At Higher Calling Conference, an annual mission conference held by Korea Campus Crusade for Christ, various well-known Christian speakers relayed messages to students during the elective seminar portion. Scott Oh is one such speaker. On the second day (December 22) of the conference, Oh led a seminar called, “Sacrifice of Obedience” as a response to the trends occurring in the lives of young people, who may tend to prefer ways that are most convenient. Contrary to that culture of convenience, Oh pressed for them to live in God’s way even during the toughest times.
Oh began the seminar by introducing the issue of young people regularly doing what is convenient for them, lacking the heart to make sacrifices in their lives for God. He asked the audience members to name their most prized possession, whether it was an object or a person. Then, he went on to discuss the story of Abraham and Isaac, reminding the audience of God’s test toward Abraham to sacrifice his own son, his most precious possession. Readers of the Bible might have thoughts at this point such as, “God, why are You so extreme? Why are You so serious? How could You be so unfair?” But Oh asserted that God does not test people to know what’s on their heart or mind; instead, He tests people so that they may know what kind of God He is.
God is serious about the stake of a person’s life and all that a life entails, Oh said. He added that he understood how Christians may often “feel cheated” and introduced the example of Noah and the ark. After he telling the audience that Noah finished the construction of the ark after one-hundred twenty years, Oh also noted that a drought occurred right afterwards although Noah was told that he should have been preparing for a flood. If Noah was like most of humanity, his frustration towards God would have been soaring at an all-time high. However, submission is submitting oneself under conditions that are not personally favorable or enjoyable, which was necessary for both Abraham and Noah to fulfill their given tasks.
“The pitfall of modern Christianity is believing that good intentions are good enough,” Oh said, saying that Christians must make sacrifices in their journeys of following God, and follow through with their verbal commitments, even if it entails difficult choices and circumstances. Oh said that when Christians don’t take steps further to follow through and take action, they’re committing the “sin of intentionality,” and said that this is crucial because the way an individual sees a life of obedience unto God can shape their entire Christian path.
Oh stated that he desires for the younger generation to make sacrifices of obedience for God and no longer “play it safe” with Him.
Scott Oh was one of nine elective seminar speakers at the four-day conference. Higher Calling Conference took place in San Diego, CA, and focused on the theme, “The Light,” with hopes to challenge and encourage the younger generation to actively live out as the light in their respective communities.
Sherylin Kimberly is a volunteer student writer from University of California, Riverside.
