“To the millions that are lying in
darkness, Heralds of light, speed away,
to the souls that long to hear of
the Savior, carry the bright gospel ray.
Heralds of light, speed away, carry
the bright gospel ray, dark the night of sin,
let the sunlight in, Heralds of light,
speed away! (Lewis Edgar Jones, 1865-1936)
Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
It is quite a new feeling we have as we step into the New Year
2023. I feel like I am a whole new person! Is that true to you all? No?
One day, I strangely awoke with a song that I used to sing when I
was in Korea some years ago. Then, for a certain reason, that song just stayed
in my head all day long, “To the millions that are lying in darkness, Heralds
of light, speed away, Heralds of light, speed away!” I did not know why and I
did not know how it happened. And I could not get rid of it from my brain all
day long. It was like what God was speaking to me on that day for this New Year
reminding me “You are the herald of light, wake up!” Who am I? I am a good
Methodist. “Amen!” So, I responded. However, not just me, but we are the
Heralds of light, aren’t we?
Anyway, not long ago, someone shared a story about how she
overcame the whole darkness and heaviness in her and upon her after she lost
her job, a very high paying position. Then, she lost her appetite and even her
motivation to do anything. So she didn’t do anything for several months just
lying in her bed and watching TV all day. It was like she was in a deep dark
pit.
Of course, she did not like what she was doing all day long and
she wanted to get out of that; however, “I could not,” she said. Then, one day,
on the TV screen, there was a historic rocket launching, I mean, a space
shuttle counting down. The main engines started and… “Five, four, three,
two, one and lift up.”
The space shuttle left with a roaring sound from the platform to
the space. So powerful! It impressed her deeply. So in a moment, she decided to
count down to launch from her bed. And guess what? It worked. So she became a
motivational speaker sharing how she got out of her bed of depression and
despair and fear. By just counting down for five seconds! Very interesting
story, isn’t it?
We know how joyfully we celebrated Christmas or New Year’s Day or
any special day in our life that makes us super exciting, it does not always
stay long. And there is always a time of deep sorrow and depression and despair
losing any appetite or motivation of our life like her. If it is our case, we
need to get out of it right away because we have a place to go, don’t we?
Somewhat, it led me to touch the deep inside of my spiritual
journey with God. I am called to live truthfully, faithful, purposefully, and
fruitfully for the kingdom of God eternal as a child of God because of the
image that we have in us, the image of God. Am I in deep sleep or dormant
spiritually from there due the busyness of this season? I mean, physically busy
but spiritually dormant. It is also possible, isn’t? Or maybe from the hardship
of my life or from the fear of unknown?
About twenty seven hundred years ago, Israel was in deep
depression, hopelessly, because they went through the dark days of the civil
war between Israel and Judah, north and south, then the destruction of Israel
by Assyria and more. A prophet Isaiah delivered God’s message of judgement in
the near future. However, God also woke them up through him,
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light
shine for all to see.
For the glory of the Lord rises to
shine on you” (Isiah 60:1, NLT).
It sounds like a spiritual countdown to launch a space shuttle to
reach the space, doesn’t it?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, where are you now as we enter into
the New Year 2023? And, do you know where to go, I mean, our spiritual
destination for this year? And are we awake now or still in bed spiritually? It
is time to lift up! Let us countdown together with those words from Isaiah,
“Arise! Let your light shine for
all to see!”
So now, I’d like to invite you to come and join us in this month
of January to get out of where you are and experience the true joy of God as a
church together! God will guide our ways as we arise and shine! Isn’t that
exciting? So now, join us!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kyochul
