Christians (Mark 11:1-10)
Many people receive the grace of salvation, but not all of them become Christians. Christians do not live for themselves. They offer their own lives and honor the work of Christ. The Lord does not make the choice for them, but each of them makes an enormous decision by changing the direction of their lives.
1. The interest of Christians
Christians do not live for themselves. They make sacrifices for other Christians. They do not calculate personal interest when they protect the work which Christ established by His devotion. This is because they made themselves into soldiers for Christ’s work. They have no interest in boasting about themselves or perfecting themselves. This is because they have so much work to handle.
2. The love of Christians
When Christians love the Lord, they are not repaying the love which they received from Him. Their love for the Lord already goes beyond this. They love the Lord one-sidedly and unrequitedly. Whether the Lord abandons or keeps them, or whether He acknowledges or does not care about them, they cannot help loving Him. Christians are always faithful and loyal, even if they understand there is a possibility that they will fall apart.
3. The joy of Christians
The church of Christ is protected by Christians. Christians are concerned when the church is despised by the world. When the world disdains the church, they are anxious for the need to protect people’s spirits to the end, since they are loved by Christ. Even if they cannot receive any praise, they rejoice when they see the church improving. But people with no heart to sacrifice themselves for the church and only desire to be better than others can never bear the title of ‘a Christian’.
October 24, 2021
Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim