Title: Refresher / Proverbs 25:13
What should our faith be? In a word, it must be faith that is faithful to refreshing God. So today the writer of Proverbs says: “It is like ice-cold water to the one who sent him, and it is able to cool the heart of its master.” Moreover, it is said that the intense thirst of those who work in the fields during the harvest season is indescribable. In Korea, it is also in the middle of summer when barley is harvested. A glass of ice-cold water to take a break from the harvest on this hot day, what could really replace this coolness? In this way, we should give the God who sent us this cool. How realistic is the analogy? However, the problem is that not everyone can give that God refreshment. What kind of person should I be? If you look at today's verse, "a faithful messenger..." speaks of the qualifications. He is a loyal person. Only the faithful can please God and give him the coolness of ice cold water on a summer day.
So what is loyalty? In the dictionary meaning, it is called loyalty. In other words, the attitude of concentrating on one thing and putting all your heart into it is loyalty.
◎The second thing that makes people happy about work is those who do what they have to do. Don't enjoy doing things you shouldn't do. Enjoy what you must do. I am doing what I ought to do, and of course I am doing what I ought to do. When that happens, I have no regrets. No fatigue. That is happiness in work. God's work should be like this. It is only when we have this kind of loyalty that we can begin to refresh God. However, there is a yardstick for evaluating loyalty.
◆First of all, I generally think of being judged by others as a measure of that. In other words, reputation. People care a lot about what other people say to me. There is such a [other-led constitution] that cares a lot about other people. It's really unfortunate. Also, I use the word [opinion polls] a lot when I come here. This, too, does not seem to be a complete evaluation criterion. It is that the leader has a dignified philosophy and opinion that does not deviate from the principles, and the people follow it, and it is not something that can be done by asking, "Should I build a bridge or not?" This is also a problem. Public opinion is important and evaluation is important, but if you pay attention to it, you will be in trouble. You lose yourself, and eventually you become a person. If this happens, each other will be destroyed. Being conscious of reputation and public opinion to work while looking out for others is not loyalty.
Do you remember the old school textbook we talked about? What did the townspeople say when they saw the father riding on a donkey and his son holding the reins? "Oh my, do you have all those bad fathers who have their little son by the reins and ride on bread?" After that, after having another child, he took the reins and said, "Is there such a disobedient person, that you let your father hold the reins like that?" What would you do next? Reluctantly, we both rode donkeys and said, "There are such bad guys, two people riding on that young donkey." So what did you do? You were forced to carry your donkey around. Public opinion has always been like this. Another person's reputation always leans toward criticism. So you can't rely on it that way.
There is a saying in the Talmud: "Blessing arises from frugality, virtue arises from humility, wisdom arises from quiet thoughts, sorrow arises from lust, disaster arises from lust for water, transgression arises from frivolous deeds, sin arises from impatience, despair arises from unbelief. It comes from.” It all comes from a relationship with God. It is faith, and it is a matter of faith. What is your loyalty? It's about faith. When I believe in God, I am saved, and when I can trust in our loyalty to God, God blesses him. When you are faithful in small things, He entrusts you with big things. When we show sincere loyalty with a pure heart, we not only enjoy the great joy that comes from loyalty, but we can also refresh God.
Dear saints!
Now God is thirsty. He thirsts for our loyalty. He waits for our loyalty as He waits for ice cold water on a hot summer harvest day. Wherever you are, whatever you do, I hope that you will not be ashamed of being faithful to God and live a life of beauty as a saint who refreshes God.