We have received the love of God

God is love. I do not say this as an abstract notion, for God is love put into action. Though He cannot be seen, God sent the image of His being to the world in order that people may eat and drink of His flesh and blood. Jesus shed His blood for us to have life, and tore His flesh that we may have everlasting life. Before departing Egypt, the Israelites ate the lamb without breaking any of its bones. In the same way, the Lord gave us not only His flesh and blood, but even His name, in order for us to have everything that belongs to Him. Moreover, He sent us the Holy Spirit after He ascended into Heaven. God loves us, and loves us to the end.

To receive the love of God is our faith. Though there are many religions in the world and they, to some degree, do make some contribution to the society in their own ways, it is detestable to God that the followers of such religions deny God and worship idols. Unlike the people of the world, Christians adamantly reject whatever God detests, and instead partake in the works that He desires and thus receive His love. In terms of character or morality, Christians may not be as admirable as the followers of religions. Nevertheless, we can still take pride in being Christians because we are the ones who receive the love of God.

God expects fruits from His beloved ones

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (Jn 15:1). The vinedresser loves the vine, and he does not spare his energy, heart and care for the vine, for there is something he expects to receive from it. Jesus said, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (Jn 15:2). Thus, it is the fruit that he wants from the vine. In the same way, God also desires to bear fruits.

What must we do then, to bear the fruits which God so desires? First of all, we must acknowledge that we have received the love of God. Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (Jn 15:4). Second, we must demonstrate our faith in action. As Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12), if we have received God’s love, we must now bear fruits by showing that love to our neighbors.

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (Jn 15:11). What is the reason that Christians today do not have joy in their souls? Firstly, they do not acknowledge that they are receiving the love of God, and secondly, they are not bearing the fruits which God desires from them.

Keep the commandment of Jesus

To those who put their faith in Him, Jesus said, “Keep my commandment!” The commandment which God gave to Israel through Moses was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength”. Now, the commandment which Jesus gave us is, “Abide in my love, and love one another with the love I have shown you”. Though people today have the fear of the Ten Commandments, they do not fear the commandment of Jesus. Whether it is the Law or the Gospel, ultimately what they are both demanding from us is love for God. He who loves God will serve Him only, abstain from idolatry, never take God’s name in vain, and observe the Holy Day and keep it holy. In this way, the one who loves God will keep the commandment of Jesus.

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (Jn 13:34). Jesus has already atoned for our sin of having disobeyed the old commandment. And now, He has given us a new commandment. We must understand that disobeying this new commandment is a far more serious sin that breaking the Law. Since displayed His love for us through Jesus Christ, we must now abide in that love, and demonstrate our faith in action by showing that love to our neighbors.

Just as He loved us, to keep the commandment of Jesus is ultimately a blessing for our own souls. Ezekiel 33:6 says, “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” This verse indicates just how terrible a sin it is not to evangelize. Even the apostle Paul confessed, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Co 9:16).

He who keeps the new commandment blesses his own soul

The Lord is the vine and we are His branches. God the Father, who is the vinedresser, desires abundant fruit from us. In order to please and satisfy the vinedresser, what we need to do is love our neighbors. Many Christians today are not practicing love towards other souls, making excuse of their pride or personality. Their lives are quite the same as that of the unbelievers of the world, for they are simply satisfied at the fact that they are already a Christian, that their lives are free from any great misfortunes. The problem is, however, that there will be no rewards for them in Heaven.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, “Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Among those that are rescued at the scene of a fire, there are some who just manage to salvage their lives without even having the chance to get dressed. Similarly, there will be some among the redeemed that enter Heaven, who are barely saved without any rewards.

Let us show maternal love

It is written in 1 John 3:18, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” Love is not built on words, as James 2:15-17 says, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Love is not the expression of an emotion, but maternal love in action. The love of God which sent His Son for us is maternal love; the love of Jesus who carried our sins and died on the cross is maternal love; the manifestation of the Holy Spirit who is forever with us and helps us is maternal love.

Saints’ love for their neighbors must also be maternal in nature. Prior to the year 1970, it was common to see people with leprosy. Having their eyelids fall off, their noses nothing but two holes on their faces, and their earlobes nowhere to be seen, it was a horrendous sight for anyone who saw them. They would slice off their dangling fingers with a rock and reek with the stench of a decaying corpse. People frowned and quickly fled at the sight of a leper.

There was an incident in 1964, when I led a crusade at Dangjin in South Chooncheong Province. After the meeting was over, patients formed a long line to receive prayer and the laying on of hands. A young man wearing a straw hat was next in line. I told him to take off his hat but he asked if I could lay my hands on top of his hat. But I insisted that he take it off and he did reluctantly. He was suffering from a severe case of leprosy. As I lay my hands on his head where there was not a single strand of hair, I could feel his sticky, viscous skin between my fingers. Instead of praying for his healing, I cried out to God to erase the feeling of disgust toward him from my heart. Before I knew it, I was weeping. Then all of a sudden, that feeling of disgust completely disappeared.

After praying for him, I saw the person in line behind him and noticed a woman with a cloth over her head. I made her take it off, only to realize that she was also suffering from leprosy. Soon I found out she was the mother of the young man. According to her story, she had contracted the disease while looking after her sick son. While everyone else avoided this man with leprosy, his mother instead embraced him into her arms to the very end. When I looked up after I finished praying for her, the dozens of people who were waiting in line had all disappeared. They were afraid that I would pray for them with the same hands that I laid on the lepers.

Not long after that, I was leading another crusade at a nearby church, when I met him again. This time, he was wearing a baseball cap instead of his straw hat. When he saw me, he smiled and took of his hat. “Pastor, can you blow on my head?” he asked. So I blew hard on his head and he said excitedly, “Oh it feels hot!” His senses had returned.

Where there is maternal, there are miraculous signs. Suppose that we were wounded by a thorn bush. Yet if we were the mother of that thorn bush, we could not possibly break the branch that wounded us. Rather, we would sacrifice ourselves in order to protect it from other people. A mother loves her child with all of her heart, with all of her might, with all of her soul and with all of her life. The Lord is speaking to us now: “I give you a new command: love one another!”

About fifty years ago, I pondered over the reason I had to get married. I was a young man faced with the dire reality of having to battle against extreme poverty, and every day I was fighting to somehow find a way to survive.

At that time, I received a number of marriage offers, but what I needed wasn’t a wife who was rich, nor well-educated. The only thing that mattered was that she was going to be someone able to help me. I don’t mean someone who could provide for me, but someone who could understand me, who is ready to stay by me no matter how tough it gets. All I could ask for was a woman with her own sense of independence, who was willing to live with me without ever feeling ashamed of her poor husband, and I wouldn’t feel ashamed of myself before her.

I was seeking a woman with integrity. Thus despite many people’s proposals, I couldn’t lend my heart to any of them. I felt that they would instead be a burden to me. Although I had nothing, I begged her to come without a dowry, and we started off from zero. To live every day with gratitude, I believed, was the way to marital happiness. And as requested, she didn’t bring anything with her. She understood me, though I was without work at the time, and together started off as lifetime partners.

I wasn’t ashamed of my wife, neither was she ashamed of me. Even when my son was getting married, we were not concerned about the financial situation of the woman’s family, and assured her to come without any dowry. If anything, I wanted to buy them for her myself. A proper marriage is when the two people treat the other with integrity and are not ashamed of each other. I still maintain this belief, and will continue to uphold this as a tradition.

One is not fit for a spouse if he or she is ashamed of his wife or husband – this will be my belief forever. If a man is ashamed of the woman, or vice versa, it is a troubled marriage from the start, even if the other person brings a fortune. All that each person needs is the determination and confidence to start off independently wherever they stand at the present time.

When money, pride, or any other condition gets in the way between two persons getting married, that is bound to become the source of unhappiness. As long as the man and the woman both belong to God, they will be fit for each other. This is what I have maintained all my life. It is no exaggeration to say that the marriage will be a woe if dowries come in the way of the two people. I want to say to the couples who are planning to get married, not to undervalue yourself nor ever think of taking advantage of your spouse, but only let yourself belong to God. 

Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
Lord’s Day Worship Column

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Outline and Summary translated by Sarah Nam
Letter translated by Sarah Nam
Interpretations by Sarah Nam

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