When me and Justin first got serious about Christianity, we got very interested in spritual phenomenon, such as being filled with the holy spirit, having spiritual dream, speaking in tongue, hearing the voice of God, etc. (which is typical of all new born Christians).  So, we asked our dad what is it like hearing the voice of God, and he told us the time when he most clearly heard the voice of God.

So at that time my dad is in Seattle with my mom, trying to get his green card.  He is very nervous about getting it (I’m sure for all immigrants that’s a very big thing), and he’s thinking about it day and night, praying that God will give him the green card.  One day, when he’s on his way to work, he saw a white beggar on the street, and at that moment he heard the voice of God clearly speaking to him: “Jerry, what are you so concerned about the green card? Look at this beggar, he’s even a natural born U.S. Citizen!”  Upon hearing that, my dad laughed, and all his nervousness went away.

However, recently my dad shared to me this story once again, because God has shown him something deeper in this story.  For my father, at that time the green card is the most important thing for him; you can say his future (and even our future) rests on him getting the permanent residence, and eventually U.S. citizenship. If anyone helped him obtain it he’ll probably be thankful for the rest of his life.  But how about for the beggar?  To him, his citizenship probably worth less than a simple dinner (or if he’s addicted, drugs).  What’s the reason that makes U.S. citizenship have such a different meaning and value to different persons?

The answer is plan.  For my dad, the citizenship is important only in context of his plan for his life.  He needs the citizenship to keep a job in U.S., to live in U.S. with my mom, and ultimately make me and Justin have national born citizenship so it’s easier for us to get a better education.  Whereas for the beggar, he probably never capitalize on his right, and therefore the citizenship does nothing for him.  So when God speaks to my father, He’s not just trying to tell a joke to ease up his nervousness, but rather, he’s trying to convey a message:  One should focus on making a good plan and following through it, rather than focusing on the things that by itself is meaningless, such as money, fame, success, education, etc.

So how do you make a good plan?  Before you make your plans, you should find the ultimate goal you try to achieve, because without a goal there is no plan.  As Christians, our goal is to follow God’s will and spread His love according to the way He calls us to be, but how do we know what’s God’s purpose for our life?

I would like to share turning point of my life.  It is sophomore year in high school, and I was taking a computer science class (which is one of the strong subjects of Troy).  I found out there’s a national computer science competition, ACSL, where each school sends a team of 5 (with 2 alternates) and basically compete in programming.  In order to qualify you need to pass 4 rounds of elimination, and the top 7 will get on the team.  Before I was too lazy to do this, but my friend talked me into it.

So after 3 rounds, due to careless mistake I was right below the cutoff point, so I was very nervous.  I talked with dad and he tells me to go and pray.  And this is how I prayed:

Lord, you know how much I wanted to get on the team and go to this competition.  But you’re the God and I have no right to ask You to make me be on the team, because it is Your Will that should be done, not mine.  Jesus, may you look into my heart, if I wanted to be on the team for prestige, fame, and my own glory, then please don’t let me qualify because I don’t want my life to be about myself.  Jesus, I pray that you let me be on the team only if it is for YOUR glory, if you want me to serve and preach your gospel to the highly education people.

As the result, I got on the team as an alternate, but because I was very serious and hard working during the practices the teacher liked me a lot, and when one of the memeber is sick I got immediately placed on the team, and for your interest, we’re the first place “national” team in intermediate division (because although we placed 5th, the top 4 teams are all from Europe).  And to fulfill my promise, I preached the gospel in the van for 2 hours when we drove to the site, and got the teacher driving the car EXTREMELY annoyed (because everyone is debating and no one helps him find the direction).

Looking back, all of my achievements started wit that prayer, It’s the best prayer I ever made in my life, and it is also my “first love” experience with God.  In that prayer,  I made a promise to God and offer my life for Him, and I believe my ultimate goal is to testify God to the educated people, and all else should center on this goal.

Sadly, after junior year in high school, my focus slowly shifted, and a lot of times I was chasing after prestige instead of living according to God’s promise.  My dad recently warned me, that like the Church of Ephesus,l I have forgotten and left my true love, and I need to repent.  This is the lesson I want to share today:  When you’re in the middle of the plan, do not forget the goal.  If the intermediate items in your plan became more important to you than the goal, then the plan is worthless and your life loses meaning.  What benefits a man if he earns the whole world, but loses his life?  I hope that we can all constantly assess ourselves and never depart from the goal which God has given us.