Title: The Person God Meets
Exodus (7) The person God meets (Exodus 3:1-5)
1. a humble person
Moses was once raised as a prince in the royal palace of Egypt, but at the age of 40 he killed a man and ran into the wilderness to become a shepherd for Jethro, his father-in-law and priest of Midian. And it was only when his heart became low after 40 years of being a shepherd, God met him and gave him a calling (verse 1). From a human point of view, it would seem that Moses would do a better job if he called him when he was young, but God works with low-minded people, not high-minded people.
Also, when God met Moses, he met him on a bush in the wilderness (verse 2). The bush is an unsightly tree about 2 m tall that looks like a thornbush that grows in the wilderness. God appeared from a shabby bush, not from a nice tree like the cedar in Lebanon. In that way, like a bush, God only meets humble people who admit that they are lacking and insignificant.
Also, Moses did not fast and pray for 40 days to meet God, but he met God when he was faithful to his daily life and tending the sheep. God does not meet when we are praying at a prayer center or at a special meeting only if we are upset. Another thirst is already hidden in the bitter taste. Just as drinking a carbonated beverage that gives a bitter taste will make you thirsty sooner, if you search for something that makes you emotional in your religious life, your soul will be thirstier. You can meet God best when you simply live with a grateful and worshipful heart in your daily life.
2. pure person
When Moses saw a bush burning on Mount Horeb and went to take a closer look, God told him not to come near him (verse 5). How thrilling and trustworthy would it be to get close to God, see and even touch Him? However, we must only be where God has allowed us to be. Know only the words of the Bible that God has made known, and do not dig too deeply into what God has left as a mystery.
The Word is not to be divided into knowledge, but to be eaten as food for the soul. Occasionally, if a question comes up in the Bible that you can't solve, just leave it as a question. As long as you dig into the Word, your life will not change even if your knowledge increases. The Word of God is basically an object of obedience, not an object of study. It is more important to obey the Word a lot than to know a lot of the Word. When I promise to hold the truth in my hands, it usually goes further away.
True faith does not mean putting the Word into my grasp, but it is entering into a state of being captivated by the Word. In other words, the truth comes only when we acknowledge that the subject of our faith is God, not ourselves. If you read and read the Bible as the Word of God, then it seems that you are reading the Bible rather than reading the Bible yourself. When you read the Bible like that, if you don't just read the Bible and let the Bible read your heart, you will meet God in the Bible.
3. A person who stands firm
People think that a holy place is a mysterious place, but God says that the place where Moses stood is a holy place (verse 5). There is the greatest characteristic of people who live by their mission. Wherever he went, he had a strong sense of “where I stand is a holy place!” Some people long for America in Korea and miss Korea when they go to America. Looking at the other side like that and letting go of your hands is a waste of your precious life. Therefore, wherever you go, know that it is a ‘place that God has sent’ and live there to the best of your ability.
If you go to Yanghwajin in Mapo, Seoul, you will find the tombs of missionaries who were martyred in Korea. On some cemetery inscriptions it was written: “I would rather be buried in Korea than in Westminster Abbey!” The greatest wish of the English people is to be buried in holy Westminster Abbey after death. However, the missionary lived in Korea as the most holy place.
There is also this inscription. “If I had a thousand lives, I would like to give them all for Korea!” Those missionaries died because they loved Korea more than their own country. So love your God-sent place and consider it a holy place. The heaven we will go to is a holy place beyond our imagination, but please know that the place you are currently stepping on is also a holy place. God will meet a person who stands firm in his present position and will bless his future.