Today, I would like to talk about fatalism. Before coming to believe in Jesus, many people consult fortune-tellers to find out what their fate holds, and many believe that their destiny has already been determined.

This is because Korea has a long history of a deeply entrenched class system. During the Joseon Dynasty in particular, society was divided into classes of nobles, commoners, and slaves for 500 years. No matter how hard people worked, it was difficult for them to rise in society or improve their lives. Women born into slavery were often sexually assaulted simply because of their status. They were not treated with dignity, and even when they had children, those children had little choice but to spend their lives gathering firewood. Imagine how frustrating it must have been to live under such a system for 500 years! There was no way to escape it.

In fact, for people in those circumstances, the sudden changes in society under Japanese rule were, in a sense, a liberation. They were finally freed from 500 years of domination by the noble class. From their perspective, for those people—perhaps 80 percent of the population—it must have seemed like a wonderful thing. This may be very different from how we look at it today. But after enduring such conditions for so long, sayings like “That’s just my fate” and “Know your place” became deeply ingrained in our hearts.

The people of North Korea have not even been able to escape that kind of life. They continue to suffer under a dictatorship and a totalitarian system. No matter how capable they may be, it is difficult to receive favorable treatment unless they were born in Pyongyang. People in Pyongyang can at least maintain some semblance of a decent life, but those in other regions can easily end up in prison camps or even be executed. Even young children grow up witnessing such things.

I once met a North Korean woman in the three northeastern provinces of China and spent some time living alongside her. Her manner was extremely harsh and difficult. She had grown up seeing people put to death by hanging or shooting, and her whole life had been a struggle. As a result, the language she used was far more abusive than anything we are accustomed to. The person I am talking about was a woman, and I was shocked when I first heard such words coming out of her mouth. Yet she spoke that way even to her own family and grandchildren. This had also affected people throughout northeastern China. People who live under such conditions come to regard that life as their fate. They accept it as the way they are supposed to live.

But how has our God treated human beings? He has treated us in a completely different way. It has nothing to do with fatalism. A person living under fatalism is a closed being. But a person who is in God is a completely open being.

Why are we open beings? Of course, when God created human beings, He had a certain purpose in mind and created them for that purpose. But He did not create them to serve that purpose and then leave them there, saying, “You must remain this way forever.” Instead, it was as though He said, “While you are on this earth, you will suffer in the flesh, but when you reach heaven, the possibilities will be limitless…” The range of possibilities in life, the range of what I can choose, is unlimited. It is wide open, from the very lowest point to the very highest.

Just how far does this openness extend? If human beings, who once lived like animals, were given a little more opportunity, they might have the chance to live more like human beings. But God goes far beyond that. He gives us the opportunity to live as His people. And He does not stop there. He gives us the opportunity to become like angels. Think how glorious it would be just to be like an angel! Yet God does not stop even there. He gives us the opportunity to live like the Son of God. What is available to the Son of God is the very glory of God Himself. So when God gives us the opportunity to live on equal terms with His Son, His only begotten Son, He is giving us the opportunity to become like God.

Then how far down can such an extraordinary being fall? To the level of an animal. Even the simplest single-celled organisms, such as amoebas and bacteria, are living creatures with physical bodies. Even an amoeba has its own purpose in life, yet a person can become something lower than that—a demon. In fact, a demon is not even worth as much as an amoeba. It would be better to live as an amoeba and then die. But having become a demon, one cannot even die and must suffer forever. If one falls even lower, one can end up sharing the fate of the devil, the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning, and receive the same treatment as he does. One becomes so filthy and wicked that one can only exist in darkness. This is how completely open our possibilities are. The question now is which direction we will choose.

Does God, then, decide all this from the beginning, saying, “You belong here, you belong there, and you belong over there”? No, He does not. He said, “I will repay each one according to his works.” Each person makes that choice. So once a person understands this, he will be able to judge for himself how he should live during his time on this earth.

Then what kind of person grows? A person must be healthy. First of all, the vessel itself must be healthy. You must not have a twisted attitude. Even when people hear the same Word, those with a twisted attitude cannot grow. They keep thinking that someone is finding fault with them. In fact, we do not even have the energy to hold anything against you, nor are we so concerned with you personally that we would go out of our way to attack or rebuke you for your faults. Jesus wants the kingdom of God to prosper, and He wants anyone who is willing to reach that level. The opportunity is open to everyone. He has not determined each person’s place in advance. That is why He tells us to make an effort. “But I am so inadequate!” He already knows that. He wants you to keep making an effort so that, perhaps ten years from now, you will have reached that level. And later, He will reward you accordingly.

Those who are accustomed to fatalistic thinking find this difficult. But they must quickly break free from that way of thinking and realize, “Oh, I am an open being! I am the one who makes the choices! The glory of heaven is something I can pursue through the choices I make, one by one.” With this understanding, they must continue changing themselves. If my present level is low, I can think as Coach Hiddink once said, “If I improve by one percent every day, after a few dozen days I will eventually reach 100.” With that attitude, we must change ourselves little by little.

Angels are completely different from us. Why is it possible for human beings to rise to such heights? What gives human beings life? It is the Word. When we obey the Word, it becomes life to our spirits. And how can our spirits attain even greater glory? Again, through the Word. If we obey, we can rise to the level of the Son of God. If we do not obey, we may become like animals. When we obey the word given for the flesh, we become like angels, like servants. But when we obey the Word of heaven, we can rise to the level of sons. In this way, we can keep rising through the Word. It is as though God has lowered a rope from heaven. If we keep climbing that rope, we will eventually reach its very end, all the way to the throne.

But angels are not like that. What is the spirit God gave angels to sustain their existence? It is their assigned duty. Angels are closed beings. That is why angels must not advance beyond their appointed positions. If they do, it is a serious matter. Luciel tried to rise higher and fell. Each angel was created individually from the very beginning. Human beings, on the other hand, were created as one in the beginning and then became many. Those who can advance are meant to advance. But because angels were created individually from the beginning, God knows each one by name. “You are this one, you are that one, and you are another. This is what you are to do.” Therefore, their positions must never change. If an angel tries to rise above his appointed position, that becomes a “fall.” Because angels are closed beings, they must remain in their assigned places forever. But human beings are not like that. We can live like angels, like animals, or even like God.

Then where is all this decided? Amazingly, our eternal lives are determined during the few decades we spend on this earth. What will you do? It is decided during these few decades. Even now, it is not too late.

Because people do not grasp this as a reality, they regard their Christian life as merely a religious practice and do the Lord’s work only when they have some spare time. I am not saying that this is bad or wrong. Such a person will receive glory later according to what he has done. That is not bad either. It is far better than going to hell. But there are people who have discovered the secret. They sell everything they have to buy that precious treasure. They say, “This is no time for that! I have no precious time to waste on such things. I have only seventy years, and I am going to spend them on something else? Am I going to spend my time selling cell phones? I have no time for that!” That is how they give up all that time to buy the pearl of great price. Because they have sacrificed that much and chosen what is better, they will receive something better.

So the positions these disciples were asking for were actually positions they would receive later in heaven. Of course, they probably had not even thought about heaven. All they had in mind was that Jesus would drive out the Romans and become king in Jerusalem. Then they wanted Him to give them positions like the highest officials on His right and left. But in reality, what they were asking for was something far greater: to sit beside Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God’s throne in heaven, and to share in the same glory as He does.

So those who asked the question and the One who answered it had completely different things in mind. How did Jesus answer them? He asked whether they could drink the cup. “Can you drink that cup?” “Of course we can!” “Then drink it. But those places will be given to the ones for whom they have been prepared.” This does not mean that God singled someone out from eternity past and said, “You!” Rather, each person will receive according to what he has done on this earth. God will calculate it with perfect accuracy. He will determine it precisely, and each person will receive accordingly. There is no need to think that I have been excluded from the beginning. I, too, have the opportunity to receive such glory. If you become discouraged from the outset and think, “Pastor Kim Ki-Dong is already there, so I have no chance. There is Pastor Kim Ki-Dong, and then this person, and that person… Ah, there is no hope for me,” then you do not really know God. Our relationship with God is not one in which He deals with many people as a group. We must relate to Him one-on-one. There is no basis for comparison. Even if someone appears to have accomplished a great deal, we cannot know what that means in God’s sight. In any case, those who love Him and give up more for His sake will receive more. So thinking, “Ah, I have no chance,” before you have even begun is nothing but fatalism.

The question “What is the Will of God for my life?” also keeps coming up because of this fatalistic way of thinking. When did God ever say He had already determined your place? He tells you to rise higher. He keeps telling you to reach for the glory that is higher still. Yet you ask, “What position has God assigned to me from eternity past?” If that is what you want, you might as well have been born an angel! To someone who keeps asking such questions, God might say, “Then just be an angel! Go ahead, be an angel!” He is offering you something far better, and yet you keep asking… So we must not give up. We must keep seeking to obtain that glory.

And He has already told us exactly how to obtain it. Do not get carried away with ambition and seek only the highest positions. If you want to rise higher, what must you do? You must be willing to take the lowest place and become a servant. That is what He told us to do. He has even shown us the way. “I only do small things here on earth… My church is small, and the work I do is insignificant. I have no hope.” Not at all! You may actually have a better chance. Someone serving in the lowest place, somewhere no one notices, may have an even greater opportunity. Ultimately, it depends on the heart with which you serve. Do not undo all the good work you have done by thinking that way. Even if the work you do is small, do it in faith. So let us pray that God will help us recognize that we are open beings, respond to the way the Lord has opened for us to reach even the place beside Jesus, and never allow ourselves to fall into fatalistic thinking.