Title: The Fate of the Fig Tree
Contents
Dec. 28 Trinity Worship <The Fate of the Fig Tree> (Luke 13:6-9)
When ordinary people spend the end of the year, Westerners listen to the Beethoven choral symphony the most in this season, and among them, they always listen to the Ode to Joy. It's a happy year. However, the scenery of the year-end in Korea is probably the scenery where the name ‘end-of-year party’ is given, and the people gather to drink and get a headache instead of forgetting the year.
This parable of the fig tree is similar to the drying of figs in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Those are events that have certainly happened, but today's words will be slightly different because they are parables, not events. In fact, at that time, because there was no fruit, He made them wither, and today's parable is similar to that. Today's story is about judgment. If you look at the preceding words, something happened. When Pilate puts people to death, people come to Jesus and tell him this. But Jesus directly leads to judgment and says that you are more righteous than those people and that you are alive. Unless you repent, you will be the same and you will easily perish. He is talking about the fig tree. So, when we say that today's topic is the kingdom of God, I think we will be able to say that it is the kingdom of God as a judgment. These topics are burdensome, so I don't usually talk about them, but at the end of the year like today, I think that it is a word that must be heard and should be carefully listened to.
What is the state of the fig tree? It may be tall and lush with leaves. But the owner is not asking for such a thing from the tree, but is seeking fruit. This fig tree is not a beautiful flowering tree. Some trees have beautiful flowers, others are used for timber. But this fig tree is a fruit-bearing tree. If this fig tree is a little different from other trees, it does not taste bitter or astringent even if you eat the unripe fruit. Even if the taste is a little weak. Although the fig tree may boast of its size and the lushness of its leaves, the fig tree must bear fruit.
Things have a purpose. If you put something different for a different purpose, you will get disrespectful, but if you do it for the purpose, it is very good. If so, what is your purpose?
The owner has nothing to do with the appearance of the tree. God is demanding fruit from the tree. that there is. In that case, whether or not to be ashamed before God will depend on the presence or absence of the fruit.
Seven years have passed since our church moved, and now we are moving to another place. In this case, we should expect the future as expected, and repentance as repentance. We now borrowed a billion dollars initially. As I continued to take out loans while paying the interest, I developed inertia and got to this day. Of course, it is all the grace of God, so we are worshiping in such a good environment, but if someone had donated 10 million won at that time, they would not have come this far. There must have been many opportunities while coming this far, and I would have come to this point without being obedient because I could not connect it with this. If it continues, you will not learn to learn and you will not receive the training you deserve. Of course, God doesn't know what to do right now. You will regret it in the end.
As the year was officially coming to an end, thinking about it, there were a lot of grateful people who came from far away after being together like this. When I think back on them, I didn't do it voluntarily, but I made them hold on to it, but in the future, is it really stupid to live as if the purpose of my life is the church? It's not because God is driving the situation, but I'm really going to do this. Can't we live with that purpose as if what we are living and breathing right now is for the church? If right now is the time when we are moving like that, I wouldn't be able to say. However, this year is the last time here and if you think that something will change next year, you will feel like you have to do anything, and we will have the image that we have to give to God first, not because we have a plan for anything. is. What God requires is fruit. What kind of fruit does God want? And I want you to start a new era with a new heart with the thought that there is one more year since Jesus said to leave one more year.