牧者心聲  Pastor's Message

08/30/2009


      What is your Standard?

      I know that for most of us, as Chinese—as Asians, we were taught by our parents that education is very important. The typical understanding is that the bare minimum is an undergraduate degree. One of the main reasons is that this will allow us more opportunities in the real world, as we have to look for jobs to support ourselves and our future families. And you know what? This makes sense. I am not going to disagree (although, there are always exceptions to the fact).

      What are some other options that could be set as standards? For some, a college degree is way more than enough. Some only have aspirations to finish high school, seeing that as a giant hurdle, and one that is a worthy life accomplishment. Perhaps one’s own parents only finished high school themselves, or maybe never finished (for whatever reason) and so this level of education is enough.

      Then, there are those parents, each of who have PhDs. Then, the requirement for their children is nothing less. They have set the standard and their children have to follow this. Yes, this is a lot of pressure for the children of this family. Thankfully, this wasn’t me. HAHA!

      Sometimes we may think to ourselves, “Wow, that person is so uneducated. I know so much more than her!” In contrast, ignoring the topic of pride, the question I want you to ask yourself right now is: As a Christian, what should be the standard of one’s faith? As I read a book on being a pastor, I was a little perplexed at all the standards that were in the book. A pastor should be like this. A pastor should have faith like that. All of this got me thinking… Shouldn’t these standards be for all Christians? How about yourself? Do you think you have lived up to Jesus’ standards? (Stop here and think about this for a moment.)

      God set a standard that we can never achieve. Actually, if you think about it we all get F’s. But, because of Christ’s blood, we have been pardoned. But this doesn’t mean that we are free to do as we please. We are still called to do the best with the gifts God has given us. And foremost, we are called to be the best Christians we can be. Are you?


      Brother Benjamin Chung