Title: The Greatest Person
(John 13:34-35)
1. Everyone wants to be a good person.
One of the most common words that we subconsciously and habitually say in our daily life is probably 'excellent'.
You just want to be a great person, even though you don't know exactly what [great] means.
The expectations and statements that all parents place on their children are saying and teaching: "You must be a good person after this."
Let's think about what the hell it means to be great.
The concept of 'excellent' means that people in the world are ahead of others.
And it often means being the object of envy, that is, the object of envy by others.
So I try to send them to the best school, study abroad, and so I want to be ahead of many people.
Judging from these standards, 'goodness' is the work you have accumulated for yourself in front of everyone, and it is the effort you make to make your name shine.
That's why I don't sleep at night, and I study, study and study with my hair wrapped around my health.
On the other hand, in a capitalist country, wealth is earned
As an enemy, I try to give meaning to what I have more than others because I think it's great.
In other words, if you become rich, you think that you are a successful person.
So people say that if you live rich, you will live well.
Many people think that successful people are people who have studied a lot, got rich, or have reached high positions.
So people want to be successful like him, and they think they're great people and they want to be like that.
By the way, what does the word of God say to us believers?
And we must understand clearly through the Word how our Lord taught us.
The Lord told His disciples what kind of person a good person is.
Matthew 20:26-27 says, "Whoever wants to become great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave."
This is the opposite of what the world thinks.
Up until now, people have thought that a good person is a good person when he can be first and when he becomes bigger than others.
Those who take these teachings of the Lord seriously will find it difficult to avoid conflict.
Because until now, when we say that we are a good person, we want to be treated by others, to stand out so that others cannot follow, and we want to be superior to others. were you living Because I can't help but question it.
So, doesn't that mean that everything I've prayed for so far to be a good person has nothing to do with the Lord's teachings? We must reflect deeply.
So, what does it mean to believe in Jesus and be a good person? I'll have to think about it.
2. What should a good person be 'how to live'?
Today's text says, "I give you a new commandment, love one another."
The commandment we received from Moses was the old commandment, but the commandment we received from the Lord is the new commandment.
In conclusion, only those who live by the new commandment are the ones who live a good life. What is the essence of the new commandment?
The heart of the new commandment is to love one another.
In other words, a person who lives in love is a good person.
So how are we living now?
In order to become a good person, isn't it enough to envy and hate others and live your life hoping that only you will do well? This is a common social phenomenon in the world.
I live my life with such indifference that it has nothing to do with me even if others are in trouble. Still, I hope to be ahead of others.
In a competitive society, we struggle to not lose to others. We believers are no exception.
They say that Jesus is Lord, but they do not live according to the teachings of the Lord.
Here is our own shame that disappoints us today.
As a pastor these days, I feel very embarrassed by these words.
It is my own self-reproach and reproach.
To what extent am I working with a service attitude in the church? How much do you have the appearance of a servant in front of the church members?
On the contrary, didn't you take it for granted that you are a servant of the Lord? Etc.... Indeed, these days, self-reflection is deepening.
This will not be just me.
Anyone who is serious about looking at themselves will have the same mind.
I confess that Jesus is Lord, and how am I trying to live according to his teachings in fulfilling the office he has entrusted to me? You will not be able to feel the conflict in the fight with yourself deeply.
It means that the completion of the life of faith is impossible, and there is always a series of conflicts.
A life of faith is a leap to a higher level amidst worries, conflicts, and despair. Therefore, anyone who believes without conflict would be either an idiot or an idiot. The life of faith is like this, a series of battles with oneself.
3. Therefore, as long as you have the mindset to be a good person like the rest of the world, you should know that you are far from being a good person.
This means that if anyone wants to become a servant in order to be number one, he will no longer be that person. Serving itself should be life.
Likewise, if you give love to get ahead of others, that kind of love has nothing to do with the love the Lord taught you.
Because in many cases such love is already self-centered.
What people in the world are talking about today is love, and when you peel off one layer, the kernels of everyone's 'self' remain as they are.
Most people in the world love it these days.
"Do you like me? I like you... Then we'll get married..." It's just a relationship.
It's love because you're nice to me, because you care about me, because he likes me, and because I'm attracted to him.
Here, all the kernels of the country remain. This kind of love is a love that anyone can do.
However, there are things in this world that anyone can do but not everyone, and that is 'true love'. Anyone can do it, but no one can love!
A person who lives with such love can be said to be a wonderful person.
Because that is the love the Lord speaks to us.
He said, "Love one another as I have loved you. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
It is a very precious and precious word.
So, what kind of love is the Lord's love for us?
It's the love I said "I am you".
People who practice this kind of love will be the best people in the world.
He visited Kkottongnae in Eumseong, and the nun who was guiding introduced him to Kkottongnae how to greet. There are no common words like the word ?쐋ove?? Anyone can make such a common love, but it is also said that love is what no one can do.
As I reflected on these words, I agreed that this was indeed the case.
At first glance, Kkottongnae looks like a human garbage dump. It is a gathering place of people who have been abandoned by this society, such as the mentally disabled, the physically disabled, the elderly with dementia, and the abandoned children born to unwed mothers.
According to the nun, when they first come here, they all close their hearts, be wary, and treat them with hatred, but true love can only be found while living with people who practice love according to the Lord's commandment, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' What it is and what forgiveness is.
They are said to be infected with true love by those who identify themselves with those who drool, excrete, and smell all the time.
It is not the love of I love you, but the love of I am you that is the true love that produces miracles.
People who have realized this love will now live to love you, who is worse than me, and it is said that this is a miracle.
So, he said that he was in tears when he saw a disabled person who cannot use both arms feed a person who cannot move their limbs with a spoon in their toes.
It is said that most of these people pledged to donate their organs to others when they died.
The more we think about it, the more our hearts pierce our hearts.
One of the popular sayings these days is 'everyone loves one'.
In fact, there is no word as common as love, but it also means that true love like this cannot be done by anyone. It's all about selfish love, self-centered love, and only love that asks for one's own sake.
I don't know how ashamed we were of healthy people while reading this article.
Dear saints!
What thoughts are we sitting here with you at this time today?
Do you not come out with any dissatisfaction, irritability, resentment, or hatred for money?
Thinking about Kkottongnae, I hope that you will think about the people who live there while practicing true love.
Who would be a great person?
People who strive to become practitioners of true love that anyone in this world can do, but that no one can do!
Who else would it be?
the wealth I own,
knowledge I have,
the honor I have,
Just because it's more than others doesn't make you a great person.
The life I am enjoying now is probably not people who live well because they are richer and more relaxed than others.
Just because I have skills and abilities that no one else can match doesn't mean I'm a great person.
Compared to those who practice true love who say 'I am you' (I am you), I must realize that I am still far away.
What would you do if the cemetery was large and gorgeous until the day you die?
Those who live in such a way that I take care of you, who are worse than you, and I, who is a little better than you, will be the best people.
?쏻ho, O LORD, will dwell in your tents, and who will dwell in your holy mountain? Walk uprightly, practice justice, speak truth in their hearts, do not slander their neighbours; He honors those who fear, and his vows in his heart are harmful, but he does not change; he does not pay interest, nor accepts bribes, nor does he harm the innocent; whoever practices these things will never be shaken." (Psalm 15:1- 5). ??