Title Level Up!!
Content Level Up!!
level up
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be glory now and to everlasting day” 2 Peter 3:18
Some time ago, at our church, with someone I knew well (?), we talked about games together while we were going somewhere. He is said to have the best chess in the game. He said that he is level 1 in one game shogi. So, when I asked how he got to such a high level, he told me how to do it.
The method is that if you win 10 rounds continuously, the level will increase. But if you lose at least one out of 10, you don't get points.
Conversely, if you drop 10 rounds, your level will drop.
And when you start for the first time, everyone starts at level 18. Then, as the level gradually increases, it goes up like 17, 16, 15, and then goes up to level 1, right? Then they move on to 1st tier, and they say that 4th tier is the highest tier.
Today's Bible verse is the last letter that Jesus' disciple Peter sent to the saints when he was about to die. Among them, the verse we read today is the most final among them.
The apostle Peter is giving the last and most important words to the saints at the end of today. If you look closely at today's Bible verse, the words that Apostle Peter wanted to say to the first saints are well expressed in just one word. Shall we look for it together?
What word is it? Yes. In "grow up".
This word 'grow up' is written as aujxavnw in the Greek where the Bible was originally written. Its original meaning is 'the moon is full'.
As the new moon gradually grows into a full moon as time goes by, the apostle Peter thought that the most important thing and said that the aspect of faith should also grow gradually over time.
Then, at this time, the evangelist will ask a question to our friends who are sitting here, as well as the teachers and the evangelist himself. Seriously, answer in your heart. "Are you growing even a little bit?"
Of course, it is very unfortunate that the person who should have grown up is not growing. I watched Love House last week, and the two brothers and sisters were unable to grow up due to cerebral palsy, and they were fixing the house where they live with their mother very nicely. But both of them were over 30 years old. I haven't grown up since I was over 30, so my mom still had to change diapers. For over 30 years, my mother has been raising them by bathing them and changing diapers. The house has been nicely renovated, but every time I think of the siblings, my mom will be very, very, very heartbroken.
It was very sad to see the evangelist too.
So how do I know if I have grown up?
Growing up is manifested in changes in our lives.
You can see that you grow through changes in your words, thoughts, and actions.
The harsh words that used to hurt others slowly turned into gentle words...
From a selfish heart that only thought of oneself to a heart that was a little considerate of others...
Time to play and watch TV is important, but we can see that we are growing by gradually increasing the time to read the Bible and time to pray.
Let me ask you again.. Are you growing up?
Evangelist first talked about the one-game chess level.
Likewise, all of our friends sitting here have water. Some friends will have a level 18 beginner even if they have been to church for a long time, some friends will have a level 18 level friend because they have not been to church for a while, and some will have a level 17 or 16 friend.
You know best what level you are. Teachers know that they have been to church for a long time, but it is because they can most accurately know how their lives are changing.
If we really want our friends to grow up, I hope that the evangelist, our friends, and our teachers will play one game right now.
Level up right away! It's a game. Those who can't figure out what their faith level is, they decide to start from level 18. The evangelist will do it from the 18th grade as well.
And while we live, we raise our level.
In a way, you score yourself for every word, thought, and action you say.
I set a time and prayed...+1 point
When my friend swears at me, he smiles once in a while...+!
I read 1 chapter of the Bible as stated in the bulletin...+1 fold
I first asked my partner what he thinks about going to church...+1 point
I was angry about my brother not listening to me, but I held it in... +1 point
And so on, I give you 1 point if you say, 'It must have been pleasing in God's sight' because you think for yourself as you live day by day.
But what did you say you had to do to level up? Yeah! He told me that I had to keep winning 10 rounds. You have to get 10 points in a row to go up from level 18 to level 17.
Level up for a few days alone as the evangelist prepares this sermon! I played a game. But it was very difficult. I'm still in grade 18. There were many times when I got up to 9 points while praying, getting angry, and listening to the Word, but at one point I had bad thoughts in my heart and it got back to 0.
There are some good points about this. When you have a bad heart or temptation in your heart, you shout it out loud. "Level up!" If I do, I have experienced that those temptations disappear.
And every time you level up, brag to the cafe, friends, and teachers. Once you know the fun of growing step by step, you will not be able to get out of this game. No, everyone is addicted to this game and level up for the rest of their lives! I want to play a game.
You can't always show your level 18 in front of God. Losing games every day, getting hurt easily, and asking only you to know yourself are only appropriate for beginners in the 18th grade. But every time we go up one level, we will be able to experience turning into great pro gamers who won't give up on temptation.
A few days ago, I saw a very sad article in the newspaper. A 5th grade elementary school friend committed suicide after being scolded by his parents for playing too many games and paying too much for paid games. He said that he spent 1.7 million won on clothes for his avatar in the past six months.
It wouldn't have been such a sad thing if he had known earlier that true beauty is not about adorning your avatar, but about raising the level of our faith.
True beauty and beauty are not our appearance or our avatars, but our thoughts and our outward words and actions.
Let's level up together from today! I hope that by playing the game, our image will grow into a form that can please God in the sight of God.