The Apostle Paul writes in first Corinthians:

“No eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and no mind has ever conceived. The glorious things that God has prepared for everyone who has believed.”

My dad is in the glorious place that was prepared for him while we have sweet memories of him.

My fondest memory of my dad is when I was 13 years old. My dad was teaching my brother, who was 16 at the time, how to drive. We were in a parking lot so there was no cars or traffic. After my brother had finished his lesson, my dad suggested that I take a turn behind the wheel! I couldn’t believe it. Me driving at 13 years old. How could I even reach the pedals or see over the steering wheel? It wasn’t a small car. It was a big Astro van. That’s one example of who my dad was. He trusted me. He believed in me. He let me grow up into an adult.

I was talking to my brother about his fondest memory. It was going to Disney World as a young kid. The way my father tells the story is that one day my brother came home upset and crying. He was a 3rd grader at the time, and his teacher asked the class which students had been to Disney World. More than half the class raised their hand, and my brother looked around the room and felt like he was the only one who hadn’t gone. So the next summer, we took a vacation to Disney World. I remember we stayed at the hotel where the monorail goes straight through the building. Now, it’s not giving his family a fancy vacation that speaks to his character. It’s because he saw a need, a hurt, and a longing in my brother’s heart. And his heart was moved to lavish his love upon him, overflowing to the rest of the family.

My dad’s generosity, joy, and love carried throughout our teenage years and into our adult lives. After both his sons had graduated college, he retired with my mom to Florida for almost two years, playing golf everyday. Those were special days between my dad and mom as they settled into a quiet life together. My dad even got a hole in one. He was very proud of himself for that one for sure as we talked on the phone.

My parents moved to Atlanta and have called Suwanee home and the Korean Church of Atlanta home for the last 18 years. They lived a quiet and happy life and made fond memories together. 

My parents were married for 49 years. My mom was not a Christian before they got married. My mom recounts that it was because of him that she came to believe in Jesus. “What more can you ask,” she said. “To know that I’ll be going to heaven.” The Holy Spirit working through my dad brought not just my mom, but his whole family, to know the Lord. How many more people did God touch with his quiet and powerful faith? I believe it is countless as he planted seeds, watered young Christians, and harvested souls for the Lord. 

My dad shared with me a powerful experience he had with the Lord Jesus when he arrived in the U.S. I think this would be my dad’s fondest memory with Jesus. 

My parents had bought a jewelry store from an unscrupulous business man. The man lied and told him the store was making a lot of money even though it was doing poorly. My parents took out loans to buy the business and they were about to go bankrupt. Then, at the last minute, there was someone who wanted to buy the business. He felt relieved that he could get out of this mess.

As he prayed to God on what he should do, God poured his spirit into his mind. It was like a fire. He heard God speak into his mind that he shouldn’t sell the business and continue the cycle of selling this failing business to someone else. Instead, he declared bankruptcy and took the hit himself.

That’s the type of Christian he was. He heard God and obeyed his voice. He sacrificed himself for others in his walk of faith, following his Creator. He stood up for what was right and loved God with his whole heart. He followed after Jesus who sacrificed himself and paid our debts.

He had a quiet and deep faith in Jesus. He would think before he spoke. He was wise, slow to anger, and joyous in his friendship and love. 

What’s your fondest memory in your relationship with God? What’s your fondest memory of my dad? I hope that as we fellowship during lunch we can all celebrate our common faith and my dads’s life by each telling our own stories about what God has done in our lives and how my dad touched ours. Let’s celebrate his life and fellowship with one another. 

I’d like to close with a moment of silence to honor my father, followed by the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace,

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it,

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will,

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

Amen.