-Jeremiah 9:23-24
Review of Kite Runner: Kite Runner has been the first novel I've read in a long time. Perhaps I'm learning a lot because Kite Runner is the first novel that I've read in a while or maybe it is indeed a good book. It has certainly taught me more about myself and about life than I expected. The book really shows how sinful human nature can be. At one point after reading about how the main character, Amir, betrayed his best friend, I had to hold my breath as I could hardly take in the tremendous burden. Maybe I am truly emo at heart but it is the dark moments that remind me about the greatness of it all. When I think about suffering it reminds me that God in heaven suffered for us, when I think about sin I am reminded of grace, when I think of pain I am thankful that I do not have leprosy, and when I think of how much time we waste I am reminded of God's rich plan for us all.
Kite Runner is themed around the idea of guilt – one unforgivable sin that haunts Amir throughout his life. What is the benefit of reading a book about guilt? I haven't in a long time considered the goodness of grace embodied in the character that is betrayed by Amir. The book slows down significantly after the fast paced beginning but it is fitting for a book that talks about the weight of guilt, perfectly embodied by a laborious tone. The story is about much more than guilt but the road to redemption, and while Amir runs away from forgiveness, and runs away from redemption, he is kicking and screaming, perhaps the way C.S. Lewis did when he first found that the gospel was real. We often run as fast as we can away from the acceptance of forgiveness and truth because our pride is too fat that it clouds our judgment. The one part that Amir may have gotten right is that he was consistently convicted by his guilt. The road to redemption is much more beautiful than we would ever expect. It is inherently human to yearn for forgiveness, grace, and redemption only to be denied by the clout of our own rational and logical thoughts, but being able to accept these inalienable needs is where we find true joy. We will never understand forgiveness, as Alexander Pope says, "to err is human, to forgive is divine," but we must nevertheless learn to accept it so we may be free.
Here are some random lessons that I have learned recently in a sermon I heard at midtown community church in Atlanta:
The world would make us believe that it is difficult to be successful. Instead, the most difficult part in life is can we be successful at what matters? This is such a simple point but so hard to get. Being successful at what matters would assume that we know what matters.
The greatest suggestion I have heard for finding out what matters is constantly reminding ourselves what the mission is. We must constantly ask ourselves: what was the original mission? For a long time I have wanted to go into ministry but last week was the first week I pondered what it would be like if I didn't go into ministry. This is dangerous water for me.
When you do anything long enough you somehow forget what your original mission was. When I chose not to go to Wheaton and to go to Emory my mission was to reach out to non-Christians. After being at Emory for 3 years my mission sort of became a little of how can I expand the Christian fellowship, and a little of how can I get the top job on wall street so I can reach out to those unreached people in investment banks, and a little of a lot of a lot of other things. These things in and of themselves are not bad, but you can see how the mission can be forgotten in the fog. We ought to ask ourselves every morning when we wake up: how can I love God well today? Our metric for the success at the end of the day when we close shop ought to be: Did I love God well today?
Road trip: New York
I have probably been most joyful when I have been able to forget about everything and go on sabbaticals from Quebec, to Atlanta, to New York. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Here is a video we worked on for youth group: 
