Title: How to Build a Beautiful Community
Contents
11.05.01/Ephesians 6:1-9 The way to build a beautiful community
Several communities are formed in the field of life in which we live. First the family, then the group or social community, and then the church community. However, such a community can be formed beautifully or it can be complex and tiring. So, what depends on whether the formation of a community is beautiful or complex and tiring? It depends on the relationship of the people who make up the community. Bad relationships can only lead to a tiring and complex community. If the relationship between father and children, between mother and children, and between husband and wife is bad in the home, the family community cannot be reconciled, complicated and tiring. When relations between labor and management are bad, the company community has no choice but to demonstrate. Even in the church, when the relationship between the members deteriorates, a creaking sound is produced, and in severe cases, the church suffers great chaos. Therefore, the Bible we opened today also tells us to have a good relationship between parents and children at home. It also tells you to have a good relationship. The master-slave relationship mentioned in this text can be interpreted as saying that the labor-management relationship is good in today's terms.
However, it is not easy to develop such a relationship. Because everyone has different ideas and different lifestyles. But there is a way. This is because if people form a good relationship with God, they can build a family, society, any group, and even a church community. So, today I want to briefly talk about how we can improve our relationship with God. So, in May, the month of the family, I hope that our families, our social community, and our church community can enjoy the grace of being built more beautifully.
When we believe in God, our relationship is different depending on how we believe in God. If I believe in God as my master, I become a servant of God. Thus, a ‘master-slave relationship’ is formed. And if I believe in God as my Father, I become a child of God. So it becomes a ‘father-son relationship’. And if I accept God as my bridegroom, I become God's bride. So it becomes ‘the relationship between the groom and the bride’.
In our relationship with God, ① the relationship between servants, ② the son, and ③ the bride are very important. When we have God as our master, we become servants and work. This relationship is a relationship of work. It is a relationship of loyalty and service, and when we serve, we receive praise from God, rewards as faithful servants, and crowns.
And if we accept God as our bridegroom, I become God's bride, share love with God and have a relationship that brings happiness. This relationship is the most beautiful of the three. The relationship between master and slave is merely a relationship of command, a relationship of obedience, and a relationship of work. The father-son relationship is also a relationship of protection, a relationship of care, and a relationship of inheritance. However, the relationship between the bride and groom is a one-on-one personal encounter. This relationship is completely mutual. Therefore, when this relationship is well formed, there is true happiness and grace.
However, the important thing is that the formation of a relationship before God should not be biased toward any one of the three above. If you lean toward a master-slave relationship, you will believe in God and only believe in a fearful God and a fearful God, and you have no affinity with God. And if it is biased only between father and son, it may be too self-righteous and neglect the text of the saints. And if you lean toward marital relationships, you can ignore the law and be arrogant because everything is understood as love.
Recently, Pastor Rove Bell, who has been doing well in the United States, argued that there is no hell in his book Love Wins, and the basis for this was ‘God’s love’. "A God of love will not condemn the human soul to eternal torment," he said. "Will only a select few go to heaven and billions of others into eternal hellfire? Never,” he said. Because ‘God is love,’ he does not send people to hell to suffer simply because they do not believe in Jesus Christ. Because I emphasized love too much, I ended up making these remarks.
Therefore, we must always keep in mind the above three relationships: ① a servant relationship, ② a son relationship, and ③ a bride relationship. The relationship between the bride and the bride is the most beautiful relationship, but in order not to go beyond the limits of that relationship and not to be arrogant, you must live without missing out on the relationship between the servant and the son. At that time, the life of the saints will be in balance.
However, these relationships do not happen overnight. You should always practice with life. Last week I experienced just how important practice is. Last Monday I finished my spring presbytery in Brighton, and on Tuesday I attended a meeting in London. I didn't originally plan to attend, but the organizers asked me to attend, and I had to reserve an accommodation in advance, so I couldn't stand it any longer. One female deacon and pastors from other regions stayed together. So in the morning, we got together to have a meal, and during breakfast on Thursday, a story about what had happened the day before came up.
Then, the female butler suddenly greeted me with ‘Honey’. Then in Korea, ‘What? You need money?’ I said 'honey', but my husband, who had never heard of such a sound before, understood 'honey' as 'money' and said, 'Do you need money?' So our party caught the belly button once again. Why do you hear 'honey' as 'money'? It's because I've never heard of the word 'honey'. If there had been practice, this would not have happened.
The same goes for building a relationship with God. A master-slave relationship with God, a father-son relationship, and a husband-and-wife relationship are not formed overnight. You have to practice diligently. To do that, you must learn to obey. You have to learn to depend, to love and to be loved. You have to learn to make love personally. As part of that, today we will have time to share what we have practiced for each cell. Did you practice a lot for each cell? Please show your skills as much as you practice. And I hope that it will be a time for you to be challenged to say, 'It's as beneficial as what you practiced'. So, in the future, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be determined to be faithful to the formation of a beautiful relationship with God in order to build a beautiful family community, social community, and church community.