Title: Immanuel (December 25)
Content span id="writeContents">◆ Text: Isaiah 7:14-16
A butler had a very bad marital fight, and the reason is simple. My neighbor's child stopped playing around at school and injured his leg badly, so I thought it would be nice to get some help. I said to my husband who came back from work that he would like some help, but my husband said, “There are parents who do things like that while their children are playing. are you a bank account? Are you a foreman?” That was the starting point, and later, the fight got so intense that we were told whether we should live or break up. Oh my God... It starts with someone else's child hurt... It's a good story at first. Good story. What I thought was going to help turned into a marital quarrel and even talked about divorce.
It's a very funny story, but our society has become such a society today. Asking to help the poor North Koreans is a common consensus among the people. But how come we are pro-American, anti-American, pro-North Korean, anti-North Korean, we have to fight over this problem so that our heads are broken. The word 'Sanghwahataek' was adopted as the lion's idiom of the year that symbolizes this year. It is said that our society has become an inconsistent society like water and oil, which means that there has been repeated divisions and conflicts like a fire burning from above and water from the opposite side of the pond below. Everything is different. I need to be able to yield my thoughts a little bit, but what others say is wrong and only my words are right.
Now even in the religious world. It is said that when Cardinal Kim Su-hwan spoke, he became senile. In Catholicism, the archbishop is the father. But they say that they are wrong... they have different opinions... There is an extreme divergence between the churches over the private school law. How could our society have lost neither adults nor children due to such an extreme confrontation... How did the good stories of helping North Korea lead to such an extreme confrontation as we became pro-American, anti-American, pro-North and anti-North Korea... We have to live like this. Is it... Today's situation is as if the nation of Israel was divided in two. After the kingdom of Solomon, the nation of Israel was divided into two, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The northern Israelites made peace with the Syrians and invaded the southern kingdom of Judah. The kingdom of Judah, which was invaded, also made peace with a country called Assyria and went to war. The Korean people were fighting on the side of the Syrians on one side and the Assyrians on the other side.
It is as if today's international phenomenon is re-enacted. Should we be friendly with China or with the United States... How about China and America? Are these people really for this nation? no. It's for one's own people. There is no consensus on either side. At this time, through the prophet Isaiah, God told the Israelites, “Aram or Assyria are not the nations of your salvation. Return to God. Return to God and this nation will live.” As he prophesied it, he foretold the birth of the Messiah.
The birth of the Messiah is summarized in the word Immanuel in today's Bible, which means "God is with us." When humans sinned and died in the Garden of Eden, God's love could not kill them, so they confessed that love even though He drove them out of Eden. To Adam and Eve, “Ah~ Mam” It means that even if you leave the Garden of Eden, I will always be with you wherever and whenever. This is the essence of God's love for man. “If you sin, you will surely die.” This message of love, saying that I will always be with you while sending you out of the Garden of Eden because it is impossible to kill a human being who has sinned, clearly shows how much God loves us.
The Bible begins with this saying that God is always with us, “Ah-mam”, and then, the second time when humans have sinned and have no choice but to destroy them, God came down in the human body It is said that the meaning of Christmas is that it appeared in the form of Emmanuel's love, who is said to be with us even now. What happens when God is with us? The first is to bring about peace. Wherever Jesus is, there is peace. Your home with Jesus as the owner of your home will be a peaceful home. This society with Jesus will be a society of peace. We need to learn how to find the Lord who brings peace in our lives this year in the excitement of Christmas. Jesus is the peacemaker. As God's body, He loved us and came down as a lowly and lowly human being. What does it mean to make peace? You have to be on the other side. From my point of view, it's saying that I can't love anyone.
Entering December, I receive about 10 letters a day. This is a letter asking for help. Now, just by looking at the address on the envelope, I know what it is. So now I almost throw it away. Anyway, it's the same story. One time, while I was throwing away a letter, a certain letter caught my eye. As I read the letter, I realized, “Oh, that’s not it.” It was a letter from an evangelist in a small rural church. It's the same letter as someone else's asking for help, but that day the evangelist's heart goes deep into my heart. There were tears, truth, and the heartfelt heart of the poor evangelist who loved the church members in that letter. It was only when I lowered my gaze in the letters that had been thrown away countless times, that I had discarded as useless letters from my perspective, I realized what the truth of the letter was. Although I couldn't help, at least as I read the letter, that heart became my heart, and as I read the letter, I was able to pray for God's help.
Third, what is the meaning of Christmas? There is one of the illustrations I write when it comes to Christmas. A couple of deacons from a rural church longed to meet Jesus like that. While praying, at 11:30 pm on December 24, I heard a voice saying that I would go to your house. How happy were you that Jesus was coming to your house? We cleaned the house diligently, prepared food, changed into clean clothes, and prepared to meet Jesus. It was 11:20 and a beggar came. When I saw the beggar, I was angry because Jesus was supposed to come in 30 minutes. Even if you tell me to go, I won't go. I was so upset that I covered the beggar with the stipend and drove him away. But Jesus, who had been waiting for that day, did not come. At dawn the next day, in a dream, Deacon Lee protested before God. “No, you decided to come over to my house, so why didn’t you come? Jesus, did you not promise to come to my house at 11:30?” At that time, Jesus appeared in the form of a mourning cloth. “Did I not go to your house? Didn't you cover me up like this?" The butler wept and wept.
Aren't we only looking at the gorgeous figure of Jesus today? Hasn't Christmas become a festival to be celebrated, to show off me, to show off my wealth? A true Christmas must be a Christmas where we can give to others just as God gave His body to us. Have we not received God's grace all year round? How great is the grace you have received? Shouldn't it be the kind of Christmas that we set as a day of giving at least one day? For this year's Christmas, let's think about the peace that Jesus gave to us by coming to this earth at least once. Are we having our Lord as our master in our home so that our home can be at peace? Even though we said we were doing good, didn't my husband and I hurt our hearts by doing something wrong? Have I hurt my children? In our life, in the workplace where I work, I should be a person of peace, but am I not living the wrong life that breaks peace? Let's take a look at ourselves.
In order to live as true Christians, we must live truthfully. We are not politicians, we are not scientists. You will have to live a life that knows how to share love and shout the truth of love like a person who has been loved. It is not the Lord who comes in a splendid and splendid appearance. "Amen. Lord Jesus, please come.” Not a foolish figure like the deacon of a country church who puts on a stipend while saying, “Even though Jesus came in a humble appearance, the eyes of the spirit were opened and he said, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” I sincerely hope that the great life of faith that can be welcomed becomes your life. We will pray together.
“Thanks and thankful Father God, there are many difficulties and hardships in society rather than a Christmas of hope and expectation. But because the Lord loved us and came to this earth, we welcome you with joy. O Lord of Peace, because of you make our homes at peace and help our societies to be at peace. Lord, help us lower the level of our love a little bit so that it can be a Christmas where we can take care of our neighbors in need. Help us to become people of faith who look forward to the Lord who will come again, who long for and expect the Lord of the Second Coming. I earnestly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen."