Comments on: Do You Trust Your Father With Your Life?

By: Cecile

Cecile — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:11:25 +0000

What a beautiful thing to share. Thank you

By: iMonk

iMonk — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:56:09 +0000

Oh don’t do that. It would spoil my enjoyment of my upcoming revenge.

By: Clark

Clark — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:38:26 +0000

I still remember watching Dead Poet’s Society as a junior in high school. My favorite part was learning carpe diem, Seize the Day. That became my motto there for a while.

I believe this post is the best you’ve written in a long time. I almost want to take back calling you a stuffy old grouch.

By: diana

diana — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:06:29 +0000

this obedience reminds me of St Rita of Cascia, who, at age 13, told her parents she wanted to become a nun. They instead told her to marry, bc of the instability of the Church at that time (I believe the pope was in Avignon at the time and many orders were, well, disordered). She obeyed, and the result was her greatest act of love: after her husband was mudered, she acted as peacemaker between her husbands family and the family of his killers. She eventually became a nun, and then God gave her the greatest gift–a thorn from his own crown. Her trust of her loving and very faithful parents gave our faith and the communion of saints one of it’s greatest peacemakers, truly a patron of seemingly impossible causes.

By: Dave Jaspersen

Dave Jaspersen — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:42:34 +0000

Awesome Mike!

By: dumb ox

dumb ox — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:06:24 +0000

I read this today, and it seemed appropriate:

“The freedom of Jesus is not the arbitrary choice of one amongst innumerable possibilities; it consists on the contrary precisely in the complete simplicity of His action, which is never confronted by a plurality of possibilities, conflicts or alternatives, but always only by one thing. This one thing Jesus calls the will of God. He says that to do this will is His meat. This will of God is His life. He lives and acts not by the knowledge of good and evil but by the will of God. There is only one will of God. In it the origin is recovered; in it there is established the freedom and the simplicity of all action.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from “Ethics”.

By: Wilson

Wilson — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:26:11 +0000

I can relate to Kim for I am asian myself. It’s in the culture. Individualism is frown upon. We are taught to value being part of the group since kindergarten years. Whatever any individual does, it must be in the light for the greater good, for the family. To obey and respect your elders. Respect bordering to such an extreme that in many asian culture parents are the visible gods. (I can’t describe it right).
Missionaries where I live make sure to identify the key person in one community, the elders. When the father/leading figure convert its very likely the whole household follow suit.

By: kate

kate — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:27:32 +0000

Wow, I am so moved by this story and though I am not particularly sre WHY I am so moved, I’d guess that it is partly the fact that I am guilty of not responding to God in the way that I should, and partly your own humility at learning from your students.
As a teacher myself, I love the idea of setting the kids this task!
Keep up the great work and thanks for the story. There is much value in it.

K. H

By: bob pinto

bob pinto — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:53:22 +0000

+I like the comments by treebeard as i,too, spent a year in Korea and observed the same honoring attitudes towards parents and the elderly.
I admire the young Mr. Kim’s attitude.

The trusting with your life issue falls squarely with IMonk’s essay on God’s provision over the years in the poor hollers of Kentucky.

Trusting God can be hard. He has a pattern of letting the boat fill up with water before calming the storm.

Freedom can make us arrogant and rebellious. I have seen far more success stories of fathers who closely guided their kids than those who damaged or ruined their kids guiding in the same way.

By: willoh

willoh — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:46:21 +0000

Here in North America, the Once United States, There are many young men willing to go to extremes for Dad. Check out how many Police are second generation, Fireman [hi!], Marines, lawyers, even Shriners. A dad’s approval is precious. You need not separate Asian, American, or any nationality, it is human. What is probable is that the Western dad is more permissive and less restrictive in career choice.
As much as sons seek dad’s love, daughters who do not receive what they need from dad will attempt to find a substitute. I just don’t think this is ethnic, or culture specific.
If my dad really wanted me to be a dentist I’d be saying “open wide..”