Title I Give Thanks (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
Contents
Gyu-cheol Chae, an alternative educator who passed away in December last year after living like an ET grandfather, left the last greetings he left on his voyage to the world, saying, "...where is that, beautiful, now I have a tax cut." 'Grandpa ET' is a nickname given to him by children because he looked like an alien with burns all over his body. But he said he was already burned out and was proud of his nickname. He started teaching at Pulmu School in Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do in 1961, and has been active as a welfare activist since he founded the Blue Cross Medical Association with Dr.
Then one day, in a car accident, the car caught on fire and suffered third-degree burns. After 30 surgeries, his life was saved, but his ears were not recognizable, and his nose and mouth were not his own. I was thirty-one at that time. But he got out of that deep pit. Although he lost his hearing, one eye was blind, and his melted hand became like a rake, he covered his wounds with laughter, saying, "How good it is to have enough left to see the heart with the invisible eye and the ear to wear glasses." .
He joked, "It's a face that cost at least 60 million won," he joked. On the other hand, he described himself as 'a 100-won life'. That's why it makes my heart swell. “When I open a coffee shop or restaurant, the madam or the employees immediately come up to me and give me a 100 won coin, and then push me to leave. This is because it gives customers a sense of disgust and insecurity, partly because they mistake him for a beggar rather than a customer. It is said that he dignifiedly put it on and pretended to be a customer.
After the burn, he started working for the Blue Cross Medical Association again, and was active in creating 'Hanbet' and 'Organ Donation Headquarters of Love' for underprivileged neighbors. In 1986, an alternative school, 'Dumilli Nature School', was established in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do, providing urban children with opportunities to be friends with nature.
He, who rose up over difficult adversity and gave hope to many people with the passion that comes from his 'burned body', said as he recalled the past. “We need two ‘Fs’ in our lives, ‘Forget’ and ‘Forgive’. If I hadn’t forgotten the pain after the accident, I wouldn’t be able to live like I do now. . And where is the fault of what has already happened. I have to forgive myself first to be forgiven. That's right. Forget and forgive. That way you will be thankful. He accepted all of this with gratitude. I didn't blame or hate anyone. Because of that, he was able to live for others, not himself, despite his great obstacles.
Giving thanks and believing are the same thing. People believe as much as they give thanks and give thanks only as much as they believe. The word thanks is a Greek word that combines the words “gift” or “grace” and the word “good”. In other words, the Greeks understood that it is thanksgiving to experience and respond to the good gifts that come from God. So, those who know how to be grateful are those who have realized grace, those who have experienced grace, and those who have a humble heart. The life of thanksgiving is the life of grace and the life of faith.
Paul was a man of great faith. That is why he knows gratitude. A person who was full of gratitude, a person who had gratitude in his body, and a person who lived his whole life with gratitude. It was his faith of gratitude that transformed him into a mature person.
1. Thank you for entrusting me with the position.
“He counted me faithful and entrusted me with his ministry” (12).
He knew that it wasn't because he was good-looking, but that it was an office that regarded him as loyal. The Lord referred to him as 'my chosen vessel to save the Gentiles'. Paul lived his whole life with this heart. Some people think of themselves as good enough and think they are too full to do God's work. So, it's more of a complaint than a thank you.
It's not about how I feel about myself, it's about how the Lord views me.
The apostle Paul knew that he was not worthy of the apostleship, but that God had faithfully brought him here, and he was always grateful for it.
“No matter how great or small, this is the office that I received from God who made me strong. Therefore, we should give thanks for the office. We Christians are basically those who have been entrusted with the gospel of the Lord. God has chosen us and called us to entrust us with this gospel of Christ Jesus. you built it.
2. I was grateful for the change.
“I used to be a slanderer, a persecutor, and an assaulter, but I found mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief” (13).
He is now looking back at himself. We respect this Paul. What he lived by looking back at himself every day as a believer is more precious than any achievements or achievements he left behind. Whenever we think of Paul, we must not miss this. This is the most striking, most beautiful, and noblest appearance of his life.
The Apostle Paul said that he was a slanderer, a persecutor, an assaulter (13) and the chief among sinners (15). He was a saboteur who denied the divinity of Jesus Christ and forced it on others. He was a persecutor who used physical force to destroy the church. He was arrogant and stubborn. Everyone is like that when they are falling apart in ignorance and distrust. But he has changed. He had a turning point. It was such a drastic change that the church in Jerusalem suspected it was a ruse and had a hard time accepting him.
The Apostle Paul here is confessing his gratitude for the changes he had made before and after he believed in Jesus. He believes that his great change is due to God's mercy and merciful grace. Man is by nature a child of wrath and has been associated with sin from birth. But now, they have been transformed into righteous people by God and become children of God. Now, as a Christian, all the values that I once held to as a Jew are no longer needed.
3. Thank you for your grace.
“The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with the faith and love that were in Christ Jesus” (14).
The confession that "all things are by the grace of God" gave birth to gratitude. The Apostle Paul said that the grace of the Lord who saved him abounded and overflowed. Those who have experienced the gospel cannot help but be thankful.
. That's why the Apostle Paul said, "I thank God for his great grace that words cannot describe" (2 Corinthians 9:15). When we receive grace, we become grateful, and those who are full of the grace we receive are supposed to be thankful.
Because we don't receive grace, we can't be thankful, and because we don't give thanks, we keep getting further and further away from the path to receive grace. This is the vicious cycle of grace.
The Apostle Paul was able to become Paul in verse 16, “But the reason I received mercy is that Jesus Christ first showed me all patience, so that afterward he might become an example to those who believe in him and have eternal life.”
The Apostle Paul is the one who “later became an example of those who believed in Jesus” because of your patience with all things.
Paul said that through this life of thanksgiving, Paul became an example for all believers (16) and gave praise and glory to God (17).
Augustine said, “Faith, hope, and love will always be there, but I want to add one more thing. Gratitude will always be there. Gratitude is like hitting a wall with a ball, so if you give thanks, it will always come back to you. "He said. Just as we must have faith, hope, and love, we must also have gratitude.
Gratitude is like electricity. Electricity isn't just used to defeat darkness, it can be a driving force in many uses. The same goes for gratitude.
Be an example of gratitude. And let us live while giving praise and glory to God.