Title: Plastic Surgery (Psalm 91)
Contents
Thousands of people have come and gone throughout human history, but there is no one like us today. Because we are the one and only work of God's hand. So we are more precious than the whole world.
But at some point, these people began to hide the image of God's creation. Because sin entered the world. Adam and Eve sinned and were the first to cover themselves. When people sin, they color themselves over and over. Neither of us is free from this sin.
However, God is transforming us into our original form today. For example, when Moses first set out to do God's work. At that time, the people did not recognize Moses. Because Moses' face had the pride he had grown up in the court for 40 years. After being rejected, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness. During the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, God operated on Moses' face with the Holy Spirit. After that, when Moses turned 80 and stood before the people of Israel, a large crowd followed him. Because Moses' face was meek. Just as God operated on Moses' face with the Holy Spirit, God will make a new face for us today. How does God renew us?
First, he takes off our mask.
Sin keeps making me have a different face than myself. Dress up like the most righteous person. Because your heart is full of sin. That's why you even have such a fear that you won't be able to live without a mask.
But God exposes these sins. And He removes the mask of sin. He is washed clean with the blood of the cross. God restores us to the way we were when we were first created. It is not through our efforts to be restored to the image of God in this way. Only God's grace can renew us.
Second, let us look to God.
After the Bible, the book that sold the most to Christians was the book Imitated Christ by Thomas Akempus. This book tells us to imitate Christ. As Jesus said, we should change our tone of voice and change our actions as Jesus did. If you keep imitating Jesus, he says, the image of Christ will be formed in you.
Galatians 2:20 says: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Now that I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
That is, when I die and Christ lives in me, we can become like Christ. There is nothing more important in our lives than the manifestation of Jesus. To do that, we must immerse ourselves in Jesus. Then we become like Christ and the image of Christ is revealed to you and me.
Third, he mysteriously changes our lives.
In the 13th century, Meister Eckhart, in his book Where Is God, said that God is in the delivery room. That is, God is in the delivery room to be born. Just as Jesus was born through the body of Mary, God is in the delivery room today to be born through our bodies. Jesus must be born in us today. Then we will be transformed. You will live the glorious life of God.
What is God's glorious life? It is to be faithful to the work entrusted to us today. As a choir, as a teacher, and as a child of God, we do our best to serve. It is a change from a self-centered life to a church-centered life. God will be with us in our ministry. And we will all be transformed into Jesus-like people.
2006-02-01 10:25:40