:: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 ::

An update...

I am finally on the home stretch. 4 more months of dental school and soon I will have a big fat "Doctor" in front of my Wong. Most people will say how awesome it must feel, how proud I must be to have come this far... blah blah blah. Rather, the only reason why I have come to this point is the sheer providence and grace of the Lord. It wasn't my own doing that I was blessed with wondrous parents who sacrificed everything for their children to receive a good education. I didn't earn my marks in undergrad, most of them were miraculously awarded. My dexterity was a gift given to me. It was only the Lord who healed my sick and battered irritable bowel syndrome which threatened to end my dental career only after two years of study. And it is the Lord who continues to give me the strength and willingness to continue in what I do in integrity and hard work. It is the Lord who ultimately heals the sick. I am but a vessel in which he accomplishes that.

It has been difficult. There have been many times I've wanted to hang my coat and quit. The anxiety, stress and pressure have made me contemplate on many occassions the purpose of this profession. Nonetheless, I continue to strive to take hold of the cause which Christ took hold for me. And that is NOT dentistry.

I have been reading a book, one which was given to me ~7 years ago but have not opened for odd reasons until now. It is entitled "The Mature Man" written by David DeWitt. In his chapter, "A Boy Learns To Work", he makes this statement:

" #1: Work itself is neither good nor bad: Work is an activity that requires energy - intellectual, emotional, physical or mental - which we choose to do. Obviously activity can be either good or bad, so the simple fact that work exists does not determine which one it is.

#2: We can add nothing to the work of God: Solomon concluded: "I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him" (Ecc 3:14) ..... A boy even an adult boy, believes that his work has independent value. He sees it as disconnected from God, thus adding to the work of God. For example, say a boy is a carpenter and builds a chair. He built it apart from God. He seeis it as having value, therefore he believes that he has added to the work of God. The same might be true if he did charitable work, led someone to Christ, or taught a Bible study. A boy will see his work as adding to the work of God.

As he becomes a man, he understands that from the beginning to the end of time and eternity, the only true accopmlishments are those done by God. No matter how hard we work or what goals we set, it is impossible to add one single thing to the work of God. Because a boy believes that he can add to the work of God, he will often violate the ways of God in order to accomplish work for God. If he thinks he can contribute to the work of God, he also begins to think his work is very important. As a matter of fact, he concludes that his work is more important than any of his other commitments in life, He may then feel justified in neglecting his family or friends or other responsibilities for the work he is doing for God.

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That's quite a long exerpt, but it brought a lot of light into the "work" of dentistry, being a missionary, etc. All this time, I have thought what I did as being very important to me, thus I devoted everything to it, and thus I was a slave to it. Learning to be free from work, to be able to be free from its bondages and truly be free in the Lord is awesome. I am learning that now as I take on each day.

:: Jesse 9:05 PM

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