Title: The path of my life
Contents
♡♥♡ The path of my life / Genesis 11:31-12:9
*** Introduction
The path of a person's life from birth to death is an independent path even for twins born together. Some people are evaluated as a 'successful life' because they are good at life design and management, or they are evaluated as a 'classic' or a 'failed life' because of a good life design but poor management. As such, they are valuable life managers that every human being has only one in their lifetime.
In 1828 a very ugly boy was born in Russia. The boy was always pessimistic about his broad nose, thick lips, little gray eyes, and big limbs, and he habitually said, 'I'm too ugly to live a happy life!'
However, as the boy grew up, he realized that happiness in life does not lie in his appearance, but in his inner abundance. I also knew that true beauty lies in love. In particular, after the boy became an adult, he realized that 'the value of faith is the true beauty', and left a masterpiece in which this belief was sublimated. This masterpiece is 'Resurrection', and this boy is 'Tolstoy', the author of the resurrection.
In this way, a person's life path can be sublimated into a beautiful life with true value when one discovers the truth.
What is your life path? Because we do not know the end of the path of life, we cannot know how long we have lived and how much remains. But if you look back on the road you've been on, you can see what kind of road it was. In this time, we will look at the steps we have taken based on God's will and how we should move forward in the future.
The text shows the beginning of a new history with the conclusion of the first chapter of Genesis, the history of creation. The first character who opens the door of a new history is ‘Abraham,’ who is called ‘the father of faith’. The text records the long journey of Abraham's family from their hometown, Ur of the Chaldeans, toward Canaan.
An important point to note today is the places where they stayed. 'Ur of the Chaldeans', the hometown where they lived for generations, appears first, the second is the city of 'Haran', which has become Abraham's intermediate settlement and the settlement of other members of the family, and the third is the eternally given to Abraham and his descendants. There is a city of the future 'Canaan'.
Abraham travels to his final destination, Canaan, but in his lifetime, he only received a promise and never unfolded his life at the destination. We would like to think about the 'way of life we should take', centering on Abraham's life path.
1. There is a land to leave on the path of life.
The land where Abraham and his family lived, Ur of the Chaldeans, was not their eternal home. ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’ was a thirsty land where we lived in the flesh. God made them leave the land.
‘Ur of the Chaldea’ is ‘Ur’, the capital of the ‘Chaldea’ region. This area is the ‘flatland of Shinar’ where the ancient Tower of Babel was built. On the other hand, the region where 'Chaldea' (2300-1370 BC), 'Assyria' (1370-606 BC), 'Babylon' (606-538 BC), and 'Medo-Persia', the four major powers that conquered the ancient world, took place is. It is currently located in southern Iraq.
This city was already a city of commerce and commerce more than 4,000 years ago. Considering that the population at that time was close to 300,000, it is easy to predict how prosperous the city was. Also, ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’ was a place where pagan culture that worshiped various idols developed, and it is said that it was especially famous for worshiping a moon god named ‘Nana’. According to the Apocrypha, Terado, Abraham's father, had a profession of making and selling idols.
What is very interesting is the name ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’. Names were very important to ancient people. The word ‘ur’ means ‘thirst. It became ruins. It means 'destroyed'. Outwardly, Ur of the Chaldeans was a lively and wealthy city. But this city was a strange place that made people thirsty without knowing what it was.
The cause can be found in Joshua 24:2. “Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Once upon a time your fathers, Terah the father of Nahor, the father of Abraham, dwelt beyond the river and served other gods. ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’ was a city that built the Tower of Babel against God from ancient times, was a city of war that shed a lot of blood, and was a city that worshiped idols, so it felt thirsty for the soul. They were wasting their lives in vain things because they did not know God. Therefore, ‘Ur of the Chaldeans’ is the land that God’s people have to leave.
Let's look at Ephesians 5:8. “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” To walk as children of light is also Ephesians 4:22-24, “Put off your old self, which is corrupt according to the lusts of deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, according to God in righteousness and holiness in truth. Put on the new man, in which you were created.”
The land we have to leave is the worldly customs and things of darkness we had when we did not know God.
2. There is a land on the road of life where you should not hesitate.
The Abraham family, who left for Canaan, stayed in a city called Haran. You must have wanted to rest for a while after traveling on a dry wilderness road. Perhaps it was because his father, Terah, was old and could not handle the long journey (Acts 7:4, “Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. When his father died, God sent him there to live in your country. and moved to this land.”). However, they stayed in Haran for a long time, accumulated wealth, and had descendants (Genesis 12:5). They stayed too long in the land they were going to pass through.
The name ‘Haran’ means ‘mountain’. Mountains are not very welcome for those who travel through ancient deserts. Because the road is blocked by this mountain. So Haran has always been a city that has been seen as a symbol of obstacles.
It is said that there were three characteristics while President Park Chung-hee took office. The first was a military revolution that led to a long-term rule for 16 years, the second was a miracle of economic development as a military ruler, and the third was that his husband and wife both died in the country during his reign. will be
When the Israelites were hesitating between God and Baal, God sent the prophet Elijah to demand a firm attitude.
When Abraham was hesitating in a meaningless land, God said, "Leave your country, your relatives, your father's house, and go to the land I will show you." This command was given shortly after the death of his father Terah. Now there is no reason to hesitate any longer.
Even though we follow Jesus, there are many times when we get distracted by worldly things. Spouse, family, wealth, fame, power, etc. However, all of these are merely gifts from God to be enjoyed. However, rather than looking at God who has given us this precious gift, we are obsessed with the gift itself. Ultimately, the gift becomes an idol that takes the place of God. That's why the Lord said in Luke 9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Are you hesitating in a land to pass? Are you not trying to turn away from God's call?
3. We have a land to dwell on.
Abraham left Haran and arrived in Canaan. But God did not allow them to settle in Canaan. Let's look at Acts 7:4-5, which we saw a while ago. “Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran, and when his father died, God moved him from there to this land where you live. But he did not give him an inheritance enough to set foot here, but he promised to give the land to him, who has not yet had children, and to his offspring.”
God only promised Abraham, who had no descendants yet, that he would give it to you and your descendants. Abraham arrived in Canaan, but he was still traveling from place to place, making mistakes and failures. After 25 years had passed since he arrived in Canaan, God gave him his descendant, Isaac. In the meantime, Abraham had to develop faith and learn qualities as the father of faith, or as a chosen people. But God was already in control of them and was with them.
This is the kingdom of God on this earth. The kingdom of God is any place under the control of God. The kingdom of God that will be accomplished at the end of the world is clearly a new heaven and a new earth that will be established in heaven as promised in the Book of Revelation. However, the kingdom of God that is being realized on this earth now is that the saints live under the rule of God in Jesus Christ. In other words, Christians do not actually live in heaven, but live in this world as citizens of heaven. And life in this world is learning and training the civic qualities of the kingdom of God. It is training to entrust all of your life to God and rely on Him.
Therefore, Christians should remember that although they are now in this world, they are citizens of the kingdom of God under the rule of God. Citizens of the kingdom of God, like Abraham, have worldly pains and trials, but because they are under God's rule, they live in obedience and joy.
Where are you now?
I pray that if you obey God, you will achieve a life full of joy and gratitude, remembering that all my life's path belongs to God, and that my life is now as a citizen of the kingdom of God.