Title: Have a Good Life
Christmas (7) Have a good life going down
(Isaiah 9:1-7)
< Love at eye level >
What day is Christmas? Christmas is the day when God lowered his gaze because he loved people and became a man like the object he loved. The greatest love in the world is to ‘be like the object you love’. A person who understands the other person's position and situation and acts in that position is the one who truly loves.
One day, a butler's child joined the university. However, the butler did not show good expression. I didn't feel bad, and I didn't fight anyone. However, the child of the same classmate did not get good results in the entrance exam, but he restrained his joy because of that classmate. What a great butler You must know how to kill, humble, and erase yourself with the love of the incarnate that knows how to meet the eye level.
One day, the first middle school was formed in a new church, and a knowledgeable deacon took over as the head of the middle school. In the first class of middle school, the head butler made a form for the students to identify them, but there was a problem like this in the personal statement. <Executive absence status>. For the butler, who had been in business for a long time, knowing which organization he was in as an executive is important for evaluating a person's ability, so he created a column called <Executive Absence>, but middle school students did not understand the meaning of the word.
After some time, when we had time to introduce each other, the manager and deacon who was in charge said: “Now, teachers and students will meet each other.” Then all the teachers gathered there laughed, but the middle school students didn't even know why they were smiling, so they looked embarrassed and embarrassed.
When I was studying at a seminary in the United States, American students laughed at the professor's words, but there were times when I was alone because I didn't know why I was smiling. Then I felt ashamed and bullied. From then on, when American students laughed, even when they didn't understand, they pretended to laugh together, but in fact, that was even more embarrassing. So I always prayed. "God! Please help me to develop English skills to the point where I can understand American culture and humor!”
At that time, the chief butler did not write such words to boast of his knowledge. It was just mistakes made because I didn't have the wisdom to match the level. Life at eye level like that is not easy. How can you easily change the language you have been accustomed to for decades? It takes time and effort, as well as wisdom and consideration. But what we need most of all is a heart of love. To be a good teacher, you need to be able to speak, pray, and act according to the level of children with love.
<Have a good life going down>
When my children were young, my wife told me about the Bible and then I prayed like this when I went to bed. "God! Jonah didn't listen to God's word, and he fell into the water while fighting, right? So the fish ate it, and God saved him. But what about grace? Won't you be like Jonah? I will listen carefully to God's word. And today I hit Hannah. So my mother was upset. I'm sorry mom. I won't in the future. I pray in the name of Jesus.”
If you pray like that, even the children will cry. If it's for a child like that, you have to talk like a child and be like a child. The incarnation of God as Jesus is an event in which He loved a child and became like a child, and it is an event in which he set eyes on people. Therefore, a believer must be good at going up to that high place with dreams and visions, but he also needs to be good at going down to that low place with the love of the incarnation.
The truth comes when we go up the mountain to prepare and then go down the mountain to put it into practice. Likewise, a saint must be good at climbing up a mountain to become a character, but he must also be good at coming down from a mountain to become love. The life that comes down from the mountain like that is the life of the incarnation. Christmas is the day when Jesus came down from the mountain of this earth to save souls from heaven, the holy mountain. Those who have tasted the love of the incarnation become the subject of change as their self-esteem increases. The history of Christianity is the history of a person who lacked incarnation tasted the love of the incarnation and changed the world.
Now, once again, think carefully about the meaning of the fact that God came to this earth in a human body. The more we think and meditate on it, the deeper the lessons of love are contained in the incarnation. Restore that incarnate love to change the world and find happiness in your soul. And by practicing the life of the incarnation to the best of your ability in each place, make the community beautiful, enrich your soul, and become blessed souls who prepare for tomorrow's blessings.