John 1:19-20

"Now this was [John the Baptist's] testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, 'I am not the Christ'" (NIV)'

Today, as my dad drove me back to Berkeley, he gave me one of his old lectures on the lucrativeness of being a physician. He reminded me of the average salary of a medical doctor, the money physicians save on health care costs, and the stability of jobs in the health field. He further told me that I've been given the best chance to succeed at one of the world's premier institutions with my entire family supporting me both financially and emotionally, that my only enemy is my sloth, and that at this point in my life, school comes first, or as he puts it so well, 学习为主.

Honestly, I've long been tired of this talk. Don't get me wrong, I agree with everything my dad said. I agree that becoming a physician would not be a blessing for me, but also to the many others that I would work with. I agree that I have been blessed with so many earthly resources at my disposal. I agree that my studies are very important and near the top of my list of priorities. Ultimately, there's nothing wrong with what my dad said. What really bothers me, however, is the attitude with which he said everything. He spoke as if everything—my future, my education, my family, is solely for my good.
Sometimes, I really wish he could understand how I see it. I wish that he would understand that, as John the Baptist put it so beautifully, "I am not the Christ." For that matter, he is not the Christ. No one is the Christ except for our very LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. It's such a simple concept, but it's got so many applications in our lives that we tend to overlook.
What does it mean that we are not the Christ? It means that our lives are not about looking out for only our well-being, our personal pleasure, or our financial assets. It means that we shouldn't try to create these idealized schematics of our distant futures and desperately trying to fit in action steps to fulfill these goals. It means that, simply put, we're not God. It means we can't do it all, because we're not God. And, frankly, I'm thankful for this simple truth, because it means we can lay aside our worries, our burdens, and our fears. Just look at these beautiful words of Jesus, my favorite passage from the Bible, and mull over it. I mean it. Stop now and mull.



Done yet? No, you're not. Really, just read the passage and sit on it.



Ok, I'll move on.
Jesus' words are truly beautiful. Indeed, the birds of the air and the lilies of the field show us just how much God provides for us. We know that when we just trust in God's overflowing grace, we find peace, joy, love, and mercy. The kind of stuff that makes the rest of the world seem so insignificant. I'm thankful for a God that provides so abundantly for us, and it's all possible when we confess freely, "I am not the Christ."
So tonight I choose to lay aside my worries, my pains, my doubt, to do the work God has set in front of me, no more, no less, and above all, to confess with all my heart, "I am not the Christ." After all, He's already done the hard work. And someday, maybe I'll be a physician, maybe I won't be. In the words of the Christ, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
May you see too that you are not the Christ, and may that realization set you free, free of anxiety, of meaningless burdens, of fear, or anguish, and rejoice in the fact that in Christ we are blessed beyond what we could even comprehend. May you realize that God has in store a future that is not just for your own good, but for your best, because in the end, He is God, and He is the Christ.