Article, "My Wife, Kids, and I in the Farm"

My wife Imelda and I have one foot in the city and another in the farm. It's inevitable for we fell in love in the city where I came from and wed in the farm where she was born. She holds dear the life of her father and mother who are farmers and cherishes them. This is the one portion that will remain with the woman I've come to love as long as she lives. And she shares that precious gift with me and our three children.

A few weeks ago, Imelda and I took a short vacation in the farm with our three kids. My father-in-law, now over 70, is a sturdy rice farmer for many decades. He remains stronger than what his age would suggest. Having been raised in the city, listening to him is like entering another world for me. He loves farming no matter what the difficulties. Thus, as a farmer, my father-in-law has also become a teacher to me. And should I forget the lessons of life I learned from the farm, I shall always be reminded as I listen and talk to him.

There was occasion that Imelda and I and our kids walked past a vast expanse of farm lands around us when nature strikes with rainfall. Muddy earth smeared my feet and I almost slipped as my kids laughed at me. It looked like I somehow lost my balance as their Dad! But the animals, insects, or whatever surrounding us did not truly seem to mind. They tolerated us. They seemed blessed by our having visited or spent time in their natural home.

The certainty of my own mortality on this earth makes me learn to treasure glimpses of life that a farmer offers. I've come to understand that we are mostly like the farmer. But we are at the same time profoundly different. We do things that perhaps other people would not choose to do. We could raise cows, plant vegetables, or work in the bank or factory. Most of us do something else too. But all of us are capable of seeing the "specialness" of the farmer's life in providing depth to our soul if we so desire.

The farmer's life, I believe, is one of God's most precious creations. For Imelda and I and our children, both now and in the future, I'm guessing the wonder of life felt will increase in different forms. For me, it's been a joy to discover my love in that natural setting. And perhaps, in the next 20 years or so, I will even be richer and more greatly blessed because of that.

Article, "Why Church?"

After 12 years pastoring in the local church and teaching pastoral ministry in the seminary, I now find myself in a "transition" and stage of waiting upon the Lord's next direction. It started a few months ago when I finally completed my doctoral degree and dissertation about the state of pastors. It seems that the Lord allows a door to close and He is about to open new doors for me.

I love the church. But I got hurt and wounded while serving in it. Of course, I always repent or see to it that I'm not the one doing wrong. I want my conscience to be clear before God. Still, for some reason, I got hurt even while "doing nothing" and Christians continue to hurt each other in the local church. My heart is pained for even my closest friends over the years have betrayed me.

The church, according to the Bible, is supposed to be a family of God. That means, a place of safety and trust. Instead, even in the experience of so many other Christians, the church can turn into a place of struggle, disunity, and politics. Even among pastors or fellow workers, one can find envy, selfishness, covetousness, and backbiting, when there should be love, harmony, and true Christian brotherhood.

I wish I was exempted from this pain. But why should I? O yes, I remember now, even the early church Christians had this very same problem!

I still love and believe in the church. I believe we can find community, safety, and security amid a broken world when I belong to a church. The church may indeed be a place that is truly home. It's a place where you can feel accepted and loved no matter who you are or what you've done. It's a place where you experience family and cherish what life essentially is.

As the Apostle Paul said, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household ... built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22).

However, a fact of life is that these hopes are not always realized in the church. The church, though a divinely appointed body, is also a human institution fraught with human frailty. The church is often less than a family, a community, or body of true believers.

So, in one practical sense, the church is not really "home" for us. Instead of unity and brotherhood, one can often find in it lots of struggles, strife, and politics. It is also a place of failure and tears, not just love. I almost gave up on the church.

But why do I still love and believe in the church? For one, Christ calls us all to be part of His Body. His call is for us not to be solitary believers but to be in community. He wants us to take an active part in His family.

Thus, God places the church as our "companionship on the road," imperfect though it may be. I remain part of the church. I do so not because the church can meet all my needs. I do so because it's part of God's calling for us as Christians in our journey of faith and life.