A Sacred Bride (Mark 13:1-13)
Honoring the groom with outward conditions is not the only thing required of a bride. If the bride truly loves the groom, she will not simply be satisfied by withholding her heart from another man, but she will earnestly wish for her groom’s business to succeed and make every effort for it. If a church loves the Lord, the whole congregation should unite as one body and undertake the Lord’s work to the end.
1. A Reason for Sacrificing Yourself
Each believer in the church cannot serve a different ‘Groom’. When it comes to serving the Groom, the whole church must become one. Each person may need to sacrifice themselves in the process. But no matter how much loss we suffer, we have already accepted God’s love. We came to this earth empty-handed and received eternal life, so even if we lose everything we have on earth, we have not suffered any loss.
2. An Instrument to Become One
God sets up an overseer for each church to continue His work. When God sets a person to be the overseer, He does not choose someone who is admirable or clever by a worldly standard. God accomplishes the work of the church by choosing a person who is very faithful. If we have no system like this in place, each person will act according to what they think is God’s will and the church cannot become one.
3. Faith Which Can Undertake Martyrdom
If we want to be believers who welcome our returning Lord, we need faith which can undertake martyrdom for the church’s ministry. Although we may not face the horrible trials that the last believers on earth must experience, God can see how much we are sacrificing ourselves for the church’s ministry and confirm a martyr’s faith within us. Let’s be victorious to the end with a faith ‘focused on the Lord’ and not on ‘ourselves’.
December 26, 2021
Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim
