In Search of Kingdom Living

I turned 27 yesterday, which is the NEW 17 according to one friend at church. I believe that.

Before getting to the heavier stuff, here’s a few fun facts about the number 27.

• 27 is a perfect cube, being 3 x 3 x 3 = 27
• Uranus has 27 moons
• 27 is the number of completed, numbered piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (his birthday was January 27, 1756)
• There are 27 books in the New Testament
• It is the modal age of the peak performance year for major league baseball position players, according to a commonly accepted theory by sabermetrician Bill James
• It’s the age when I graduate with a Masters of Divinity!

While most people are beginning their new year’s resolution, I’m hoping to make a different kind of birthday resolution. You see, most new year’s resolutions are founded in personal determination and willpower. While that approach is admirable, let’s be real – it often doesn’t last.

I heard on the radio that the craziest time to go to the gym is the first few weeks in January – primarily because of all those people who’ve committed to losing that holiday weight (I think my parents have tried to make a similar resolution, but we’ll see if they even start). What better illustration is there that our confidence in our willpower is founded only in a semi-decent, partially-corruptable, always-temptable human being. Our confidence is well placed (I will always try to place my trust and confidence in others); however, this confidence should be streaming down from the ultimate source – our God.

All that is to say that I want my birthday to begin with a different kind of resolution – one stemming from a particular attitude of meditation and active listening. Instead of relying on my willpower and my intellect (which I’ll use anyway), I want to purposefully spend time connecting with God and placing full confidence in Him and His ways. How will I do that? The following specifics are part of a snapshot into how I begin this process of my new birthday resolution:

Reading the Bible Through This Winter Term

I’ve never read through the entire Bible. I read all of the NT and most of the OT, but never managed to go through all the prophets. Since I have more time this term, I will practice the spiritual discipline of devotionally reading the scripture. I think I’ve gone full circle in how I understand the role of scripture for my life. Now, more then ever, I feel that a consistent reading of scripture is needed for a healthy walk with Jesus.

Cultural Stewardship

In my effort to grow in the area of all things urban, I will be actively exploring the city. I have plans to take spiritual walks throughout the city and perhaps engage in some creative dialogues with the many people that I will encounter. I have some idea about exploring some art/music venues, socio-political rallies, or simply practicing urban exploration in neighborhoods that I’ve never been to. I will definitely blog through my experiences.

Delight in Music

Since graduating from Waterloo, I have drastically stepped away from the ‘worship scene’. A major factor was because I’ve been thinking through my worship theology. Another big thing was that I found musical worship within the local Chinese Church to often be a vehicle for personal style, showing-off-ness, and borderline make me want to swear type of behavior. Instead of entering that discussion again (I don’t think it’s the right time for me at this moment), I think I’ve regained enough of my pure joy of music to start playing piano again. For some, this sounds like selfish indulgence. I personally think that as I delight in playing and creating musical melodies, that’s part of a greater delight within the history of humankind, and ultimately a delight and worship of God.

Of course, with these primary ‘birthday resolutions’, I’m also actively thinking and praying about my future since I will be graduating soon. If you have some things that you want to speak into my life, please e-mail/call me and we can meet up and chat. I’m always up for non-smalltalk kind of talk .

Blessings for 2008!