Let's not forget grace.....
2010·11·20
Among the poems of the unfortunate leper poet Han Ha-un, there is a poem called Jeolla-do Road (The Road to Sorok Island).
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go and go
It was just the suffocating heat
when you meet a stranger
It's nice to be with lepers
Even after passing the Cheonan three-way intersection
Years like Sousemi remain in Seosan.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go and go
limping into the suffocating heat
way
take off your shoes
If you take off the scabbard under the willow tree,
Another toe is missing
Until the two remaining toes are cut off
Go, go, go, go a thousand miles, a long Jeolla-do road
It is a poem that well expresses the pain and suffering of lepers during difficult and difficult times. Leprosy was the most unfortunate and disastrous disease everywhere. In the past, this disease was incurable and contagious, so people with it were expelled from society and quarantined.
Today's text refers to ten lepers. In Israel, leprosy was considered a cursed disease. And those with leprosy were considered unclean and isolated from their homes and society. In today's text, ten of these lepers are mentioned. Perhaps these people were wandering around and meeting and living together. Like a verse from a poem by Han Ha-un...
These people were living in despair, without any hope. Because there was no cure for their illness. However, they heard a surprising rumor. It was that Jesus could heal any sick person. I heard that he had also healed a leper. What a welcome news for these hopeless people.
For some reason, it is unknown, but they finally had the opportunity to meet Jesus from a distance. “As Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he was passing between Samaria and Galilee, and as he entered a village, ten lepers met him and stood at a distance” (verses 11-12).
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these people to meet Jesus, whom they had only heard of through rumors. But these people could not get close to Jesus. Because lepers could not get close to people. But these people had to seize this opportunity somehow. So they shouted loudly at Jesus from afar. “He lifted up his voice and said, ‘Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us’” (verse 13).
Finally, Jesus heard their cry. And he said to them: “When he saw it, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’” (1st 14)
When a leper went to the priest and showed himself, it was to confirm that he had been healed. A person recovering from leprosy went to the priest in this way to receive confirmation, and through the ceremonies and procedures of purification, they were formally accepted into the community.
These people who heard Jesus' words could not understand the English language. They looked at each other to see if they were healed. And I touched my own body. But the leprosy was not cured. But Jesus had commanded them to go to the priest and show them their bodies.
These people had not yet been cured of leprosy, but they obeyed Jesus and went to the priests. Amazingly, they were healed of leprosy on the way. “As they went, they were cleansed” (14b).
Even if we do not understand the English language or see anything immediately, when we obey, we experience the wonderful and gracious works of the Lord. Therefore, we do not know how precious and blessed it is to obey the Word completely.
How happy these people must have been when they found out that they were healed along the way. Those who had to live a painful and miserable life under a curse for the rest of their lives were healed from that cursed leprosy. They flew away and went to show themselves to the priests. And after being confirmed to have recovered from leprosy, he would have returned to his family and community.
But one of them came to Jesus before going to the priest. “When one of them saw that he had been healed, he returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell down at Jesus’ feet, giving thanks, because he was a Samaritan” (verses 15-16). , This man first came to Jesus to worship and give thanks.
Jesus lamented that the other nine had just left. “Jesus answered and said to them, Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Has no one returned to glorify God except these Gentiles?” (verses 17-18).
One of the ten returned to give thanks was a Samaritan. And the rest were all Jews. From an early age, the Jews enjoyed God's special grace and privileges. And above all, they learned the law of God from an early age. But after being healed of their desperate leprosy, the nine Jews did not return to thank them.
The Samaritans have long been discriminated against and neglected. Jesus also called this Samaritan a Gentile. However, of the ten who were healed together, only this Samaritan returned to the Lord to give thanks. Only this person knew how to appreciate the grace.
Jesus gave this Samaritan who returned and thanked him more grace and blessings than he had been healed of from leprosy. “He said to him, ‘Arise and go, for your faith has made you well’” (verse 19).
The Jews viewed leprosy as a curse upon those who had committed a particularly great sin. But Jesus forgave not only this man's leprosy, but also his sin, a more serious and dreadful disease. This person who returned to the Lord that day and gave thanks, received greater grace and blessings.
From this text, we can learn how much the Lord delights in thanksgiving. And at the same time you can see that most people don't appreciate grace. How are you today? Are we acutely aware of how great and abundant the grace that God has bestowed upon us? Do you have a warm appreciation for that grace? Are you, like the nine people here, forgetting gratitude? We must become believers who give thanks with a fervent feeling like this Samaritan.
But how can we give thanks like this Samaritan?
We must not forget grace.
Many saints seek grace, but there are few who remember the grace they received and truly give thanks. It is because they forget the grace they have received.
Above all else, think of the salvation we have received. We had no choice but to perish in the eternal punishment of hell. What if we had not been saved? How can we thank and repay all of this grace of salvation? But most of us take this saving grace for granted and do not appreciate it very much. Are you grateful for this grace with a burning heart in every moment of every day?
We will have to recover from gratitude for the grace of salvation.
I lay down my body for you and bleed
Atone for your sins and give you a way to live
I give my body for you, but what do you give?
I give my body for you, but what do you give? (Hymns 311:1)
I hope that you will always remember this grace of salvation and become a saint who gives thanks with a burning emotion.
Not only that, I hope that we will become believers who never forget and remember all the graces God has given us in our lives and are always thankful.
You must have faith.
The Apostle Paul spoke of unbelievers who had no faith, saying that they did not give thanks. “When they knew God, they did not glorify God or give thanks to Him, but their thoughts became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).
Then, it can be said that gratitude is possible only with faith. A grateful person is a person of faith. The more grateful you are, the more trustworthy you are. Such a saint knows how to see all the grace that God has bestowed on his or her life, and is moved and grateful. So I'm always happy. God gives greater grace to these saints.
Believers with good faith feel God's grace and give thanks not only in times of peace and prosperity, but also in times of adversity and trials. Because we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God. “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 38-39) You can be thankful even in the face of death. This is because we believe that soon we will enter the kingdom of God's glory and be embraced by God.
That is why the prophet Habakkuk confessed this. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, I will rejoice in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. ” (Hab 3:17-18)
The saints who always remember that God has called and saved us, and those who clearly believe that the Almighty and faithful God loves me and is my Father, we cannot help but be thankful under any circumstances. Today, I hope that you will become a grateful saint with this faith.
You must have a heart to repay the favor.
Those who receive grace should be the ones who reciprocate the grace. When you want to repay your grace, you will realize greater grace and become happier. So, those who are always grateful and try their best to repay the favor are always happy. David confessed this while recalling the grace of God.
“The LORD is gracious and righteous, and our God is merciful. The LORD protects the innocent; he saved me in my troubles. Return to your peace, my soul; for the LORD is hospitable to you; the LORD saves my soul from death. You have delivered my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of life. I believed when I said that I was greatly afflicted. I was astonished and said, All are liars. With what shall I repay the LORD for all his favor? I will take up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD; I will pay my vows to the LORD before all his people” (Psalm 117:5-14).
The day before the exam, I said this to my high school seniors. “It is by the grace of God that you have grown up so well, studied to your heart’s content and prepared well. You will also see this test by the grace of God. And we will continue to live by the grace of God in the future as well. God is preparing everything for you. So, take the test with peace of mind and gratitude.”
It's not just high school students. We have all lived by the grace of God until now. Without God's grace, we could not have lived a single day. We will continue to live by the grace of God in the future. At the end of our lives, by the grace of God, we will enter the eternal kingdom of heaven. How grateful are you?
Therefore, if you are a saved believer, you should know God's grace, rejoice, and give thanks. And, like David, we must always ponder, “How will I repay that kindness?” I hope that we will become saints who realize each and every grace that God has bestowed upon us and give thanks fervently. In addition, I hope that you will become a saint who does not forget the grace and strives to repay it.