make His blessings flow far as the curse is found” (Isaac Watts, UMH 246).
Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
One day, for a certain reason, a song that I sang last Christmas came to my mind and it made me hum all day long. “Hm Hm Hum Hum Hum Hum Hum Hum”, I mean, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King…” Believe it or not, outside, there was snow!
I remembered someone told me, “Spring will not come until July in Wisconsin.” However, I could not let it be. So I hummed more. “Hm Hm Hum Hum Hum Hum Hum Hum”, I mean, “and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing…” Then, guess what? All the snow was gone in the afternoon! Can you believe that because I hummed? Actually, no matter what, spring is here even in Wisconsin!
So how’s your soul today? It is well with my soul?
By the way, some years ago, computer scientists created artwork that changes all the time according to how the viewer feels. Actually, the computer program analyzes the position and shape of the viewer's mouth, the angle of eye brows, and the openness of the eyes, and other several facial features to determine the viewer’s emotional state. Then, based on the viewer’s mood, it alters. It is a kind of emotional mirror. So if joy is seen on the face, the artwork will show up in bright colors but if there’s a scowl, the image will become dark and somber.
Just wondering what kind of image it will show if I stand in front of that artwork.
However, two thousand years ago, there was a different kind of artwork on the cross, named Jesus Christ. Whatever he saw, he showed only one thing. When people treated him badly, mocked him, spat on him, and gambled on his clothes, he showed only one thing. When people nailed him on the cross, and even when they betrayed him and abandoned him, he showed only one thing.
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a, NLT).
What is it? It is God’s love that broke the chain of our sin and death and moved us into the life of eternal joy!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who
believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16, NRSV).
Because he is full of this kind of love, it overflows from him no matter what! And if we are touched by that love, everything changes! Even our curse becomes a blessing! How can we not sing, “Joy to the World” all day long… I mean, forever?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, have we touched by his love yet? We need it, don’t we? So now, in this month of April, I would like to invite you to join us on this new journey letting this love fully touch us so that we can hum “Joy to the World” all day long without ceasing! Join us!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kyochul
