Title: Path of Faith
Contents
The way of faith (Matthew 7:13-14)
On February 11, 2007, during the Sunday worship service
blind man's lamp
A blind man was walking down the street at night with a water jar on his head and a lamp in one hand. said the person who met him.
“You are stupid. Why are you carrying a lamp when you can’t see?”
“I don’t want you to bump into me. This lamp is not for me, it is for you.”
-From Han Sang-bok's [Consideration]-
caring for others
The path of faith is like the life of a blind person who walks the road with a lamp for others at night. Those who follow the path of faith must be willing to bear the toil of raising a lamp in their hand for others.
The path of faith should be for the sake of “others” rather than “me” as the center of thoughts and actions.
The way of faith is to empty yourself and fill the shortcomings of others.
The way of faith is to make other people's trees bear fruit with your labor.
The way of faith is to please others with my tears.
The noblest ideal and value of mankind is to sacrifice oneself to benefit others. Matthew 7:12 is called the Golden Rule.
“Therefore, in whatever way you would like others to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus revealed the purpose of coming to this earth in Matthew 20:28.
“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
to give his life as a ransom for many.”
How can a person who understands the purpose of Jesus' coming and walks the path of faith to rob others, exploit others, and steal other people's food to fill their stomachs? How could he take a sheep from a poor family to fill his stomach?
The path of faith is the eschatological life. Believing in Jesus and following the path of Jesus is an eschatological life. To express the eschatological life in a simple way, I hope for the coming of the kingdom of God and live today and this moment as if it were the last day of my life. Everyone in this world wants to be treated. But Jesus tells us to serve. The powerful in this world want to be served. But Jesus tells us to serve.
In order to be treated, you must empty yourself. To serve, you must sacrifice yourself. Today is the only day I can treat you. If you postpone it until tomorrow, tomorrow becomes tomorrow again. The only time I can serve others is now. If you procrastinate, you may lose your chance to serve.
You cannot fill today's stomach with tomorrow's rice. Only the rice in front of your eyes can fill your hungry stomach. If you do not light a fire in my heart today and love it, you will not be able to love tomorrow. If you love today, you will love tomorrow, and if you hate today, you will hate tomorrow. Because today's image is tomorrow's image.
What is the path of faith?
The path of faith is not the path we make. The path of faith is to follow the path that Jesus walked. The path of faith has already been opened. We just need to obey Jesus' words and follow in His footsteps.
The path Jesus walked is the path of service and the path of sacrifice. Jesus did not pray for himself. He prayed to save mankind. How shall we pray? All you have to do is follow the prayers of Jesus. A prayer for me is a selfish prayer. It is not a prayer that walks the path of faith. Selfish prayer ends when selfish ends are fulfilled. What if your mother cooks rice for herself? How much sincerity will it take? If you are full, you will not cook. If it bothers you, I will give up eating. Devotion goes into cooking for the children and for the husband. I do it even if I don't want to.
The path of faith is to follow the path that Jesus walked. The way of faith is the way of service and sacrifice. It's a way to give up on me and give up on me. The path of faith is the path of suffering. The way of faith is going by the narrow way to enter the narrow gate. The road is narrow and narrow, so there are few people looking for it. However, since it is the door that leads to life, even if it is the road of suffering, you must go through it. The gate that leads to destruction is wide, and the road is broad, and many enter through it. But if you pass through that gate, you should not go because it will end in destruction. It is a way to resist temptation and avoid it. Even if most people in the world go that way, people of faith should avoid it.
Zacchaeus meets Jesus
Before meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus took the broad road. After meeting Jesus, I chose the narrow road. After meeting Jesus, he said, “I will give half of what I have to the poor.” and confessed. At that time, the rabbis chose a much narrower path than when they used 20% of their income for relief. Zacchaeus said, “If I have extorted anyone, I will repay you fourfold.” and confessed. According to the law, you have to pay an extra one-fifth and give it back. However, after meeting Jesus, Zacchaeus chose a narrower path than the requirements of the law.
The world keeps asking for it. To enter through the wide door, you need to go through the wide road How many people are faithful to this request? Jesus demands If you go through the broad road, you can enter the wide gate, but it is the gate to destruction. Enter through the narrow door. The narrow gate is the gate that leads to life. Take the narrow way to enter the narrow gate that leads to life.
Light a lamp for others. Do not spare the effort of lighting a lamp with joy for others. Sacrifice yourself to serve God and serve people. Let us kill the desires of the flesh with the spirit, and let us all walk through the narrow gate and enter the gate of life.