so i've been going out to jubilee for a while, but today, stella and jeanne wanted to check sarang out again (because the last time we went, it was during the 4-part dating&marriage sermon series and they didn't have a good first impression). today, the pastor didn't even speak; he showed us a video sermon from the earlier service of a guest pastor. LOL talk about bad timing.
well... not really.
... because the sermon was actually pretty freaking good.
it was on fasting with a side topic of loving God/loving others.
ok to be honest, i forget how he connected the two topics together or even incorporated them in the same sermon because a small portion of the time, i was dozing off (i woke up too early thinking i was going to onnuri church at 11:30, but friends didn't tell me until 11. sarang's at 2.)
it's been a while since almost every sermon i heard really struck my heart and opened my eyes. it's a great feeling.
so on fasting, he was talking about how people do it most of the time for the purpose of gaining something from God -- some kind of answer to a prayer. "i want God to tell me what my calling in life is. i should fast." "i want to know if he's the one for me. i'm going to fast and see if he's a yay or a nay."
isaiah 58:3 - "Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure..."
and it's so true. next time we decide to fast, let us think about the purpose of it. the meaning of it. is it for our own good or is it to glorify God (without complaint) and to bless others with the food we could've eaten? is it to gain positive attention from others (the pastor even confessed to this) or is it to truly shift the focus off ourselves and to love others fully through acts of humble service? mmmm....
second part -- loving God and loving our neighbors.
of course as christians, we know and believe that God is love and love is God. if we don't fully comprehend that, we can't genuinely love our neighbors, or even our enemies/those who we think we can't ever show love to. sadly, i have a hard time with true love. (ㅋㅋㅋ) (jk, not that kinda true love)
(this is just a part of it but...) honestly, until last year, i thought i was a pretty easily forgiving person. i didn't understand people when they shared that they found it hard to forgive. i discovered my sin when i realized that i unconsciously allow the pain that people inflict onto me to linger in my mind and heart, and let it affect my emotions, my life, and how i view those people. it's terrible and i put this as one of the top most i-want-to-get-rid-of-this-sin-so-badly sins on my list (i don't really have a list...).
well ok, another one is when i get easily annoyed of certain people, like my overly-curious/protective aunt. i've unfortunately developed this stop-probing-at-me/i-don't-want-to-sleep-over-5-days-out-of-the-week-leave-me-alone/i'm-not-a-12-year-old-stop-treating-me-like-one attitude (not directly at her, of course), when i should in fact have the thank-you-for-loving-me-and-taking-care-of-me attitude. when you're annoyed of someone, it's just hard to show genuine love. (this one, i really need to work on.)
i really want to love as Jesus does. i want to happily give (without any ulterior motives) all the time, not only when i feel like it. i... just want to overflow with love to whoever, whenever.
but of course, wanting is not enough. it starts with constantly feeding our hearts the Gospel, the Ultimate Story of Love. it also calls for diligence, which requires strength, which comes from the Word, which comes from God. it involves bursting out of the comfort-bubble. it involves force whenever necessary. most importantly, it entails constant prayer for it because these desires are struggles that we cannot overcome on our own.
last week, pastor david from jubilee said this: "we are the only Bible some people will ever read."
AMEN. we are the children of God; therefore, we represent Him. if we don't walk in love, then who will? the Word = God = love.
but you know what? i believe that we are also the Bible to those who still do believe. so regardless, it is necessary that we walk in love 24/7, with Jesus as our motivation.
let us really love, guys -- not just through our words, but through our actions as well...
... and not just with our words and actions, but with genuine hearts that are set on the love that God has shown us first through Jesus.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." - 1 John 4:7-12
<3
"딸! 항상 사랑해!! <3"
- Dad
No comments:
Post a Comment