The meaning of being friends (Matthew 11:16)
what it means to be friends
Matthew 11:16-19
There is a fable called one of the fables we know well. A farmer raised geese. But one morning the goose laid an egg, and it laid a golden egg. At first I was surprised at what it was and where it came from. But the next day and the day after that, one golden egg was laid every day. This farmer was very pleasant and satisfied. I thought that if I continued like this, I would become very rich. As he grew more and more intoxicated with greed, he wondered, 'How much gold is in that goose stomach?' In haste, he killed the goose and split it open. However, there was nothing in the stomach, let alone gold nuggets, and only the intact goose was killed. Guys, there's one thing this farmer didn't think of. No matter how precious or surprising a golden egg may be, it is the fact that it came from the stomach of a goose. No matter how precious gold is, ducks are more precious. Sometimes we make wrong decisions because we do not know what is important, and there are many times when we fail because of our greed.
Today, we live in a modern civilization of cutting-edge science. The sights unfolding before your eyes are amazing. We are living in an era where things we only dreamed of are becoming a reality. Day by day, the daily tools pouring out are to the point of bewildering the mind. There is a monster of production and science and the computer you use all the time. However, behind the convenience that these things bring, there is an image of a great idol. In other words, there is a tendency to think of these products of modern civilization as more than human beings. Let's think about it soberly. All civilizations may seem amazing, but they all come from humans. What matters is not a convenient civilization, but man himself. But we have forgotten the importance of human beings and are intoxicated with convenience, speed, productivity, and the greatness of this civilization that lies ahead of us. It's definitely a huge idol. Not only that, but humanity in general is disappearing.
The most fundamental problem today is the problem of man itself and the problem of humanity. So where the hell is that humanity? Humanity is not in knowledge. It is foolish to put humanity on possession. We often forget that status, power, or power has no humanity.
The person's humanity, in fact, is a matter of philosophy and a matter of outlook on life. It depends on what kind of life view he has. To take an extreme example, the philosophy of the communists is based on [materialism]. What this means is that all things are based on matter, so man is just an animal belonging to mammals, nothing more or less than an animal. So, in the end, the existence of human beings ceased to exist, and the unhappiness of today was caused. When you go to China, cars never stop even when people cross. It never stopped even when it got to the point where people bumped into it. I asked a local missionary about why he was driving so dangerously, and he smiled and said, “Maybe there are so many people that they don’t care if they die in an accident.” Yes. There is a fundamental lack of understanding of humanity. This is communism.
Furthermore, what really matters to man's problems is his religion. Religion cannot be so important to a person's life. People with the wrong religion have a poor life. In places like [Tibet], people sleep with monkeys, pigs, cats, dogs, and other animals, and it's like coming out of a pig's pen in the morning. The reason lies in their religious beliefs: “Man and animals are one, I could have been a dog in my previous life, and seeing that dog follow me, I think my mother died and became a dog.” is. Therefore, within the framework of this religion, I think that it should be the case. Religion is what makes human life this way.
One evening as a diplomat in [India], while reversing his car, he hit and killed a child without noticing the children playing. This man took the child and went to the mother. “I'm very sorry. This happened when I reversed the car without seeing the child playing in the back of the car. I'm sorry." But the child's mother said calmly. "It's fine. It’s nothing.” “I have nothing to say, but I want to give you some compensation.” “No. There are many children, huh?” He replies that it is his own destiny, and that it is his destiny to be born and die that way. This is their religion. That's why we can't afford to live with people who have such a religion that doesn't value human beings. This is the story I heard when I met a pilot who was flying an airliner. I fly in the sky several times, but among countries that are not Christian, the way they look down from the sky is so different.
Ladies and gentlemen, the problems of life and the problems of human beings are the problems of religion. We must know that human beings can become human when there is a right religion.
There are two main ways of looking at a person's life.
One is [erotic view of humanity]. It is a view of humanity in the sense that it aims from the animal world to the human world, and from the human world to the divine world, that is, from the lowest position to the highest world. This is probably the Buddhist view of humanity. Another one is [Agape view of human beings]. This starts from the fact that man was originally created in the image of God. However, this is the agape-style view of life and the Christian view of man, that man has fallen and must live in the position of valuing the original meaning of the image of God as the most precious and restoring it again.
Jesus loved the tax collector. So I heard it. He loved sinners. So I heard that. Not only that. Jesus believed and loved the poor disciple. If you think about it, Jesus was very dishonored because of his disgruntled disciples. After all, didn't he die after being sold to a disciple? But Jesus did not give up on all these things. In today's text, people are accusing Jesus of being “gluttonous” (verse 19). But not greedy to eat. You've got it together. You have been told that you are greedy to eat just because you eat with sinners.
Humanizing humans is not an easy thing to do. Only when God becomes a man can man come to God, and only when the righteous becomes a sinner can a sinner become a righteous man. There is true beauty in it.
Dear saints!
I hope you can think of the most precious human being in the world. And think about how much you live by keeping the true meaning of being friends. We are shouting the slogan to evangelize one by one ahead of us. Everyone in the world is our friend. If you don't leave me, you won't be able to meet me. Not a single soul can be saved without removing the hull of the righteous. If you want to give it, give it both honor and character. Be friends for tax collectors and sinners like Jesus. Being a true friend means that I humble myself and reach out for them. Think about the people you need to evangelize. Who are you? Obviously, I will give my all for them. There is salvation in you.