Title: In the Hope of the Gospel
What conditions do you have to be grateful for this year? I don't think there is anyone who thinks that there is nothing to be thankful for because there is no farming and no harvest. 1 Timothy 6:7-8 says, "We brought nothing into the world, nor can we take anything out; if we have food and clothing, we will be content."
There are many times when I am grateful for surviving each day. Some will say that it is because of my timidity, but when I see various incidents, accidents, and diseases in the newspaper, I also think that all of them cannot be an exception to me. Therefore, it is something to be grateful for to be able to live on one's own strength while having food to eat and clothes to wear every day.
Proverbs chapter 30 has this to say: "Do not make me poor or make me rich. Feed me only with the bread I need, lest I be full and do not know God, or I am poor and steal and profane God's name." A person who knows how to pray with such a simple heart is a Christian with mature faith.
Christianity was originally a loving community of people with such simple hearts. They believed that all creation in the world was created by Jesus Christ and can only live in Him. Because through the death of Jesus Christ, God has made peace between man and God, and between man and creation, who do only evil and unrighteous deeds. So, although the present world is not just and all kinds of false ideas and values deceive people, Christians who have already become holy, blameless and blameless by God's grace did not waver in the hope of the Gospel. They hoped that God's justice would flow like a river to every corner of the world and that a new heaven and a new earth filled with peace would come.
Therefore, they gave thanks and worship in the hope of the gospel, and formed a concrete sharing community to share the hope of the gospel with their neighbors and bore abundant fruit. The practice of love through concrete sharing was the virtue of the Christian community. This sharing did not stop with their community. In accordance with Christ's command to go one step further and preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, they devoted themselves with everything they had.
The reality that the church's union organizations are not doing well is a prime example of this. Of course, the self-criticism of the coalition agencies in this situation is also necessary. Each and every association is very busy. However, there are very few doctors who want to set a common goal with other missionary organizations, share things with each other, and solidify. It's just busy to operate. This is also true for Christian individuals. Individuals are also immersed in personal happiness and blessings rather than communal life.
However, there is a saying that the coming 21st century is the age of networks. The era in which dispersed individuals form solidarity to share, share, and form a single organization has great implications for Korean Christians, who are only becoming more divided.
It is not the Christian faith to hold on to what I have as if it were mine. The true power of Christianity is demonstrated when there is sharing. The Oh Byeong-Ear incident, as we know it well, is truly a miracle of sharing. It is an event of sharing that the sharing of one boy's meal equals more than 5,000 people. However, we humans grab hold of our own in order to live, and we try to grab even more because that is not enough. So, the reality is that war, disease, exploitation, oppression, and alienation continue and intensify in this world.
Sharing is something that all non-Christians do, isn't it natural to share as a human being? Why is sharing a special emphasis on Christians? and may question. In fact, sharing is something we should do as a human being. However, Christian sharing is not simply a matter of doing good for the poor with a compassionate heart. Sharing in Christianity is a concrete confession of faith that we will reject the current worldly values and realize God's justice in the hope of the gospel.
Christianity is originally a religion of people suffering from or rejecting an unjust society. Christian sharing is to reject the absurdity and injustice of reality. The idea of what it has to do with doing my own thing is pervasive in this world. The reality is that only those who have some kind of power and become wealthy survive. But Christians reject this. It is a faith that confesses that all things belong to God and that nothing is high or low before God, and that our Savior Himself was the weakest. Therefore, becoming a Christian presupposes a struggle against that unjust society. That unjust society here. System. Factors that allow or preserve values are rejected. If the Christian's sharing serves as a sustaining factor for the current system, it is nothing but the role of religion as an opiate.
Christian sharing is a concrete act of faith that sows the seeds of peace, hoping for a new kingdom of God, a society in which all people and God's creations live in peace in the true sense of the word. According to James 3, when peace is planted in this society, a just society is born.
In order to achieve the true history of sharing, we must humbly accept the motto of the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, "Let's turn to God and rejoice in hope." This is because we can turn to God only through confession of our sins and repentance for departing from God's teachings. True repentance, metanonia, is to turn to God and obey his teachings rather than the values of the world. When we want to turn to God, we boldly reject the value system, ideology, and worldview of this world and turn to God-centered life. Therefore, our sharing is repentance. It is a decision towards a new world.
Sharing is not giving what is left over after what I spend, but sharing what I will use. Sharing is not just about material things. Time, ability, thoughts, everything.
The most valuable thing is intercessory prayer, which is the sharing of prayer. Intercession cannot be done without a love that treats each other like family. Therefore, sharing is possible only when we have a sense of community with the recipient of sharing. When we all share a sense of community that we are precious brothers and sisters of God.
When each person puts true sharing into action, each of us is reborn in a true sharing community, which will reshape our entire church. Furthermore, we will transform our society into the kingdom of God. That is the miracle of sharing we believe in, and the belief that God intervenes in our history.
It's getting colder. I think it's time to share what we have harvested so far. All of our living and breathing abilities, wealth, talents, and authority come through the grace of Jesus Christ, who even gave us his life.
Even if the temperature of the seasons decreases and the coldness of society becomes more severe, let us believers not be shaken in the hope of the gospel and become church members who plant the peace of Christ in the world by sharing what we have been given at home, at work, and in society.
Advent begins next week. It is a week to commemorate the day that Jesus Christ came into this world and welcome it with anticipation for His return. So, in the church calendar, today is also the last Sunday of the year. I hope that this week will be a week for all of us to look back on the year, hope for the coming of Jesus Christ, and decide once again to follow Him.
Let's prepare to welcome Jesus Christ, who comes to us, together with our neighbors in true warmth.