Title Leading a Life of Faith (Luke ...
Contents
Leading the life of faith (Luke 13:6-9) 2001.01.21.
The pain of being abandoned or rejected
Have you ever experienced the pain of being betrayed, abandoned, or rejected in your life? It could be the person who betrayed me, but it could also be the result of all my hard work, hard work and hard work. When you put a lot of effort and sacrifice for a good cause, and the result betrays the purpose, the pain is very great.
Some are rejected even before they are born, while others are abandoned by their children in old age. There are infants who cannot take their hands off their mother even in their sleep for fear of their mother leaving them, while there are adults who fear being abandoned by their husbands or wives. In the midst of social life, there are times when we try our best not to be abandoned by our superiors.
People become anxious when they have no one to lean on. And if you get abandoned or rejected by someone you can trust and rely on, your life can be utterly ruined. You may feel depressed because you are not confident in everything, or you may be forced to pretend to be strong on the outside. If even the pain of being abandoned or rejected once can make a person's life difficult for a long time, it is not difficult to maintain that life properly if you have experienced it many times.
Although we have to try our best not to be abandoned or rejected by others, we not only avoid leaving or rejecting others without us knowing, leaving a pain that is difficult to bind again, but also accepting and enveloping those who are suffering in such pain warmly. We must put more effort into our work.
The reason for the existence of the fig tree
The fig tree in today's text is a very ugly tree for a tree. The leaves also looked just like ordinary drooping leaves, and they are not trees that can be used for timber because they grow upright. It is a tree that simply twists and spreads sideways and cannot be used even as a lumber. By the way, it is not an ornamental tree. The cherry blossoms are beautiful in full bloom, but the rose is really elegant, but the fig tree is an ugly tree that doesn't have that.
The only reason the fig tree exists is because of its fruit. It is a tree planted for the purpose of fruit. The only purpose of the fig tree is its fruit. The fruits open a lot. Not only that, fig fruits are such fruits that you can pick them up and eat them when you are really hungry even before they are fully ripe. So, in the old days of Israel, people planted a lot on the streets and people who came, and now hungry people eat some and eat it. It is a tree that can avoid being really hungry.
purpose determines its worth
However, according to the Bible in today's text, this fig tree was planted for a clear purpose. The fruit is the purpose. Its purpose determines the value of existence. A fig is planted solely for its fruit, and without its fruit, its existence is meaningless. If you look closely, everything that has a good purpose is good, and anything that has a noble purpose becomes valuable. Its purpose is to determine its value.
Creation always has a purpose. There is no coincidence. There is a purpose that only one person is born into the world. There is a reason for existence, even the dry grass on the roadside and the stone that is kicked by the foot. We are not aware of it, but they all have their own purpose, reason, and value.
why i exist in the world
What do you think? Why do I exist in the world, are you sure? I am here for this moment, have you thought? There is a purpose in life and there is a value in my life. Not only that, there are no incidents by chance. Each and every event has a serious meaning. Even human error. There is a meaning in it, and it is something that has a clear purpose before God.
We come to realize later that even the trials that are extremely difficult to bear, whether it is an accident or a disease, are events that God clearly has a purpose for.
In today's text, this fig tree has no fruit. It's not a God who said "I'll cut it right away" just because it doesn't exist, it's a story of waiting 3 years. Thank you so much. Even though I knew there was no fruit, I waited 1 year 2 years 3 years. That waiting is God's waiting, God's patience, and there is mercy and love in it, and God's waiting is a personal relationship. It means that he was waiting for his personal return to bear fruit. I have that beautiful relationship. Continue weeding, fertilizing, watering, and taking care of them while waiting.
This is a parable to Israel, a parable to God's people. When God waits, we are not waiting for free. He worked through many trials, spoke through prophets, and kept awakening through the servants of the Lord, working hard and waiting, but nonetheless, there was no fruit.
After these three years have passed, the master says: "Why are you throwing away only the ground? Cut down this tree," he says. This is the limit of God's patience. Been patient for a long time. But not to the end. At some point, the work of judgment will appear, and it speaks of the limit of patience.
Surely there is a limit to God's patience. The cross is the limit of God's patience.
Jesus speaks in parables. 'A man planted a vineyard and went to another country, and he sent a servant to get a rent, but he did not give it, and beat him to death. He sent another servant, but he did not listen. At the end, he sent a son, but he killed him, saying, "If we kill this man, the heir, the land will be ours." Now, what will the master do when he comes?' Says. This is an important question. This is the limit of patience. The cross is the limit of God's patience. In it is love and in it is judgment. Therein lies the infinite love of the Lord, and therein lies the dreadful declaration of judgment.
Today's text reads, "Come on, cut down this fruitless fig tree!" When asked, the orchard keeper appears instead. This tree cannot speak. I have nothing to say. However, the word of the orchard keeper takes the initiative in professing faith here.
habits of successful people
Stephen Covey describes the seven habits of successful people in his book, the first of which is called initiative. This means 'I am responsible'. One of the highlights of the book is this: "It's what I wanted to do." Everything I did was because I wanted to do it. That's when initiative comes alive. What would happen if "I did something because he told me to do something I didn't want to do"? My existence disappears. what am i I am nothing Whatever it is, I choose and take responsibility for it is my leading personality. When I take responsibility, my existence grows that much. This is human consciousness. Therefore, people who make a lot of excuses, especially those who blame others, are very poor.
Some people get so angry during a marital quarrel, so their wife asks why you keep getting angry. Do you know what the husband's answer was then? ?쏧 wasn?셳 like that, but I became like this while living with you.??He's a really ugly man. Who is responsible for being ugly? When we human beings become like this, our human worth decreases. The moment I resent, my existence disappears. So there is nothing to complain about and nothing to blame for the environment. There is nothing anyone can say is wrong. My responsibility is mine. From that moment on, it must be clearly understood that human existence comes to life.
When I can not only bear my responsibilities, but also the responsibilities of others, the scope of my life grows to that extent. Someone called Walter Cronkite, one of the world's leading journalists, asks, "What's the secret to your success?" When I asked him, he replied, "Because broadcasting is for me." There is an important meaning in that one word.
What do you guys think? When a person who goes to work lives with the mindset, "I have a job for me, not for my job," no matter where I go to work, 'This is for me.' Then I will be the owner. Even when I think of my family, if I treat my family with the mindset that I have a family for myself instead of being a maid for the family, the home becomes mine. So is the church. Why is the church like this? What kind of church is this? At that moment, Yeongam Church becomes someone else's church, not me. No matter what I do, this is for me, so I live independently with a sense of ownership. So, I am responsible for myself, and I am responsible for others. That is why the realm of existence is expanding.
However, in today's text, there are three important principles in the words of the fig tree keeper while taking responsibility. The first is to have faith in this fig tree. There is no fruit now. Haven't been in 3 years. But the owner of the orchard thinks. I think there is potential and potential ability in this. This is faith.
Disability and illness are two different things. Illness is sick now, don't suffer, it could get worse, but it could get better. There is such a possibility. But the disability is now gone. So the handicapped is pitiful. The disability is over. Now that's not getting any better. It's not like you don't have an arm that isn't there. That's a disability. But the disease is painful now, but there is a possibility that it may get better.
Today the gardener looked at this fig and saw it pathologically, not physiologically. That is faith. You guys have an interesting story. Everyone, it is said that if there is a couple quarrel, the family can be happy only if the word 'always' is removed from the words of two people. "Why are you like that day and night?" ?쏻hy do you always come back late???This becomes a problem. Besides, one more popped up and said, "Your father was like that, so are you?" If you take the issue of genetic factors as an issue like this, there is no hope. Then you just go out of there. So, being there every day, as if it were the first time, requires a perspective that knows how to see. When you have faith, when you believe, there is a lot of possibility in it. Faith to see it, that's what's important.
And not only that, the orchard keeper tried to do it together for the reason there was no fruit. "I am responsible for the fruitlessness." "The responsibility is not only there, I also have it."
Not long ago, Celine Dion, who sang the theme song to the Titanic, suddenly announced her retirement. Why did the world's greatest singer, who captivated the world with her explosive singing ability and sold millions of copies on every album released, suddenly retired?
When she was 12, she carried a tape of a song she sang to her patrons. However, although he recognized his talent, no one was willing to become his patron. At that moment, a young man named Angeline encouraged her disappointed. Then he sold all of his fortune to make a record for her. And when it comes to Celine's work, she is unconditionally sacrificial and devoted to helping her. Then they got married, and she was loved by her husband and became a world-famous singer.