“So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27, ESV).
Greetings to you all in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
As I look around the fields
where those corn and beans are getting harvested, I feel so thankful! The empty
field! The emptier the field becomes, the fuller I feel! I don’t know why.
Then, I have more room in my heart to look around us in this season searching
for more thanksgiving.
One day, as usual, I drove
to the hill, I mean, to the church at Markesan, and a sign came to my eyes from
our neighboring church. “WE DONT CHANGE GODS MESSAGE IT CHANGES US.” I
do not know how long that sign was there though… It looked like all the
punctuations were missing on that sign for certain reasons. However, I
understood it right away and said “Amen!” to that because it was so true!
Then, every time, when I
passed that sign, an assuring word “Amen” just came out of my mouth
automatically. “God’s message changes us! Amen!” “God’s message changes us!
Amen!” How many times have I done that? Countless times already in
October!
Now through the month of
November, we are closing this Christian calendar year by celebrating “Christ
the King” and preparing the new through Advent. Our season of hard work is
almost done and the season of break is coming for the new beginning. So how’s
the message of God has changed us so far this year as we have waited for
Christ’s coming back to us as our King through forgiving, loving, and serving?
How do you look different or feel different now from last year, I mean
spiritually?
“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect
the glory of the
Lord. And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like
him as we
are changed into this glorious image” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT).
According to the Apostle
Paul, when we turn to the Lord, the veil between God and us is removed so that
we can come closer to the throne of God and the Lord makes us like Him.
However, it is not new because God already put His own image in us when He
created us a long time ago. In other words, it is God’s will for us to find our
true identity by getting out of our false identities in this world.
That is our spiritual
growth! And that is the key to the Kingdom of God eternal, the perfect
salvation. In other words, we are the keys for the eternal salvation for the
transformation of the world into God’s kingdom on earth as in heaven when we
are changed by the message of God fully. Then we will see the Kingdom of God
all around us wherever we are and whoever we are.
“Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 15:23b, ESV).
Brothers and sisters in
Christ, this is the economy of God’s kingdom. When we are changed by God’s
message, the kingdom of God will come on earth as in heaven and we will join
the heavenly banquet, full of joy and thanksgiving! Is that a wonderful journey
to be like Him?
So now I would like to
invite you to join us in this growing journey to the kingdom of God to be
changed continually by the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ! Join us!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kyochul
