Title There is a way to live
Still, there is a way to live (John 21:13-14)
<There is still a way to live>
There was an office worker. He was successful at a large corporation, but at the age of 54 he was expelled from his job due to the IMF. Then I told my family. “Now my stomach hurts. I've been tied to the company for a long time, so I haven't been able to have a good time with my family or have a hobby, but now I have more time with my family and I can do hobbies."
The family really thought it was. In fact, at first he traveled and ate out with his family. However, after about three months, he was completely speechless. I later found out that I had been contemplating suicide for the entire three months. The only reason he could not die easily at that time was that he could not find a way to die without harming his family.
On his 54th birthday, his family asked him to give him strength. That day, the family of four went to a quiet tea house, and my wife spoke first. "Honey! We have prepared a special gift for you on your 54th birthday.” Then he pulled out a piece of paper from the envelope. On that paper, there were 54 things that she was grateful for and that she was proud of. After reading it all, my wife said. “You are God’s greatest gift to me.”
Shortly thereafter, the daughter of a college student read and said all 54 things she was grateful for to her father. “I am so proud of my father who raised me this much.” Tears welled up in Dad's eyes. My high school son went on to read and say all 54 things he was grateful for to his father. “Dad is the jewel of our family.” In the end, Dad couldn't hold back and cried.
That day he got up. His self-esteem collapsed and everything fell apart, but he realized that he still had a precious family and decided not to collapse any further. After that, he regained the image of a strong husband and father again, and he lived hard, thankful for the conditions of small happiness.
There are times in life when frustration comes to mind about making extreme choices. Such difficult times come for everyone. Still, there is a way to live. Still, God loves me and sees me as a pearl of great price. God paid a great price for me, the ‘Cross of Jesus’. Jesus is not the one who writes when he needs it and throws it away when he doesn't need it. Jesus takes care of us, takes responsibility for us, and serves us until the end. This fact is well illustrated in the text.
"Silence is a sign of love"
See verse 13 of the text. “Jesus went and took bread and gave it to them, and so did the fish.” In verse 12, Jesus said, “Come and have breakfast!” He didn’t just let them eat at the table set up, but even served them without saying a word. Rather, I feel the Lord's deep love in the way he quietly serves.
People sometimes struggle in the presence of God's silence. "God! Why don't you look back on my pain? Is God righteous?” But they do not know that God's love is contained in that silence. If God draws out the sword of justice according to each person's sins, I cannot avoid that sword. Rather, God's love is contained in God's silence. Those who do not feel skeptical in God's silence and feel love are true saints.
Sometimes, when the child is clearly wrong, he is silent without scolding him. In fact, it's a bigger fuss. If the purpose of scolding is to change people, there is no scolding like parental love. The parent's love is often expressed in silence. Love doesn't have to be words.
Some people pick up the bulletin that has fallen on the church, saying, “What if I drop the bulletin like this?” Then the person who dropped the bulletin felt sorry for dropping it, and the person who did not see it and did not pick it up felt sorry for not picking it up. Then, without anyone knowing, someone quietly picks up the bulletin and unfolds it cleanly. Even if people don't know about that quiet love, God knows it.
Sometimes in life, I feel helpless in front of a huge barrier. Each time, there were silent supporters of love, so I gain courage in life. Love doesn't necessarily need words. There is a greater message of love in quiet devotion and serving. You should be able to feel the greater love in the silence of the Lord. Even if you don't get an immediate answer to your prayers, think, "God has a bigger and more amazing plan for me!" The Lord still serves me spiritually and quietly as he served the disciples 2,000 years ago.
< Waiting for you is love >
When the disciples were served a meal, the most obvious thing that stood out to them was the Lord's nail-marked hand. How do you forget those nail-marked hands? At that time, the Lord did not feed warm food to the hungry stomachs of the disciples, but warm love to the hungry souls of the disciples.
According to modern management principles, students are the number one target for expulsion. They were ungrateful people who betrayed the Lord in difficult times. So is Peter. Peter denied the Lord three times, saying that he would not escape even if everyone else ran away. Still, the Lord did not expel them, but embraced them with unchanging love until the end.
That love remains the same even today. Often, I worry that if I do something right, the Lord will recognize and love me, and if I do something wrong and sin, I will be expelled. But the love of Jesus does not change according to the circumstances, but rather deepens when I am weak. That love is the power that ultimately changes me and changes the world.
Upon receiving the service, the disciples were engrossed in shame and emotion, and tears must have welled up in the eyes of some of them. And I would have promised myself. “Let us never again betray the Lord.” After that, they risked their lives to death and remained loyal to the Lord. In the end, the Lord's unchanging love and patience saved their souls. Two things are essential to save the soul. One is ‘to love unchangingly’, and the other is ‘to pray and wait’.