Title: Liberation that came like a thief
[Liberation Day] Liberation that came like a thief
Revelation 16:15
This year's Liberation Day is a meaningful day as it marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of our people from the chains that had been colonized for 36 years by the Japanese Empire. But no one could have predicted that the end of slavery would come like this. He really came like a thief. Because of that, all the people who used to be governors moved to Japan, all the leaders made compromises with Japan, and all the intellectuals were sold to the Japanese. Educators lied to students that they should become Japanese, and religious leaders looked at church members and taught that it is God's will to serve Japan. Had I thought it was coming soon, it wouldn't have happened.
That's why Jesus told the parable of the thief. Jesus said that the second coming of Jesus, the end of life, and precious opportunities will come like a thief. Matthew 24:42-44 "Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. You also know that if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have been awake and would not have broken through the house. Be prepared, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.” And in Revelation 16:15, today's text says, "Behold, I am coming like a thief, and blessed is anyone who watches and keeps his garments and does not walk naked, and does not show his shame."
There are many people who are not prepared and awake because they come like a thief. It is living thinking that it will never come in the first place. We would like to share our grace while thinking of the liberation that came to our nation like a thief.
1. I could only say that the 8.15 liberation that our nation met was liberation that came like a thief.
Thieves do not come with warning. It comes at a time when you don't even think it's coming. No one had any reason to know that liberation would come on August 15, 1945. No one prophesied. No one believed. Anyone who claims to have believed is a liar. Had I known it was coming, I would not have turned away if I had believed.
When we think about the liberation of our nation like a thief, it is wrong to think that “the thief does not come”, “there is no thief” or “even if the thief comes, he will not come to our house” or not today. It is said that even if a house is starving because there is nothing to eat, there is something a thief can steal. There is no one who can be beaten by thieves. Anyone can be a target and a target for thieves. It's essential.
In particular, we Christians have a lot of time away from home as a family, so we should always prepare and prepare for thieves as a habit and we should not neglect it. In some cases, thieves know in advance when members of the church go to church as a family unit. You will need to be careful not to leave cash or precious metals in the house, to keep the door closed, and not to use your home phone number or social security number as your debit card or bank account number, etc.
The attitude of choosing to be safe rather than a little more comfortable will be a defense against thieves. If you don't lock the door because it's convenient, don't leave your money in a bank or something like that because it's convenient, and keep it in a closet, it might be okay because there are no thieves, but if it's a thief, there's definitely a lot to lose.
2. The 8.15 liberation that our nation met is entirely God-given.
The 8.15 liberation of our nation was not achieved through the efforts of any person. It was not caused by any faction fighting. It was not done by communists, nor by capitalists or democrats. Not a totalitarian, not a nationalist. It was neither domestic nor foreign. I didn't even come ready. It is God-given. For Korea, Stalin of the Soviet Union and Roosevelt of the US had secret talks for Korea, Japan was excessively greedy and made the Pacific War, an atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, and Japan surrendered. How could such a series of processes have been planned by someone? It is God-given.
Therefore, no matter what other peoples are, our people should give thanks to God on 8.15 Liberation Day.
Our nation must not betray God and turn away from God. We must return to God. Our nation is a nation that has experienced God. These are the people who have been blessed by God. At a time when no one can think that liberation will come, when everyone is thinking that it is fate to live as Japanese now, the sudden gift of grace from God is liberation and liberation. We should live in thanksgiving to God. We must remember that if we do not know this great grace of God, even greater calamities may come.
3. 8.15 Liberation is God's blessing because our nation's period of suffering has been fulfilled.
When suffering is full, God will surely deliver you from suffering. That is the biblical view up to now and the Christian understanding of history. Therefore, if we do not lose heart and do good, the time will come, and in due time God will make it happen. When the time of our nation's hardship came to an end, he made things that we could never have imagined happen all over the world, and eventually liberation was achieved.
In a way, the Japanese colonial rule can be seen as repaying the people who were abandoned by our people. In the middle of the East Sea, some of the people who live there are Ainu, one of the primitive races. Another part is the race that ascended to the south, and it was from there that the cultural society began to develop, a wave of our nation, the so-called Thousand Sons, who probably rode this peninsula to the Guju region. And our useful knowledge and wise men constantly flowed into it.
The people we couldn't embrace became the Japanese power, which eventually increased Japan's power. We were able to rule them, but on the contrary, we suffered because we did not spare our character and lacked insight. And the period of suffering was long and difficult. That's because our nation's transgressions and sins were great. And when that period of suffering was fulfilled, God gave this nation liberation.
The liberation that seemed unlikely to come has also come. But how can you give up on your hopes that are smaller than that, and that the less difficult things will not come? I believe that if God wants to do it, it will come suddenly and unexpectedly like a thief. Therefore, we must be awake. You must be prepared. It is what God gives you so that you can receive it.