Title: Revelation 02:8-11 The faithful worker
Contents
Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11
Title: Loyal Worker
Confucianism is a tradition that Koreans have treasured very much. Among these ideas, there is the idea of loyalty and fidelity. Loyalty means loyalty to the king and filial piety to parents. Our ancestors valued this idea and taught it diligently to our descendants. So this good tradition has been the basis of our family and social order for many years. Among them, the ideology of loyalty to the king developed more and expanded its scope to the form in which those below were loyal to those above. So, our ancestors regarded it as a very beautiful virtue and made every effort to protect the loyalty of subordinates to superiors, servants to masters, soldiers to the country, and people to the country.
If you look at the history of our country, there were many people who were loyal to the king and made a name for themselves in future generations. Among them, the story of a monk who was loyal to the king he served even after losing his life still moves us. Among the six men who were loyal to death, there is no one who does not know the story of Poeun and Jeong Mongju. The coup d'etat by General Lee Seong-gye destroyed Goryeo and now Joseon was established. Lee Seong-gye's son, Bang-won Lee, tried to change the heart of Mong-ju Chung, who was loyal to the old regime. So I invited him to the drinking seat.
After several cups of drinking went back, Bang-Won Lee wrote this poem. “How about these, how about those? How about the mountains with the Mansusan kudzu cuttlefish entangled? We, too, will be intertwined and live together for a hundred years.” After listening to this poem, Mong-Joo Chung responded as follows. “If this body dies and dies, heals a hundred times and dies, the bones of the body are dusted and there is no soul, and there is no way that the single heart towards you will go away.” After hearing this poem, Bang-won Lee decided that Chung Mong-ju's loyalty would not change. So, on his way back, he killed him on a bridge called Seonjukgyo. Jeong Mong-ju was loyal to the king even to death, even when he saw the Goryeo fall. That's why he became a loyal follower whose name is etched in the heart.
But as the years go by, you will see that this beautiful tradition is slowly losing its light. So there are not many people who are as loyal today as they used to be. There may be many reasons for this, but if I take the most important one, I would say modern people's individualism and selfishness. The modern age is an era of extreme pursuit of individual interests. Many people care more about what is good for them than about right and wrong, good and evil. So if I think that it is of no benefit to me, I turn my back on it, even if it is right and good. On the other hand, if I think it is beneficial to me, I pursue it regardless of whether it is good or bad.
The original Greek word for “loyalty” means “faithful” or “constant”. And this word is etymologically synonymous with the word “faith”. Loyalty includes faith. Therefore, the expression “loyal” means “constant and reliable work.” It is also to do the work that the Lord has entrusted to us consistently and faithfully. So, in the English Bible and Greek Bible, the words translated “faithful” in our Bible are expressed as “be faithful” and “faithful” respectively.
As the original Greek Bible or English Bible says, “loyalty” is an act of keeping faith. In fact, if we lose faith in our religious life, it becomes a faith in the shell. Without this kind of loyalty, we cannot say that we are living a proper life of faith. Therefore, the disloyal person cannot be said to have complete faith. Therefore, those who have faith are faithful. And those who are faithful are those who have faith.
An American missionary returned from work around 10 pm. As I entered the house, I heard the sound of chopping wood from the backyard. I was surprised and went. Then, Nak-jun was chopping firewood in the dark where the student could not see well. The missionary sat down on Nak-jun and entered the room. Then he asked, “Why are you still chopping wood?” Juni Nak replied, “The missionary told me to chop down the firewood, but he didn’t tell me to cut down until when he came back.”
The American missionary, deeply moved by these words, took Nak-jun's hand and said, “A kid like you can grow up to be great. So, I will arrange everything, including tuition, so that you can go to America to study.” After that, Nak-jun went to America to study. And when I was done, I came back and did many wonderful things for my country and people.
Even in the world, if you are loyal, good results will come in return for your loyalty. But, how much more will there be much praise and reward if we faithfully do the work of our Lord? Our Lord has all the good things that cannot be compared with anything in the world. But won't the Lord give good things to the saints who faithfully carried out His work? What are you going to give me? He promises to give you the crown of life. Some of you may be wondering what's so great about it. But what in the world is more precious and better than life? It is of no use if a man gains all the angels and loses his life. The Lord says through today's text that He gives life to those who are faithful to death. I pray that you will become believers who are faithful to death and receive all this crown of life.
In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, the names of the seven churches in Asia Minor are given. These seven churches show us what the churches were at that time. At the same time, these seven churches also symbolize the appearance of the churches on Earth today. On the other hand, it alludes to the appearance of the churches in the last days. Among these seven churches, Jesus praised and rebuked some. Another church did not praise, but only rebuked. On the other hand, some churches only praised them. Among the seven churches, there were two praised churches, one was the Philadelphia church and the other was the Smyrna church mentioned in the text. Why were the members of the Smyrna Church praised? It was because they kept their faith and were faithful even in the midst of tribulation and privation.
Verse 9 begins, “I know your affliction and need.” Our Lord knew the tribulation and poverty that the members of the Smyrna Church were experiencing. Here, ‘tribulation’ refers to “being struck by a large stone and suffering pain and then being crushed to death.” The members of Smyrna were suffering as if they were crushed by a large stone and slowly died. Also, they were living in poverty. “Poverty” means “to become a beggar” or “to be poor”. They were living a difficult life financially.