When your relationship with God ceases to be a personal one. Evangelism will not be near your heart.

On our journey of faith, there are times when the “freedom” of sin that we left behind is more appealing than the restrictions of faith that lie ahead. We must trust the protective boundaries found in God’s Word as the only way to get to the place of ultimate freedom.
— Julie Ackerman Link

As my pastor would put it: the Christian faith is full of paradoxes. The first will be last, the last – first. You will your find life only when you lose it. And part of that list includes the very idea of freedom. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)

Christians have been freed, yet the world – and sometimes even ourselves, as Christians – feel that there are a lot of rules to follow. ‘Freedom’ is defined as personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery. To be able to live without being slaves. Canadians (according to the Charter) has freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of thought, belief, opinion, peace and association; even freedom55. Yet ironically the only thing we can’t choose to be free from is sin. The whole world acknowledges it. If anyone claims to have never sinned, they are only deceiving themselves.

The freedom that Christians live in – is freedom from the clutches of sin. Humans are sinful creatures and Christians believe that sin leads to death. (Rom 3:23) Without deviating from the topic at hand, it is this freedom that ultimately grants us life. (The mechanism that allows for how that freedom is obtained is another story/post.)

A fish is not free in the air. They are free in the environment in which they were designed to be in. A fish outside of its environment will eventually die. We as humans were not designed to be a part of sin. If we remain in sin, we will also eventually die. (This analogy breaks down if we try to dissect it, but if you find it useful – use it. If not then discard it.)

Likewise, let’s picture a fish inside a glass bowl of water. The fish peering out into a world of air may feel he would find more freedom if he were outside. But in reality he would only flop around; perhaps feeling mighty stupid – in hindsight – for jumping out. Humankind was designed to be set apart from sin; to be in the water. The “rules” that Christians live by are merely the boundaries of our fishbowl; it is what helps us stay in our natural environment. Christians don’t follow the rules blindly because they are told to, nor are they restricted to it; but rather Christians follow rules because they know what lies on the other side.

No earthly kingdoms can put in their charter of rights and freedom, to have freedom from sin. This is the ultimate freedom that Julie Ackerman Link mentions in her quote. So does Christianity stifle our freedom? Perhaps freedom from sinning, but what good will it lead to anyways?

Traveling has a way of creating a solitary home; one which I can go to and commune with the Spirit to reconnect with God’s presence.

As of late, romancing with God has been a lesson in my life…

All night long on my bed
I looked for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go.

I’ve been re-discovering the joys of loving God and receiving that love back. We might not always find God right away. Nor will we know where and how to look for Him. It’s easy to want tot recover our relationship with God, but sittitng there won’t get the job done. Gotta go out and look. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So seek with all your heart, and once you find Him, hold on and never let go.

It’s pretty subjective – but sometimes I’d like to think there’s a way to measure where our Spiritual lives are with God.

And if that measuring tape had a scale, then the units would be in “love”(s).

You’re probably like, what the heck? Love’s so cliche, I thought you were going to say something insightful – but at the end of the day, too many of us lowball what love really means in God’s eye. And I doubt we can fully fathom and understand the power of God’s love for us.

Most of us probably refer to the verses found in 1 Cor 13 when thinking about the definition of love.

Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offense….

But if you look carefully (as I’ve done) you’ll come to realize that these are only characteristics of love. You don’t measure the ability to love by gauging a person’s patience. That’s just measuring someone’s patience. You don’t measure love by counting the instances (or lack) of boastful acts.

Dictionary.com defines:

love

noun, verb, loved, lov⋅ing.-noun

1.	a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.	a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3.	sexual passion or desire.

But I think you’d agree that love is not measured by warm and fuzzy feelings or passionate sexual desires! (And if you are without passionate affection for a significant other, that doesn’t mean your incapable of love)

So here’s what the Bible says,

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
- 1 John 3:16 

And it makes sense, that we’d be learning what love is from God. And what this short passage of scripture shows us is that - love is demonstrated through sacrifice.

Love observed by what we are willing to give up. I love my tv shows, therefore I am willing to give up freetime to watch it. I love my family, therefore I give up other engagements for them. I love my material goods, therefore give up money to acquire it.

What are we giving up when we follow God? Is our love growing for God?

(But) While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Romans 5:7–8

(And) This is love: Not that we loved God. But that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- 1 John 4:10

By this, God demonstrates the ultimate act of love for us, by giving us His son; Jesus. Not that we loved him first, but that he loved us. So in learning to love God, we also need to understand His love for us, then the rest will become a natural response.

So going back to this measuring stick analogy of mine, we need to be aware that it measures two things; First, God’s love for us — and second, our response love for God. 

When we know someone loves us, it’s hard not to love them back.

So, instead of fumbling around in the dark when you get the occasional question, “So how have you been Spiritually?”

I’d like to present what Ken Taylor once said, but with an added question.

Is your acknowledgement of God’s love for you growing?

Is your love for God growing?

God sacrificed his only son to demonstrate his love for us! Do we understand that? And are we willing to give it all up for God? Are we ready to say what Paul said:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 
- Phil 1:21

Within every race therein lies cultural differences that sets us apart. That being said, leadership will always face challenges. Some more distinct to specific cultural tendancies than others. And what sets apart the great leaders from good leaders, are those able to recognize their own crutches and overcome them in powerful ways.

This post specifically pertains to how North American Asians can lead their own lives in a victorioius fashion. Especially when leading a life of following Jesus Christ. Of course, I’m assuming you’re Asian if you’re going to read onwards.

Crutch #1: Family Piety

Family values are built into our genetics. I’m kidding, but it is a large part of our upbringing, and thus our lives constantly revolve around family. It is perhaps one of the more major defining points of our culture (apart from the food). It is not of the Asian culture – for a parent to wish their child to move out as soon as possible; but in the Western cultures such thinking is not uncommon. Infact, independance is more stressed in other cultures. But for us, dependancy on family ties usually last a life time.

Predominantly describing second-generation north american asians, we feel the need to honor the sacrifices that have been made for us. Parents often stress the need to be successful, stable, and well off. To be more than just immigrants. Family drives our career. Family drives our decisions. For the most part, family is larger than God.

You can attribute the high number of emerging doctors and engineers to this phenomenon. And although, it may not seem to be a crutch – it’s usually a barrier to making big decisions. Everything must recieve the ‘blessings’ from the family, or something similar before we feel at ease to carry on.

But being a leader, in anything, means you make your own decisions. Remember that.

And in a faith setting, it’s easier for us to be told not to do bigger things for God, than go against the wishes of our parents. It’s counter intuitive to even think of leaving the country for missions, when so much of their efforts have been to get you in. It’s often frowned on to sacrifice more for God. And I’m sure, somewhere in your life you can pinpoint when this crutch has surfaced. But be aware, and start to make your own decisions, instead of just  following the decisions of your parents. I’m not saying to ignore family, but be objective. And dont let that stop you from making big decisions for God.

Crutch #2: Education

Statistically speaking, we represent a large demographic of extremely bright minds. In North America, people from asian decent contribute to the largest populace (in NA) to enter a college/university setting post high school graduation. The bottom line is – we are attracted to knowledge. This effect might have been caused from Crutch #1, but I believe we do have a natural affinity to education. And when we are given the chance to thrive in an educational setting, we tend to ignore everything else.

Perhaps it’s easier to demonstrate what I mean. We would rather study the effects of a decision, instead of making one. We need to research a product until we know we’re getting the best bang for our buck. (Or perhaps this is just linked to our frugal characteristics, laughs) We enjoy make detailed plans when moving forward, instead of stepping out into the unknown. We thrive under structure, and a set of rules. We are the go to person for deadlines and exam dates. We hate to leave a subject with a bunch of question marks. And the mentality is usually Master/PHD or bust. (Of course, I’m joking)

But when it comes to leading a life with God. This crutch usually manifests itself subtly in two ways -

1. We’ll ignore all other extra-curricular life activities until we’re #1 in our studies. And often it becomes a popular choice for an idol.
2. We’ll be crippled in moving forwards, because we can never really know everything there is about God.

Crutch #3: Face

And last but not least, ’saving face.’ If you’ve ever observed a heated battle over paying the dinner bill, you’ll know that this is built into the core of our existance. Asians, hate to lose face. We innately build up a barracade around ourselves and show no weakness. However, good leadership isn’t about being untouchable, but rather available and influencial.

It’s hard to grow in any leadership position, if there is no accountability. And if there is no failure, there is no growth.

Same thing goes when leading a Christian life. If we never open up our lives and admit to God (and others) our imperfections, there will be no growth. Jesus doesn’t work with those who are proud and strong. But rather tha weak and humble. Those that acknowledge the need for the power of Christ to work within them.

Most people have an issue with verbalizing their own problems, but our race in particular should know by now, that this is something we must actively tackle. Don’t let the fear of shame ruin the chance for something more with God.

Note: These are generalizations, that I believe to be fairly consistent with the mainstream asian culture. They however, do not apply to everyone.