I was watching a documentary program on TV which covered a business district in Pusan, Korea where many street stalls were located that sell a variety of popular street food and drinks. A street stall, also called “Po-jang-macha” in Korean, is a popular place to have a snack or drink late into the night. The documentary captured various aspects of what was happening on the street.
As I was watching the program, an interview with a man who was eating and drinking by himself in a street stall vendor caught my attention. When he was asked why he was there alone, he said he’s been coming to this particular street stall for over 20 years since he was in his early thirties, and he began to reminisce about his life. Then he said, “Isn’t life a rental? No matter how much or how little you acquire or accumulate in this world when you leave this world, you must leave everything here because you can’t take anything with you. We own nothing here, and we’re all going back to the same place where we came from…”
King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:15, “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.” Solomon was a man who lived his life with no restraints. But, did you know that at the end of the journey of his life, he was a very unhappy man? He starts out by saying in Ecclesiastes 1:2, “’Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” He had done and achieved much but his life was empty. He found life to be miserable and hopeless. He left God out of his life and ended up with nothing but emptiness for his life.
Are you living a meaningful and hope-filled life? You can only find a true meaningful and hope-filled life when you are tightly connected with God. Your life will remain empty and meaningless if you continue to seek a meaningful life from this world. People all around us are trying to find the same thing in many different ways, and you can go with the flow. Yes, you can argue that Solomon had and did all he wanted to do in his life, and that’s why he was able to say that. But when Solomon came to the conclusion of his life, he says in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, “Now all had been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
You know what? You will never have enough in this world. Isn’t that the mark of our society? The insatiable desire for more... When you get a little bit, you will always want a little bit more. We are never satisfied with the money we make. Instead, we desire more money, a better job, and more and more of … We must remember that contentment is not found in more of this world. Contentment can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The man at the street stall vendor (Po-jang-macha) in Korea at least recognized the reality of his life. He came to realize that his life was a rental, and knew when he leaves this world; he must leave everything behind here. Now the question is how about you? Do you keep looking to more of this world to find fulfillment in your life or are you trying to find the true meaning of your life through your relationship with Jesus Christ? Our life can only be a rental in this world, but in God’s Kingdom, your life is yours because God gives you a life that is permanent and everlasting through his Son Jesus Christ! That is what Christmas is all about. Jesus came to give you everlasting life which is not a rental but your own. Have a merry Christmas!!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
December 20, 2015

Earlier this month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the birth of his daughter and his plans to give away 99 percent of his Facebook shares, valued at $45 billion, throughout his life time. The donation will fund a charitable initiative to try to make the world a better place for children in the next generation.  As soon as I heard the news, I was busy calculating how much money the Zuckerbergs will be left with. Even after giving away 99 percent, they would still have $450 million in stock!  ‘No wonder,’ I thought to myself, ‘If I were them, I would give away 99.9 percent!’ 
With all kidding aside, it is admirable that the Zuckerbergs decided to make such a generous donation.  What impresses me even more, however, is the fact that they made this decision so early in life. They didn’t wait till their 60’s or 70’s, till after having indulged themselves to the fullest first. I find it quite refreshing and inspirational.  I hope more young people follow their suit.
Ironically, about the same time, I came across an article addressing the negative effects of social media such as Facebook or Instagram upon young people.  The article states the suicide rate among 15 to 24-year-olds in the U.S. has increased steadily over the years.  College counseling centers report that a majority of their clients suffer from severe psychological problems such as anxiety and depression.  So what is going on?  Is life really that bad for our young people?
There is no simple answer as to why our young people struggle so much, but the article points to social media as one of the contributing factors. It points out how kids (and adults) post pictures of their unrealistic life on social media, and viewers believe it and get jealous or even depressed by it.  We Photoshop. We touch up. We edit.  We exaggerate.  Social media fails to tell the whole truth, and many young people feel like they are the only ones struggling while everyone else is doing great – taking amazing family vacations, enjoying delicious meals, being invited to special events, etc.  
After having read the article, I visited Facebook, and sure enough I too felt conflicted:
She never ages (But I have tons of age spots and wrinkles)
They are going on another vacation (I have too much work to enjoy my life)
They are engaged! (What’s wrong with my children?)
And I am guilty as well.  We took tons of family pictures at Thanksgiving, and before my daughter could post them on Facebook, I inspected each picture to pick out the best one.   It didn’t matter how everyone else looked as long as I looked good! 
With or without social media, the fact of the matter is that our fallen human nature yearns for the praise from men more than praise from God. It seeks the approval of men rather than the approval of God.  Unless we find true satisfaction and fulfillment in who we are in Jesus Christ, not in what we do or what we have, we will never be fully content no matter how successful we become. The words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinth. 4:18 is a good reminder that there is more to life than meets the eye.  “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  Let us rejoice over the promise and the amazing ‘picture’ of heaven described in the Bible.  And that’s not an exaggeration. It’s the whole truth.  I ‘Like’ it a lot!
 
From Pastor Sara’s Heart
December 13, 2015