am most thankful about God’s amazing grace.
When God came into my life, I changed from being a sinner to being forgiven. And this forgiveness still happens everyday, every moment. Nothing compares to the thought that a sinner can stand in front of a holy God, blameless. How can that be? That difference is Jesus Christ, the mediator.
I’ve enjoyed many added benefits to following Jesus, but they are accessories that follow the first, most important step. For to gain Christ, and to gain only Him, is to gain all.
Nov 22, 2012 | Life Reflections
This Is My Story, Part 8
What better way to spend time waiting for my siblings’ flight to land than to be thankful for them. This Thanksgiving holiday, the Elia’s are reuniting in DC (awesome), and it will be uber fun!
My siblings and I are pretty close in years. As a result, we fought a lot when we were young. Because there are 3 of us, each of us used to feel like the other two were ganging against us. We were always, always trying to get even. If my sister got to sit shotgun, I had to get it next, then my brother, and so on. You bet someone always kept track. Rotation systems were always in place for TV channel choice, for who had to turn the light switch off, for who got to clean up the toys, for who got to play the video games, etc. Everything was counted.
We started getting along after I left for college. Why? Who knew? But I sure am glad to have siblings that I get along so well right now. They’re the people I love to hang out the most, and there is no time limit when we’d have enough of each other. I can hang out with them indefinitely.
And what a blessing it is for all of us to be into ministry right now and being able to talk about these things with each other. It hasn’t always been the case.
What I love the most about hanging out with my siblings is that I can be as weird as I can be when I’m with them. Actually I’m the weirdest when I’m with my siblings, especially my sister. We’d just about roll on the floor laughing most of the time.
So, I’m super thrilled that they’re over on the East Coast this weekend, with this incredible weather, in one of my favorite places, and yes, also for my birthday.
Oh, I just got the notification that their plane landed. Let the laughs begin.
Nov 17, 2012 | Faith, Life Reflections
This Is My Story, part 7
If you asked me during my early college years what I wanted to do when I grew up, I’d tell you: to be an ordinary, good person. You know, do good things in life, graduate, work, get married, have a family, et cetera. I once asked my dad, who worked so hard to send me to MIT, whether he would be OK if after I graduated from college I did absolutely nothing with my degree. Actually, he said he would be fine with that, since there was more to life than a degree.
While there was profound truth in that statement, my mindset wasn’t as deep then. Since the pressure was off, I felt essentially excused from having high ambitions. I wanted to go through life as inconsequentially as possible, as quietly as possible, not causing any stir, whether good or bad. Besides, I thought Christians were not supposed to be ambitious.
Which was why when I heard that GYC 2003 theme and read the originating quote, “Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His children” (Education, p. 18), my life philosophy was turned upside down.
You’re telling me that no human ambitions can equate God’s ambitions for His children?
I had to re-think a lot about how I approached life. I thought I had reached some decent heights in life, but God said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet. Come up higher.” New heights started opening up to me, things I had never imagined before.
With others involved in the Boston area campus ministries, I started doing things (of consequence). First as a participant, then slowly, I learned to get excited: “What about this?” or “Oh we can do that!” The most mind-blowing thing about all of this was the realization that I could actually do something for God and His cause! I was not inconsequential, and campus ministry gave my life so much meaning. I could be ambitious not for ambitions’ sake or the world’ applause, but for God, which was the only thing that mattered! I canvassed for two summers and the thought of an ordinary life grew dimmer by the day…
After undergraduate years, I spent a year as a missionary intern at C.A.M.P.U.S. to minister to public university students. There, my paradigm was further shaped. One of the resounding themes during the C.A.M.P.U.S. missionary training program (MTP) was the assertion, “You can change the world.”
The first time I heard it, I was like, “Yeah, right.” No one had ever said that to me before. “Me? Change the world? Pff.” But then they kept saying it, until slowly I started to believe them.
The thing that made it believable was because it was said in the context of Jesus Christ. The phrase “You can change the world” is energizing by itself, but without substance, it really is just a self-help, self-motivating type of mantra that will eventually fade away. No, the full phrase that was repeated at MTP and that stuck with me was, “Change the world by being changed.”
What does that mean? It means that you don’t change the world by your energy, loud voice, charisma, leadership skills, campaigning, or efforts. The key to making an impact in the world, a true impact that will last for eternity, is to be changed in the inside.
Think about Jesus. He did not start any organization, He did not have any degree, and at the end of His life everyone forsook Him. His life was simple, devoid of pomp and glory. But He changed and still is impacting the world, thousands of years after His life on earth. It was the force and nobility of His character that rippled through the ages.[1]
The impact that will matter in heaven’s accounting comes only when Jesus changes and transforms a person in the inside, to be like Him in character. This is the prerequisite that will only give meaning to the eloquence, charisma, and these other accessory skills. Once that happens, with God by your side, nothing is impossible.
Fewer things can resonate with a youthful soul than dreaming the impossible. “You’re too young to know that certain things are impossible, so you do them anyway,” says the character William Pitt in the movie Amazing Grace.
Now, one of my favorite things to do is get together with like-minded friends, and with some Häagen-Dazs mango sorbet to fuel the brain, start a “dreaming session,” thinking and brainstorming about things to do to address what’s lacking. Many a project has come out as a brainchild. Some fell through, some took off, but in all of them there were fun, excitement, and passion. I mean, the joy of finding things that excite your very being, that you don’t want to go to sleep and you can’t wait to wake up, is indescribable. Life is so much more meaningful this way.
The last thing I want is an ordinary life. I can’t go back to a dreamless life. I have no straight plans or visions of how my life should be, because I want to be surprised. I want to always say yes when God calls me to a higher ground, and I want to see impossible things happen.
When I gained Christ as a Teacher, He taught me to dream.
[1] Read “One Solitary Life” by Dr. James Allan Francis.
