love

Under His Wings

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

This past weekend we went to Philip Island for our church camp.  Saturday afternoon we strolled along the Nobbies boardwalks and saw spectacular views of the coast.  We also saw several fairy penguins in their little burrows as well as under the boardwalk.

These little penguins are not only adorable, but they’re unique.  This particular specie of penguins is not only the smallest, but also the only penguin with blue and white feathers.  They can spend over 4 weeks out at sea fishing for anchovies, squid, and even sea jellies.  Once they’ve found enough food, they wait in groups for dusk, when they can hide from predators, and then they waddle across the shore to find their way home.

Using unique calls, the parents call for their chicks, who cheep back until they are reunited.  The parent then regurgitates the food and feeds the hungry baby who has been patiently waiting all day (or several days) for a feed.  Then they nest together in their burrows for a rest.

Through nature we can see the devotion of parents towards their young and the total dependence of the young in their parents.  It is a lovely picture of the kind of love and trust that can develop between God and His people.

Psalm 36:5-9

Your love is faithful, Lord,

and even the clouds in the sky

can depend on you.

Your decisions are always fair.

They are firm like mountains,

deep like the sea,

and all people and animals

are under your care.

Your love is a treasure,

and everyone finds shelter

in the shadow of your wings.

You give your guests a feast

in your house,

and you serve a tasty drink

that flows like a river.

The life-giving fountain

belongs to you,

and your light gives light

to each of us.

Psalm 63:7,8

You have helped me,

and I sing happy songs

in the shadow of your wings.

I stay close to you,

and your powerful arm

supports me.

Waiting can be hard.  While we wait for our needs and desires to be met, it can be lonely in our burrow.  But God is not inactive nor ignorant.  He is working hard to give us the desires of our hearts – and He will come to us in the dusk, calling for us to answer His voice and rest in the shadow of His wing.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

The Greatest Lover

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

“There is nothing more healing to the sinful heart than to be fully known and yet fully loved” (Ty Gibson).

Who knows you best?  Your mum?  Your best friend?  Your partner?

We cherish those who know us intimately and yet love us, warts and all.  We don’t have to contrive small talk or put on masks – we can just be ourselves.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

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Love

in Thoughts  by Ben 0 comments

Being a primary school teacher, I’m always on the lookout for good books to share with my students. Some – actually, many – of the children’s books I come across lack depth, meaning and in some cases a storyline (and I’m not talking about the educational ‘A is for apple. B is for bear’ books).

But, every once in a while I come across a fantastic book that not only makes a particular theme or point accessible for a child but also captures the imagination of the adult reader. I recently came across a picture book entitled ‘Love’.

by: Ben

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LOVE… PASSION… SUFFERING

in Thoughts  by Ruth 0 comments

LOVE… PASSION… SUFFERING

We hear the word passion used a lot these days. We are encouraged by the 1000s of self-help career books and online blogs about ‘how to find your passion.’

It is a modern day scavenger hunt.  Hundreds of online articles promise to help you find your passion in six steps, eight steps, four steps, etc.

We are so busy looking for our passion, have we ever stopped and considered what the word actually means?

Passion derives from the Latin passus – to suffer. It was used in Medieval Europe to describe the sufferings of a martyr.  Martyrs underwent tremendous suffering before their inevitable death for their beliefs. They considered dying for their deep convictions an honor.

It would be hard to mention passion without love. The two are woven together. Passion is essentially the unstoppable fortitude of love.

We marvel at stories of people who persevere through great struggle to achieve their goal. Sometimes the struggle is abolishing slavery, blocking corrupt legislation, making a speech, working two jobs to send your kids to school, painstakingly researching a cure for a disease, or trying to understand advanced calculus. Their dedication reveals an extraordinary dedication for a higher principle than any material gain.

Christ exemplified the meaning embedded in the very heart of love and passion. The greatest passion belongs to Him – The Passion of Christ.

His passion was and still is for us. He suffered and died for the love of humanity.

King Solomon poetically captures the intensity of love/passion in the following verse:

SOS 8:6 … for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

I encourage you to reflect on Christ every time you hear the word passion. For the word is intertwined with Christ’s zest for humanity. Christ’s passion testifies of His love.

If you are searching for your own passion, I can’t give you a step-by-step guide on how to find it. However, in light of this word’s origins you can now ask a far more guided and thought provoking question. Ask yourself “For what am I willing to suffer and sacrifice my life for?”

by: Ruth

He calls us friend

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

One of the greatest blessings in life are good friends.

When we close our eyes and picture a good time, fond memory, or favourite pastime, most likely we are remembering moments with our friends.

Some of us are fortunate enough to have at least one “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Now imagine Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of life, turning to us and saying, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends . . . I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:13,15b).

Did you catch that?  Jesus calls us friends!

It is easy to read this passage in John (or any passage in the Bible for that matter) and hear the impersonal voice of an audio book narrator.  But go back and picture your best friend, who knows he or she only has a few more hours to live, leaning over to you and saying with trembling lips and soulful eyes, “You have been my friend…”

Wouldn’t you clutch your friend’s hand and say, “Thank you for being my best friend!  I don’t know what I’m going to do without you!”  Wouldn’t you weep if your friend’s death was to save your life?

Jesus could have saved us in a condescending swoop, like the way we release bugs outdoors instead of killing them.  Or He could have saved us like a superhero in spandex, using his powers to do the maximum good for as many unknown faces as possible.  He would still be worthy of worship.

But Jesus comes into the every day.  He walks with us.  He eats with us.  He talks with us and cries with us.  He knows us each by name.

Even His enemies saw that Jesus was not an esoteric snob or unapproachable celebrity with his posse of “cool guys”; they were annoyed that he was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19).  He treated them as His equals; He was “Immanuel” – one with us.

When Judas betrayed Him, Jesus still called him “friend” (Matthew 26:50).  It was not said with sarcasm, but with sorrow as His heart was broken.

In those last few hours of HIs life, Jesus poured our His heart to His closest friends, the twelve disciples.  He washed their feet and shared one last meal with them.  He called them friends and prayed for them.  After they had all fled and even denied knowing Him, after He had been abused and crucified, He prayed that they would be forgiven.  Then He died for them – and us.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends…” (John 15:13).

Jesus extends His friendship to us – He says tenderly, earnestly, “Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, ad they with me” (Revelation 3:20).

By saying yes to opportunities to know Him better, we are venturing into the best friendship we could ever have.  It may take several months or years, but we will come to know and love a God who longs to call us friends.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

Chai Love

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 1 comments

I love living near the Vic Market.

This afternoon, Roy and I were coming back from an appointment on Swanston St and decided to take a shortcut  through the markets.  I forgot it was Wednesday and while Night Markets is usually crowded and crazy, at 4:45 pm vendors were setting up and it was the perfect time to browse.  Who can resist the smell and sight of the Korean twist potato or the stands of quirky goodies?

One stand caught my eye in particular.

It was a tea shop and they had various boxes of tantalizing flavors – orange licorice, mint jasmine, etc. The one that made me forget about my New Year’s budget was a little brown box with a heart on top labeled “caffeine free chai: certified organic, fairtrade, Aussie-made.”

Roy waited patiently while I sniffed the sample, recalling scenes of Uni nights working on papers or Manhattan winter mornings walking to work.  The smell alone was enough to send me down a memory lane as distinctive as Marcel Proust’s madeleines in Remembrance of Things Past.

Once I was home, I carefully prepared my tea with soymilk and honey and sat down to enjoy it to its fullest.  Every sip and swallow, I fell in love again.

And just as marketing planned, I began to read the writing on the box as I relished my cuppa.  The company name is “love chai” and they are a member of 1% For the Planet, donating to over 2,000 environmental organizations worldwide.  They provide a recipe for “the essence of love chai”:

  • 2 heaped teaspoons of patience
  • 1 heart full of love
  • 2 handfuls of generosity
  • 1 handful of understanding
  • a dash of humour
  • with a sprinkle of kindness
  • … serve to anyone and everyone with love!

That’s not such a bad recipe.  If only drinking this cup of tea could somehow infuse those character traits in me …

But perhaps the idea is that the process & packaging portray a philosophy of hope – hope that such a world is possible.

I believe it is.  For God lives.  And God is love, and love is –

kind and patient,
never jealous, boastful,
proud, or rude.
Love isn’t selfish
or quick tempered.
It doesn’t keep a record
of wrongs that others do.
Love rejoices in the truth,
but not in evil.
Love is always supportive,
loyal, hopeful,
and trusting.
Love never fails! (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, CEV)

So as I drink my chai love and listen to this song (below) by Brandon Heath (my favorite song at the moment), I can almost taste the assurance of the promise: Love never fails.  

No matter how much I fail – God never fails.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14