Those Who Receive God’s Love

God is love. Some people misunderstand this and say that love is God. However God’s love is not an abstract notion as the people in the world think of it. God is invisible. Nevertheless, God demonstrated His love to mankind. His love was not manifested through any kind of philosophy but though God’s only begotten Son. God demonstrated His love when He sent His only begotten Son into the world.

Jesus Christ who is God’s only begotten, displayed God’s love through His words and actions. If anyone cannot understand God’s love through Jesus, he does not have faith. God’s love is demonstrated through everything that Jesus did – His words, works, power and teachings. His death, resurrection and ascension were all fulfilled by God’s love.

God revealed Jesus to mankind to demonstrate His love, not to load him with any burdens. God is not in need of anything that He has to forcibly take something from man to be satisfied (Acts 17:25). He created Heaven and everything within it, as well as this world and everything within it. The reason God created all other creations before He created man was to let man enjoy all those things.

God desires to give us what is good. He gives us His word because He wants to give us eternal life (Jn 12:50). Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Just as bees collect honey from a variety of different flowers, there is so much that we can receive from God. God’s will is to give us everything out of His abundance.

Jesus suffered every kind of affliction when He came to the earth, like someone stuck in mire. It is a mistake to think that He received any glory on the earth. He said the glory He was to receive was in Heaven. And indeed He died, resurrected and ascended into Heaven, and was finally glorified. The coming of the Holy Spirit verifies that Jesus has been glorified in Heaven (Jn 7:38). Some people carelessly say, “I’ve also received the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongue before, but there’s really nothing to it.” However the coming of the Holy Spirit cannot be treated so carelessly.

What Jesus endured on the earth is literally a curse. Everything that people would want to do to a person they hate, they did to Jesus. Accepting such pressures of man, Jesus said, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28). The reason God sent His only begotten Son to suffer this way, be falsely accused and eventually die, was to give us something better. By the death of Jesus on the cross, we no longer perish; by His stripes we have been healed; by His poverty we have been made rich. Whoever knows these works of Jesus will definitely know that God is love.

The important thing for believers is not how long they have been to church but whether or not they know God’s love. Some people say they believe in Jesus but cannot confidently answer when they are asked, “Have you received the love of God?” What is the point of believing in Jesus if we cannot receive God’s love? If we have received in Jesus, does it not mean that we have received God’s love? How can anyone who has not received God’s love, draw His attention? And how can anyone deliver his prayers to God if he cannot draw God’s attention?

God’s love is rationally incomprehensible. That is why the unbelievers in the world do not acknowledge God’s love, and moreover treat those who have received His love as mystics. However we must not deny God’s love whatever temptations might come. God has revealed to us the love He has for His only begotten Son. And to whoever acknowledges that love, He has given grace so that they may also inherit the Kingdom of Heaven together with His Son.

Love In Accordance With God’s Will – Maternal Love

There is something distinct about those who receive God’s love. Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (Jn 14:21). The one who has received God’s love manifest His love. And through the Holy Spirit the Lord manifests Himself to such a person.

Then, what is love? Once when Jesus was talking to the multitudes, a person came and said to Him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” Then Jesus answered, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers? Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt 12:46-50). Whoever does the will of God the Father is Jesus’ mother, and whoever becomes Jesus’ mother is the one that does the will of God the Father.

The mother of Jesus suffered ineffable shame and humiliation after conceiving Jesus. Until the angel appeared in a dream and told him, even Joseph who was pledged to be married to her was planning to end their relationship. So how would have others treated her when they did not know any of the circumstances? Just as it says in Genesis 3:16, “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children,” sorrow and pain never ceased for the mother of Jesus from the moment He was conceived, through His development and finally to His crucifixion.

When child was teased growing up, she would have had to comfort Him with a painful heart. However the teasing did not stop, and when He began His public ministry His relatives even treated Him like He was out of His mind. How upset and hurt would have been the mother as she looked on all these things? Despite all of this, she never left Jesus. She remained by His side even when He died on the cross. Before He passed away, Jesus said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” (Jn 19:26). During the thirty-three years that God’s Son was on the earth, the only one that stood by Him to the end in true love and consolation was His mother.

Jesus said that when the Son of Man later comes to separate the goats from the sheep, He will rebuke and say to those who are like goats, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.” What is the condition that distinguishes the sheep from the goats? It is maternal love.

Many people say they love the Lord and yet fall into temptation. They disobey the Lord’s word. They struggle to give tithe and offering. They complain that sermons are too long. Jesus would be quite despised if He was to come among the saints of this generation. We need to take after the example of Jesus’ mother. She loved Jesus without change, from His conception until He went up into Heaven. That is maternal love. Love that is spoken of in this world is nothing more than empathy, affection and emotion. People who have empathy are sympathetic toward others, however empathy is a short-lived interest; it is not love that takes responsibility to the end. Affection can be very passionate at times. It is no strange sight to see couples hugging in the streets these days while newlyweds boldly kiss each other before their many guests. But before long, they become enemies of each other fighting over the division of property. Emotions also do not last. Every year countless relief organizations are formed and many people pledge their support, however the majority of them wind up after a few years. That is because many people make promises on a sudden impulse of emotion but never keep them. It is not difficult for a person to say that he loves God. However what comes from people’s empathy, affection and emotion will certainly not last very long. Taking responsibility to the end for the child that she conceived and birthed through her own body is maternal love. The love that Jesus’ mother showed the Son of God was maternal love. While the people cursed, scorned, condemned and killed Jesus, His mother stood by Him to the very end. This is the love that Jesus desires from us. The Lord considers those who have this love as His mother, brother and sister.

It says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” The love described in these verses does not refer to that of people who say “I love You Lord” one day, and fall into temptation the next day. It refers to maternal love that bears and takes responsibility for the loved one to the end.

Have Maternal Love

We are the ones who have conceived God’s word and Jesus’ name. Therefore we must bear His word and Jesus’ name to the end regardless of any persecution. Even if we have to die, we must guard the word of God and Jesus’ name within us.

Whoever does not love God cannot love his neighbors. Such a person would not be able to bear any fruits. When a branch withers and produces fruit no longer, the farmer cuts down that branch and throws it in the fire. God will treat those who do not have maternal love as wicked and lazy (Matt 25:26). Even if a person has graduated from a seminary and become a pastor, without maternal love, God cannot use him.

The Pharisees were very upright morally. They were circumcised after eight days of birth, taught and raised by the Law from then on. Even so, not one of the disciples of Jesus was a Pharisee. Instead many of His disciples were fishermen. The Lord had called to Him those He wanted (Mark 3:13). Are you someone that the Lord wants? Do you draw His attention? Whoever loves the Lord can draw His attention. The Lord loves such people and reveals Himself to them.

Some people think that the reason they are not blessed is because they do not pray enough. However the Lord said, “For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” Then He told them to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This means we must honor God, fear Him and love Him before we ask for anything in prayer (Matt 6:7-10).

Then there are some who grumble against God saying, “I pray so much but why is there no answer? I zealously go and serve the church, but why am I not blessed?” Such people are capable of rebelling against God one day. And how will they receive any help from God? Our desire is for the Lord to manifest Himself to us, to our families and in our workplaces. For this, we must first do the will of God. We must have maternal love – maternal love towards God, the church and the souls.

“A thousand years of life and another a thousand years even after death.”
Trees that fit this phrase are easily spotted in famous lofty mountains. I had once seen an old tree when I visited Mt. Halla in Jeju Island as well, but I was really surprised at its appearance. This type of numerous trees were displaying their white trunks amongst splendid forest, standing tall, enduring through the rain, wind, and blizzard in the winter. These trees looked like paintings of a calligraphy brush that enhance the beauty of watercolors. Though the branches were leaf-less and bony, the classical grace and dignity that it presented were surely beautiful.

I first saw such picturesque scenery when I flew on an airplane for the first time in 1965. I do not remember the name of the tree now, but I used to call it a locust tree. I was a young man in my 20s, full of ambition and faith like a magnificent forest. However, I thought that one day, all the leaves would wither away and rot.

One day, I heard about the locust trees from news that they live a thousand years and another thousand years even after death. Then, I clearly set up new hope, courage, and direction for my life. I shall not live like a splendid forest of Mt. Halla, but like that locust tree that lives a thousand years like and possess the strength to even live another thousand years after death. In order to do so, God must give me such strength. I was full of expectations and hope. While I live in this world, I shall enwrap myself with green leaves. Even after I leave the world, I must stand tall like a locust tree that props up the picturesque beauty of a well-known mountain. How can I obtain the preserving strength that enables me to endure like a locust tree? Without God’s help, it is definitely impossible; thus, I began to be determined and prayed to be so enduring.

Like various types of trees in large mountains, there are so many different types of people living in the world. Nonetheless, do any of them manifest the power of a thousand years? Even if they do, do they display the same quality of life after their death?

Among all Korean presidents, former president Syngman Rhee and Chung-hee Park have set up national foundations that will remain influential for a thousand years. They are being criticized by some people who disagree with them; yet, these criticisms are just few flaws in a jewel. They have laid a foundation and achieved a historical value that we as the citizens should never forget. The former president Syngman Rhee had built a framework of democracy of freedom whereas the former president Chung-hee Park has set up a skeleton of modernization that could overcome chronic poverty that began from ancient times.

I, too, shall become a green tree that prospers a thousand years and endures as a pillar of a splendid forest for another thousand years even after death with my message. In order to fulfill this dream, I envision the construction of eternal holy lands like glorious foundation that will persist with the Lord Jesus’ name. Even if I no longer exist in the world, the Berea Movement that I had started will endure with the strength of a locust tree.

Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

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Outline translated by Sam Park
Summary translated by Sarah Nam
Letter translated by Jada Shim
Revisions and Interpretations by Sam Park

Chief Editor: Helen Nam
Korean Summary by Ki-Taek Lee