Ryu2.mind

Wow... best weekend I've had in a long while. I went to the 2004 World Christian Conference with Collin, Chun, Gil, Christine, Judy, and Phillip from church. For the past two days, I've been "processing" what I've learned, and having the post-conference "high" die down, as well as the lessons reinforced over this time, I can say that WCC was a marker in my own renewed spiritual journey. It was not what induced this phase of it, of course, but rather, an affirmation that the direction I'm headed is indeed right.

While I attended last year's WCC for the first time by myself, this is the first year that I've gone with a church group. Note to all potential WCC attendees: it's definitely much more meaningful going with a church group, since you've got them to share and process the experience with. If you don't have one, tag along with a friend (and get your group discount too, hee hee).

The keynote speaker, Bob Sjogren, lived up to the high standards of exposition set by Lee and Marilyn from last year, and he was much more didactic to boot. The message was very John Piper-esque, focusing on the "glory of God" angle, but presented in a much more humorous and, at the same time, direct... a sobering and yet heartfelt lesson about how we as men have subverted God and His blessings for our own ends in the church -- that instead of glorifying God, we glorify ourselves by focusing on the gifts and not the giver. That alone was a good kick in the pants for me, as it was basically a reflection of my own lifestyle I had been living during my young career in the Silicon Valley.

Additionally, there was, of course, the usual small workshops, networking, and missions agency booths here and there, as well as the stats-filled exhortations to consider overseas missions work, but I think the biggest thing I took home was a confirmed sense of my purpose: Why did God place me here all of a sudden, and not in Beijing, LA, or any number of other equally likely places? And if it was His will all along for me to stay here, then why the year and a half of being amongst the desert, searching for my real passions?

The answer became clear again last weekend, and I was yet once again reminded about just how perfectly the past few years of my life built upon each other, even when I was too self-centered and shortsighted to see. He used this time for me to be able to relax, and get away from the daily grind of being an engineer in the Silicon Valley. He gave me the opportunity to travel to many countries in Asia, without worrying about work schedules, to build up a network of contacts and mentors, to see first hand specific opportunities to be involved, and ultimately, to find one.

And instead of sending me there immediately, He gave me a job in the Bay Area, and a new church to connect with. With everything having a kingdom-oriented purpose, I've become all the more convicted that this will be the opportunity to build up a personal network of discipleship, support, and accountability as I start to develop in my own spiritual maturity and leadership, and to help impart the vision of missions to the GrX body as a whole.

Once again, God gave me multiple signs over a period of time about where He wanted me, little but all building upon and in agreement with one another. It was like this my senior year in college, before my first missions trip, and it's like this now...

So, my prayer is that I live intentionally and with purpose for my next few years here before I go overseas. Help me serve at church and take ownership, with a heart not for my own glory, or that of GrX, but for Your glory alone. And in this very commitment, help me realize that it is not any specific acts or desires which I should be putting before You, but rather my life itself, allowing it to be an empty vessel to be used by You as You see fit.

Amen.