Us, who are loved by God

God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). We can’t see love, but it exists, clearly. God loves all the people of the world, but only a few acknowledge His love, because they can’t see God’s love. We are those who are loved by God, and entered His love. The world regards us as those who chose Christianity among the numerous worldly religions, but we are not just religious people, we are those who were loved by God.

Among the spiders, there is a kind that give their bodies as food for their new-born babies. When the babies are grown up, their mother is no longer with them, because they have eaten their mother’s body. Though they have not seen their moms, it doesn’t mean that they weren’t loved by their moms. Nowadays, many people resent their parents, not recognizing their parents’ love. However, it’s not that their parents didn’t love them, but just that they are not recognizing their parents’ love. All parents sacrifice themselves for their children and nurture them with love. Likewise, God loves us. We should not neglect His love, only because we can’t see His love.

 Now, Let’s Love God through Abiding by the New Commandment

Adam neither stole, nor murdered. He had just eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (NKJV). However, because of his deed, humanity was sentenced to a life in hell. This was because the words of God, “… for in the day that you eat of it (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) you shall surely die. ” (NKJV, Genesis 2:17) This was His commandment. Since God had commanded that, man who violated His commandment had to go to hell. However, Jesus Christ purged the sin of man for us. As spiders offer their bodies to their babies, He showed God’s love toward us by offering His body for us, before we even know His name.

In the past, when we were sinners, we had no ability to love God. But God cleared a way for us to love Him – who are saved, due to His love. Jesus said, “If you love God, you will love Me. And if you love Me, you will abide by My commandments.” Those who love their neighbors, according to Jesus’ commandment, are those who love Jesus, and those who love Jesus are those who love God, who sent Him (Jesus). Such people will be loved by God, and Jesus will manifest Himself to them in His love for them.

If you love your neighbors, you must care for the salvation of their spirit, and further, make disciples of them. This does not mean that you must teach those who have been already doing well in church and make them follow you. Those actions serve to make divisions in the church. First, you must serve your neighbors with love, and save their spirits by leading them to Jesus. And through guiding them by the words of God, you must make them disciples who serve the church.

Let’s Bear Fruits That God Wants

The Lord said to us ‘Be the light and the salt. Let people see your good works and glorify God.’(NKJV, Matthew 5:13 – 16). The ‘good works’ in this verse is a bit different from the worldly idea. Acts 10:38 (NKJV) says, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.’ The ‘good deeds’ in the Bible are the deeds done according to God’s will. When we do good deeds according to God’s will, we become light and salt, for the first time.

Those who truly love the Lord evangelize to their neighbors with a motherly love and make them disciples, just like the spiders that offer their bodies for their babies. If you continue, a lot of persecution will await. Nevertheless, we must fulfil the Lord’s will, not giving up. Those who do so will come to bear abundant fruit like healthy branches. On the other hand, those who will be exposed as withered branches with no fruit, will be cast into unquenchable fire on the last day.

There are many people who cast a critical eye on the growth of churches. In fact, pastoral difficulty follows an increase of church members. In spite of this, in order to abide by the Lord’s commandment, pastors try to gather more spirits. It is the way to truly love the Lord that we feed, raise and breed His sheep. We are not people who follow the trend. Rather, we must make people follow us. To do so, we, ourselves, must be models first to other people by loving our neighbors.

We must be fruitful branches by abiding by the Lord’s commandment – to love neighbors.(There is some error in Korean sentence. Confirmation is needed.) The Lord says to us, “After I bore your sins, you abide by new commandment.’ The truth is placed into us by the Holy Spirit, and He convinces us that it is the Lord’s commandment. The reason that we can’t receive answers while we pray to God is because we don’t abide by the new commandment. There will be anguish in those who think that they have to be holy only in their own eyes, as Pharisees, leading religious lives. If we love the Lord truly, we must feed the Lord’s sheep, being faithful to the new commandment.

As I have been living in the world I have learned a lot, and received a great amount of love. I have received love, respect, and comfort so much from others. Although there have been some people who have persecuted me, they do so because they do not know me; however, the people who know me have loved me. This is a truth – although I cannot express the love that I have received, I think of it as the power that I can live by.

When I was not educated, there were some people ignored me, but now so many people love me. Just as a stream of river becomes wider and has more water coming down the valley, so my life becomes wider. Just as thin streams of water flowing into the valley become a great river eventually, my life is now storing up a lot of knowledge and experiences, even though my stream of young age flows fast and now has become slow. However, amongst this knowledge and experience, I have nothing to bring into my soul. Even if someone gives me a great house, how can it be a help to me? Or even if I am given a great glory, how can it be a benefit to me? Only my soul proceeds alone.

Even though the world holds me, I have to leave. Even if there are some pleasing situations in the world, they cannot make me rest. I am walking only the one way. Due to my ‘flesh’ I have had regretted many things. However I am so happy in my soul. My destination is paradise, and through it I will participate in the resurrection of glory and enter the house of the Father – this is my only hope.

In my life in this world, I have been deceived a lot and even isolated, but it is like a buffeting of a wind in a season, and I never linger there. Through the love and care of my church members who truly love me, I could do the work that I wanted to, and have been doing it. They would have plucked their eyes and given them to me if they could have done so. I have been truly loved so much. My soul is filled with their love, so I have no need to be jealous.

While recalling this, I am about to shed tears. Although I have been loved so much by my family after my birth, the love I have received from my saints is the love that is sealed by God. Through the hearts of my saints, I am now receiving the love that God has given to me. Is there anyone around the world who is loved as much as I am? Not every pastor is loved by his or her people. It is the love that can be given to the one whom you truly love. The power by which I can love others is from the fullness of the Lord’s happiness in my soul.

Oh! My loving saints, the love I have received in my life, I will keep it eternally and come to the Lord.

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Outline translated by Sarah Lee
Letter translated by Sung-In Hong
Interpretations by Sarah Lee

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