Title: Let Me Forget (Philippians 3:12-14)
Contents
Let us forget what we forget (Philippians 3:12-14)
A newspaper selected the top 10 news of the year 2000 among domestic news. As you might guess, the first is the Pyongyang summit. From June 13 to 15, President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held a meeting in Pyongyang. It was something that caught the attention of not only us, but the whole world. And on December 10, President Kim Dae-jung received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, and this is also one of the top 10 news. It was a year of many good things as the road for reunification between the South and the North was opened and the President was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
But if you look at the top 10 news, it's not all that good. Many bad things were also selected as top 10 news. The worsening economic situation is one of the top 10 news, and the national crisis caused by the division of labor is also one of the top 10 news. And the stock price crash is one of the top 10 news. At the beginning of this year, venture companies started with great dreams. However, as rumors of the second economic crisis circulated, the stock price plummeted, and as a result, venture companies collapsed here and there. Ant investors blew about 100 trillion won in pieces of tissue paper.
It's been a really dark and difficult year. The country was shaken politically and economically. As the country was shaken, the lives of individual citizens could not find stability. Like every year, I have to say that this year also had more painful days than happy days. However, the year 2000, whether it was a happy year or a painful year, has now passed. Even if you look back on the year 2000 and sigh and hit the ground, these are things that have already passed.
According to a study conducted by Professor Kennon, a professor at Harvard Medical School in the United States, it is about the changes that occur in a person's body when they get angry. It is said that when a person becomes angry, the following conditions occur: 'The breath deepens. heart beats faster It seems to be understandable to the extent that blood pressure rises. But the next words are a bit more technical. 'Blood moves from the stomach to the heart, muscles, and central nervous system. The sugar stored in the liver is expelled. And digestion stops.”
Even if you do not have any medical expertise, if you mention some of the above words, 'You breathe deeper. heart beats faster High blood pressure' is a phrase that anyone can easily understand. Anyone who hears this can see how badly it affects their physical and mental health when they get angry. Anger is the one that penalizes the one who is angry the most.
If the mother is angry and breastfeeds the child, the child who feeds it will suffer from indigestion. Even if we do not go into detail, it is common knowledge that we all know that it is not good to be angry. But we live with anger dozens of times a day. We get angry and regret, we get angry and we regret, but we never know when we will get angry again. Even if you are a saint, you cannot fundamentally eliminate anger because it is not expressed outwardly.
But in the Bible, Ephesians 4:26 says, "Be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger." There is a special nuance in these words. The phrase “even if you get angry” means that you can get angry. Anger doesn't mean something in itself. It suggests that humans are fundamentally incapable of being angry.
But in the next words, he says, "Be angry, but do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger." It is telling you not to go until tomorrow with anger in your heart. So, the joint translation translated, "Even if you are angry, do not sin. You must settle your anger until sunset." You can get angry, but you have to deal with it.
After a day's work, when I lay down in bed and close my eyes, many things come to mind. 'Why did I do that then? I should have done this...' 'Why did that person do this to me?' All sorts of junk comes to mind. And then I toss and turn and fall asleep without realizing it. And I wake up the next morning. But what does this word mean now? Do not go to bed with such dizzying thoughts, and shake them all off before going to bed. Say, "Don't let the sun go down on your anger," and resolve that anger before the day is over.
If you take today's anger, today's hate, and today's worries until tomorrow, the beginning will be dark. Today's anger, today's hate, and today's worries end today and tomorrow starts with a new feeling. This is the life God wants. Just as today's anger and concern ends with today, we must end this year's anger and concern with understanding.
In today's text, the apostle Paul says, "Not that I say I have already obtained it, nor that it has been perfected, but I am pursuing that for which I was captured by Christ Jesus. I leave behind and press toward the goal to seize the things that lie ahead, for the reward of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Behind it, there are many painful and heartbreaking things, and some truly unforgettable. But if I get too attached to it, I can't run. How hard would it be for me to run if something pulled me from behind? So, it means to bury the things behind and start with a light heart.
In that sense, today, December 31, 2000, has a special meaning. It's the year 2000 has passed. On this day when the year passes, all the things that have happened in the year to come are to end with today. The sad moments, the painful moments, the painful and angry moments, the hated moments, all of these moments are thrown away as today and forgotten.
There is a song called 'Cha Cha Cha' sung by a singer named Seolundo. It's a popular song lyric for 'Let's confide in our worries, bury our sorrows together, cha-cha-cha together', but there are some parts that fit. 'Let go of your worries... Burying sadness... ' We want to get rid of all these worries, worries, sorrows, and hates. It seems that we should put Hallelujah instead of cha-cha-cha. 'Let go of your worries and all together, hallelujah! Bury the sorrow and all together, hallelujah!'
Don't end up just forgetting what's behind you. There must be a life of pursuing the goal in order to grasp what lies ahead and for the reward of the God-given call in Christ Jesus. Who are we who believe in Jesus? According to hymn 401, 'the saints who go to heaven' are called. Therefore, we must run towards heaven. And now we have to run towards the new December 31, 2001. Those who do not know Jesus simply run towards the 31st of December because there is no heavenly kingdom. However, because we have the kingdom of heaven, we are running towards the 31st of December and at the same time we are running towards the heavens.
The people of the world are also running diligently. But it has no clear purpose. There is nothing but a mutable, worldly, perishable goal. But when the saints run, there is someone waiting for us. In the refrain of Hymn 401, an angel is waiting to embrace us, who ran so hard, saying, 'Go forward, go forward to heaven, wait for the gate of heaven, and go out, all the angels are waiting at the door to receive you.' This is what God is waiting for. We can run because there is a God who waits. Running away will turn the dark misfortunes of the past into happiness. The sorrow of the past will turn into joy. The poverty of the past will be turned into wealth. Diseases of the past will be turned into health.
On December 25th, Japan's Sogo Department Store closed. Sogo Department Store is a large department store in Japan with 170 years of history. However, after 170 years of bankruptcy, it is closed. On the closing day, the department store staff gave their last greetings to the customers who came. And tears flowed from their eyes. How is our economy? Our economy is in a situation where it will not be enough even if we cry. But everyone! Now, let's look back on the year and forget the dark past. Of course, there are things that we do not forget and remember over and over and leave as a lesson for us.
But anyway, let's forget about it. It's not like we're just trying to forget something. It is about forgetting to look to the Lord. As we look to the Lord, we want to forget our sorrow, our anger, and our dark past. I pray that all the precious saints will forget all the things that made us sad and hard on us, and the things we should forget, and run vigorously toward the calling from above in new grace in the new year.