“Strength to Love” (1 Cor 13:1-13) - 4th Sunday after the Epiphany -

Who Is Your Enemy?

Do you have enemies? Sometimes there’s a thin line between enemy and friend. Once I heard a story about a man who was standing in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge, admiring the view, when another tourist walked up alongside him to do the same. He heard the tourist say as he took in the beauty of the view: “What an awesome God!” He turned to him and said, “Oh, are you a Christian?” The tourist said, “Yes, I am a Christian.” He said, “So am I,” and they shook hands. The man said, “Are you a liberal or a fundamental Christian?” The tourist said, “I'm a fundamental Christian.” He said, “So am I,” and they smiled and nodded to each other. The man said, “Are you a covenant or dispensational fundamental Christian?” The tourist said, “I'm a dispensational fundamental Christian.” The man said, “So am I,” and they hugged one another and agreed to exchange their kids for the summer. The man said, “Are you an early Acts, mid Acts, or late Acts dispensational fundamental Christian?” The tourist said, “I'm a mid Acts dispensational fundamental Christian.” The man said, “You heretic!” and he pushed the tourist off the bridge.

Do you have enemies? I do. To be honest, I know I had and have and will have enemies. God knows we would have enemies through our lives. That is why Jesus did not say, “Don’t make any enemies,” but “Love your enemies.” Then, who is your enemy? The enemy is anyone who hates you and despises you for some reason – for either racial, political, religious, or personal reasons. We must admit the fact that some people will not like us, not because of something we have done to them, but they just won’t like us. Some people aren’t going to like the way you walk. Some people aren’t going to like the way you talk. Some people aren’t going to like you because your hair is a little shorter than theirs or your hair is a little longer than theirs. Some people aren’t going to like you, not because of something that you’ve done to them, but because of various other reactions in human nature. In other words, no matter who you are, no matter what you do you will have enemies through your lives.

How to Love Your Enemy?

Basically, our enemies can be a family member, church member, neighbor, co-worker, fellow-citizen, or government representative. In other words, just about anyone who does not like us. In fact, the Bible says that there was a time when we were God’s enemies (Romans 5:10). But by the death of Jesus Christ we were reconciled to God. And now our Lord Jesus Christ commands us, “Love your enemies.” This is an extremely difficult command. Jesus knew that it’s hard to love those who speak ill about us or falsely accuse us. He knew that it’s hard to love those who hate us, seek to harm us. But still, Jesus was very serious when he gave this command. How can we live out this command? And why should we live by this command?

Do No Harm

The first step to love our enemies is this: “Do no harm.” Hate begets hate, evil begets evil, revenge begets revenge. The only way to break this vicious cycle is to stop fighting back and to do no harm. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “One of the ways that you love your enemy is this: When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat enemy, that is the time which you must not do it.” Probably, you remember the story of Shimei in 2 Samuel 16. When David fled from his son Absalom, Shimei cursed David, falsely accused, and said evil things to him. Shimei was David’s enemy. Later, the opportunity came for David to pay Shimei back. As David was returning to his palace, one of David’s men, Abishai, said to him, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the Lord’s anointed.” But David cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil by doing no harm to his enemy. He did forgive Simei and said, “You shall not die.”  

If we are to do no harm our enemies, we can on longer gossip about them. I can no longer speak ill about them or judge them. We can no longer diminish or ignore them but must honor and respect them as children of God. To do no harm is the act of disarming. It is to lay aside our weapons and trust God – his presence, power, guidance, leadership. In his book, The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis said, “We are quick enough to feel it when others hurt us, but we do not notice how much we hurt others. A person who honestly examines his or her own behavior would never judge other people harshly.” The first step to love our enemies is to resolve to do no harm. In order to do no harm our enemies, we must diligently examine ourselves – our motive, our conscience, our behavior.

Do Good

The second step to love our enemies is more proactive. It is to do good to our enemies. In Luke 6:27, our Lord Jesus said, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you!” What does it mean to do good to enemies? It means to bless them. The word “bless” here means to “speak well of” or “speak well to.” Yes, it is to speak well of and to those who say hurtful things to us. To do good to enemies also means to pray for them. It is to pray for those who seek to harm us, attack us, and mistreat us. This proactive love has a redemptive and transforming power.

We all remember the great present of this United States, Abraham Lincoln. When he was running for president of the United States, there was a man who ran all around the country talking about Lincoln. He said a lot of bad things about Lincoln, a lot of unkind things. He would talk about Lincoln’s looks, saying, "You don’t want a tall, lanky, ignorant man like this as the president of the United States." He went on and on and on and went around with that type of attitude and wrote about it. Finally, one day Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. The time came for Lincoln to choose a Cabinet. And the time came for him to choose a Secretary of War. He decided to choose a man by the name of Mr. Stanton. All his people said to him, "Mr. Lincoln, are you a fool? Do you know what Mr. Stanton has been saying about you? Do you know what he has done, tried to do to you? Do you know that, Mr. Lincoln?” Abraham Lincoln said: "Oh yes, I know about it; I read about it; I’ve heard him myself. But after looking over the country, I find that he is the best man for the job." Mr. Stanton did become Secretary of War, and a few months later, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. And now we know that one of the greatest statements ever made about Abraham Lincoln was made by this man Stanton. Through the power of love Abraham Lincoln was able to transform and redeem Stanton. Only love can turn an enemy into a friend. Romans 12:21 says, “Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.” Dr. King also said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Love Prevails

In the Greek language there are several different words for love: Eros is a sort of romantic love between couples. Phileo is a sort of intimate affection between friends. Storge is something that is experienced in families. All of these have one thing in common: We love these people with affection in our hearts. But there is another word for love. It is the word agape. Agape is more than eros, more than phileo, more than storge. Agape love is unconditional love. It is an overflowing love. It is a love that displays active good will toward everyone, including enemies. And it has to do with an act of the will. We are not commanded to love our enemies with affection in our hearts. We are commanded to love them with an act of the will. In Titus 3:3-7, Paul says that once we ourselves were foolish and disobedient. We were God’s enemies. But through Jesus Christ our Savior, God poured out the Holy Spirit on us abundantly, that we may live as his children and heirs. So now we have the power and strength to love our enemies. Today’s Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13, is all about agape love. It is not about emotions and affections, but about character and an act of the will. We have the power to be patient, kind, and to bless those who curse us. We have the power to do good to those who hate us. We have the power to pray for those who ignore and despise us. So let us keep loving our enemies. Let us keep doing no harm. Let us keep blessing them, doing good to them, and praying for them. And the time will come by the power of Christ’s agape love both our enemies and we ourselves will be transformed and become more like Christ. Amen.

“Who Is Jesus?” (Luke 4:14-21) - Family Worship: 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany –

Who Is Jesus?

As you were listening to Sabra’s Scripture reading and watching the video clip, you may have some questions like, “Why were the Jewish people impressed with Jesus and marveled at his gracious words at first, but later they were furious? Why?” All those questions can be merged into one big question: “Who is Jesus?” This is the big question of today.

Jesus Is…

If you asked me that question, my image of Jesus has changed over the years. When I was little, for me, Jesus was a Miracle Maker. Probably I shared this before, one day I got very curious whether Jesus is really alive. So I typed theses words with my dad’s typewriter: “Jesus, if you are alive, please let this paper disappear immediately.” Then, I waited, waited, waited. But nothing happened. I was so disappointed. As I grew up, Jesus was a Healer. By nature, I was born with a weak body. I suffered from serious middle-ear infection, asthma, bronchitis, chronic indigestion, arthritis, and so on in my teenage years. Most of the time I had to live with medication. But because of my grandparents and my parents’ prayers, I was healed miraculously several times. In particular, when I was in the army, I was sent to East Timor. I fell ill with an endemic disease, called “Daengi Fever.” I was going through the valley of death. I was dying. I fell prostrate and prayed. I confessed my sins and prayed, “God, if you save my life, I will dedicate my life to you.” I was healed. Yes, Jesus was a Healer. After being discharged, I got actively involved in different church ministries in my college years. In those times, for me, Jesus was a Santa Claus, who gives us gifts – spiritual gifts. As a church leader, I was expected to have some kind of charismatic and visible spiritual gifts. In Korean churches, many pastors and church leaders have those gifts – gift of healing, gift of miracle, gift of speaking in tongues and interpretation, prophecy, etc. I had none of them. I felt pushed. Even there was an occasion, small group members had me in the middle, put their hands on me, and prayed for me to speak in tongues, because this gift was one of the most common gifts among Korean Christians. But nothing happened. Actually, I had prayed Jesus for giving me this gift at least for 15 years. I prayed, “Lord, anoint me. Let me speak in tongues.” In December 2008, I attended intercessory prayer conference. During the prayer time, God answered, “My son, I already anointed you. You already have the gift of speaking in tongues.” I began to speak in tongues so naturally. But I was kind of disappointed. I expected that I would become a totally different person if I was anointed, if I spoke in tongues. But it was me – same me – weak, vulnerable me. One thing changed – my conception of Jesus. Yes, Jesus is a miracle worker, healer, in some sense, Santa Claus. But I began to be aware that Jesus is my personal God, who made me, loves me, speaks me and listens to me all the time. Jesus is God. That changed everything.

Why Is That?

In today’s passage, the people were disappointed. They were angry and furious because their conception and expectation about the Messiah, Savior, was different from reality. They were waiting for elite Messiah, a glorious king, who would destroy all their enemies and save them from persecution. But, they were not expecting a suffering Messiah who would be persecuted and killed. They were not ready to accept that the Messiah came to save them and set them free by dying on the cross for their sins. C.S. Lewis said, “People often say about Jesus: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”

The Story of a Sculptor

So, who is Jesus to you? There was a sculptor who sculpted a statue of our Lord. And people came from great distances to see it – Christ in all his strength and tenderness. They would walk all round the statue, trying to grasp its splendour, looking at it now from this angle, now from that. But for some reason, still its grandeur eluded them. So the people consulted the sculptor, “What would be the best angle to appreciate this statue?” And he replied, “There’s only one angle from which this statue can be truly seen. You must kneel.” And now I would like to invite you to sing this song with me as our response to the Word: “Hail to the King.”

You came to us a man, in very nature God
Pierced for our iniquities as You hung upon the cross
But God exalted You to the highest place
And gave to You the right to bear
The Name above all names

That at the Name of Jesus we should bow
And every tongue confess that You are Lord
And when You come in glory for the world to see
We will sing...

Hail to the King, in all His splendour and majesty
Hail to the King of kings, Lord Jesus, our God.

“Got Wine?” (John 2:1-11; 1 Cor 12:1-11) - Second Sunday after the Epiphany -

Wine as Symbol of Joy

During the Civil War it is known that President Abraham Lincoln often began cabinet meetings by reading some humorous story from newspaper or a book of humor. If the cabinet members did not laugh, he read it over again until they laughed hard. He would then announce the subject of discussion. On one occasion one of the members asked, “Why do you do that in this time of mourning?” Lincoln answered, “I have to do this. If I didn’t, we would just sit and cry.” Lincoln knew they did need laughter and joy even during times of crisis and mourning. Today we too need joy in our lives. If you had a chance to read this week’s lectionary passages, you would find the one common theme. That is “joy.” This morning we will explore how we, as individuals and as a church, may find or restore joy especially when we don’t feel joy.

In this week’s gospel lesson, John 2, Jesus was invited to the wedding, one of the most joyful moments of life. But, something unexpected happened. The wine ran out. Everyone there was embarrassed. In the Old Testament wine is viewed as a sign of joy (ex. Ps. 104:15). In a spiritual sense, running out of wine may be seen as symbolizing the “joyless” Christian life. Jesus was right there at the wedding banquet, but the wine ran out. Jesus is right here among us, but we don’t feel the joy of the Lord. What is the cure for this? Today’s passage gives us two prescriptions: “trust” and “obey.”

Trust

When the wine ran out, the people didn’t know what to do. But the mother of Jesus ran to Jesus and said, “They have no wine.” She also didn’t know what to do, but she did trust that he would do something. When David was challenged by the giant Goliath, he didn’t just say, “I will go and fight him.” Instead, he said to Saul, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them… The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine today” (1 Samuel 17:36-37). David had confidence and trust in the Lord based on his daily experiences with him. Trust is not built at once. It is built from a daily walk with Jesus. Even for David, there were times when he felt like he was going through an endless dark tunnel. He didn’t feel the joy of the Lord at all. In Psalm 13, he cried out, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” But at the end, he said, “But Lord, I trust in your unfailing love. My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to you, Lord, because you have been good to me.” David was able to trust and even rejoice in times of trouble, because he had lots of testimonies and experiences that helped him trust the Lord. In today’s passage, when Jesus made a polite distance, saying, “Woman, what doest this have to do with me?” Mary was not discouraged, because she had a lot of trust in him based on her relationship with him. She said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Do you trust Jesus in all circumstances? Trust is the first prescription for restoring joy in our lives.

Obey

The second prescription is “obey.” Trust is not something that acts magically or automatically. It is something that has to be exercised. When we put our trust into operation, it is expressed as obedience. In John 2, the servants obeyed Jesus. They filled the jars with water – 120 gallons of water. And then, they were asked to take that water to the master of the banquet. Obedience is a verb. When they did that, everyone tasted the best wine abundantly. The joy of the Lord was restored. After marriage, there was a time when the relationship with my wife, Joyce, was at risk. We tried all possible means to improve relationship and solve problems. Nothing seemed to work. The final method used was to sit down together and pray. We agreed to do prayers of confession in turn. At first, I reluctantly confessed my sins. She confessed her faults. We kept taking turns. The Holy Spirit revealed our sinful hearts. Only then, we were able to see our own faults clearly. He melted our hardened hearts and restored to us the joy of his salvation. And we found that the root of the problems was a strong desire for blaming each other and pleasing each other. What we learned from that experience is when each of us obeys Jesus, instead of trying to blame or please each other, we find happiness and joy. Seek for happiness and you will never find it. But seek after obedience and holiness, you will be filled with joy and happiness.

Restoring Joy to the Church

From today’s gospel lesson, so far we have learned that our joy depends on how much we trust and obey the Lord. The more we trust and obey, the more joy we will find in our lives. Then, what about the church? Can we as a church experience that abundant joy in this place? How many of you came to church this morning with the expectation to be filled with joy? Is it really possible for the church to be a house of joy? This week’s Epistle lesson, 1 Corinthians 12, tells us “Yes, it is possible.” The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ. The health of the body is something that results from right living – for many of us, to eat less and to exercise more. In the same way, the spiritual health of the church is the result from right relationship with Christ. When the church is spiritually healthy, we find joy in this place. What is then the right relationship between the church and Christ, between the body and the head? The answer is “trust and obey.” 

First, the healthy church trusts Jesus as Lord. Early Christians had unity in terms of confession of faith that “Jesus is Lord” (v.3). There are many ways to acknowledge Jesus – teacher, mentor, great man, social activist, liberator, and so on. But only Christians – those indwelt by the Spirit – can acknowledge Jesus as Lord who is absolutely sovereign. In the second-century people had to greet each other in public place with these words: Caesar is lord. At age 86, Bishop Polycarp was ordered to confess that Caesar is lord. But he refused and said, “Eighty-six years have I served the Lord Jesus. He has been faithful to me. How can I be faithless to Him and blaspheme the name of my Savior?” Then, he was murdered. Early Christians did trust that Jesus alone is sovereign Lord. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore, God exalted him [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name… and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” So, Paul always put confidence and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ no matter what happened to him and to the church. He was thankful always. He was joyful always, because Jesus the Lord is sovereign. He is in control. In the midst of chaos, Paul confessed, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you [church] will complete it” (Phil 1:6). The healthy church trusts Jesus Christ alone as Lord.

Secondly, the healthy church obeys Jesus the Head. How do we know whether we as a church obey Jesus or not? We can have a clue from 1 John 4:20: “If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” In a communal church setting, to obey Jesus means to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph 5:21). In today’s passage, 1 Cor 12, Paul describes it in three ways. To obey Jesus means to respect, recognize, celebrate diversity of the church in unity (v. 12). It means to help, protect, treat the weaker members with special honor (v. 23). It also means to suffer together and to rejoice together as one body (v. 26). I would like to draw your special attention to this relationship of mutual love and dependence. Pastor John Wimber told us this story about how he was standing in church one time and a man came up to him and told him how he’d been contacted by somebody in great need. And he talked about his frustration in trying to get help for this needy person. He said, ‘The man needed a place to stay, food, support, till he gets on his feet and looks for a job.’ He said, ‘I’m really frustrated. I tried calling the church office, but no one could see me, and they couldn’t help me. I finally ended up having to let him stay with me for the week. Don’t you think the church should take care of people like this?’ John Wimber thought for a moment and said: “It looks like the church did.”[1] We are the church. We are Christ to the world. Every time any of us feeds the hungry, that’s the church doing it. Every time any of us visits the sick, that’s the church. We are all inter-dependant. Each member is indispensable. We need everybody else. We need the church. Don’t just be an attender at church. Be a member!

Do What Your Mother Has Told You to Do

Recently, I had a regular checkup. It was found that I have pre-diabetes. When I saw my family doctor for follow-up, he said to me, “Do what your mother has told you to do. Cut down on starches. Eat more fruit and vegetables. Exercise more. Get enough sleep.” Health is the result from right living. Spiritual health is exactly the same. It comes from doing what God has told us to do. Christian life is a daily walk with Jesus. Individually, let us spend time with him alone day by day. Let us build our trust and relationship with him and obey what he says whatever the cost. Communally, let us have clear confession of faith, “Jesus is Lord.” Within this unity, let us submit to one another with respect and love. Let us get involved. Let us build intimate interpersonal relationships with other Christian brothers and sisters especially through small groups. And we will be able to say, “I’ve got the joy in my heart. And I love this place, the house of joy!” Amen.

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[1] Alpha Course, Talk 15 - “What about the Church?” 

“Let It Shine” (Matthew 2:1-12) - The Epiphany of the Lord -

“Let It Shine” (Matthew 2:1-12)

- The Epiphany of the Lord -

Transformation

Suppose the most vicious criminal lives with Jesus in the prison for three months. Who do you think will be transformed between the two? Yes, the answer is obvious: “the criminal.” And now suppose we live with Jesus for three months. Who will be transformed? The answer is “us.” My question is, “Have we experienced transformation?” If not, either we are stronger than the most vicious criminal, or we have never lived with Jesus. Today we celebrate the Epiphany of our Lord. Epiphany means “manifestation.” This is the day when our Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to the Gentiles. The theme of this week’s lectionary passages is “light.” Jesus is the light of the world. We, as followers of Jesus, are called to be the light of the world. In today’s scripture, Matthew contrasts the main characters how they responded to the manifestation of Jesus Christ and confronts us with a summons to personal decision.

“Almost” Christian vs. “Altogether” Christian

In Matthew 2 we meet three kinds of people. The first kind is the people who do not want to worship Jesus and deeply threatened by Him. “Hostility.” This group is represented by King Herod. The second kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. They are not interested. “Indifference.” This group is represented by the chief priests and scribes. The third kind is the people who diligently seek and worship Christ. This group is represented by the Magi. “True worshippers.” There would be several ways to approach today’s passage, but this morning I will compare and contrast mainly between the second group and the third group. They have in common that they are believers, God-fearers. In today’s term, they are “Christians.” But there is a crucial difference between the two: the transformed heart as a result of loving relationship with Christ. John Wesley made a distinction between these two types of Christians: Almost Christians vs. Altogether Christians.

The “Almost” Christian

Who are then the Almost Christians? They are the people who have a form of godliness but deny its power (2Tim 3:5). In today’s scripture the religious leaders had a form of godliness. They did fasting, had both private and public prayer, and followed all religious traditions. They also had good biblical knowledge. So, when King Herod asked about where the Messiah would be born.  Immediately, they knew the answer and recited Micah 5:2. Then, why not go with the Magi? Because they were not interested in the arrival of the Savior. They were contented with their present state. They did not need a Savior! In John 5:39-42, Jesus said, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life… I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.” Almost Christians may have good scriptural knowledge and affirm its teaching. But their hearts have never been transformed by the love of God. Their motive for doing all religious duties is to avoid punishment!

In his sermon, the Almost Christian, Wesley confessed that he did make every effort to avoid all evil, do good to all men, and practice all both private and public means of grace (fasting, prayer, visit, almsgiving, etc.), and he did all this in sincerity to please God. However, he said, “Yet my own conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit that all this time I was but ‘almost a Christian.’”[1] Pastor Michael Horton, in his book Christless Christianity, “In short, the spirituality of American is Christian in name only…We embrace preferences rather than truth. We seek comfort rather than growth…We have enthroned ourselves as the final arbiters of righteousness, the ultimate rulers of our own experience and destiny.” Many of us fall under this category, “Almost Christian.” We see God’s sign, but we don’t want to go there. We hear God’s message, but we don’t want to change patterns of our lives because then we need to give up our preferences and comfort. We find ourselves in the religious leaders!

The “Altogether” Christian

Our next question is, what does it mean by being altogether a Christian? The most distinctive feature of the altogether Christians is “LOVE”: The love of God and the love of neighbor. Their hearts are transformed, melt, molded by the love of God. Romans 5:5 says, “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” They have truly experienced this personally. Not as a religious duty, nor to avoid punishment, they love to worship because they do love God with all their hearts, all their souls, and all their strength! In today’s passage the Magi were the gentiles. Many biblical scholars believe that they were probably from Babylon. If so, they would have traveled about 900 miles. It would have taken several months! They didn’t have accurate biblical knowledge unlike the Jewish religious leaders, but they loved God! They have come to worship Christ with sacrificial gifts. They were true worshipers. Altogether Christians love God. And their love for God is always expressed through love of their neighbor.

As I was meditating on 1 Corinthian 13, the chapter of love, during the week, it was interpreted in a new way: Almost Christians vs. Altogether Christians

ž       vv. 1-3: Almost Christians speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy, but they don’t have love. They speak God’s word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day. They have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps. But they don’t have love. They even give away everything that they have and hand over their own bodies to feel good about what they’ve done, but they don’t have love.

ž       vv. 4-7: Altogether Christians are patient. They care more for others than for self. They don’t want what they don’t have. They don’t strut, don’t have a swelled head, don’t force themselves on others, are not always "me first," don’t fly off the handle, don’t keep score of the sins of others, don't revel when others grovel, take pleasure in the flowering of truth, put up with anything, trust God always, always look for the best, never look back, but keep going to the end![2]

Are you almost a Christian, or altogether a Christian? We have a tendency to see outward religious duties as the measure of spiritual growth. However, much more important questions we must ask ourselves are these: Is the love of God poured out richly in my heart? Do I desire nothing but God? Do I love God with all my heart? Am I happy in God? Is God my glory and my delight? Do I love my neighbor, every person, even my enemies, even the enemies of God as myself? Does the Holy Spirit bear witness with my spirit, that I am a child of God?

The Pineapple Story[3]

Let me tell you one story, called, “the pineapple story.” It is a story about how a missionary to Dutch New Guinea becomes from almost Christian to Altogether Christian. One day the missionary decided to plant some pineapples (100 plants). They were rare and valuable to the natives. He bought them from another mission station. It took about three years to yield pineapples. He couldn’t wait! However, when the pineapples got ripe, the missionary couple didn’t get anything. The natives stole every one! The missionary god mad. “No pineapples, no clinic!” he said. And he cut out the clinic that his wife was running. The natives kept begging. He couldn’t stand and had to reopen. But when the missionary couple opened the clinic, the natives started stealing the pineapples again. He felt bad again! This time he cut out the trade store instead. There he was providing matches, salt, fish hooks, and things like that. The natives went back to their jungle houses. So he decided to open the store again. Then, the natives started stealing the pineapples again. This time he brought a German Shepherd. It did work for the time being. -> He had the same result as closing the store. People didn’t come. He didn’t have a chance to tell about Jesus and learn their language.

One Sunday the missionary attended a church service and heard a lesson, “We must give everything we own to God.” After the service, he went out to his pineapple garden. He prayed, “Lord, see these pineapple bushes? I have fought to have the fruit from them. I have claimed them as my own. I have stood up for my rights. It is all wrong, and I realize that now. I have to give them all to You. From now on, if You want me to eat any of Your pineapples, fine. If not, then that is fine too. Amen.” The natives kept stealing the pineapples just like before. But he didn’t say anything but just kept praying and trusting God to take care of it His Way. One day they finally came to him and said “Too-wan (foreigner), you have become a Christian, haven’t you? Because you don’t get angry anymore when we steal your pineapples.” He answered, “The pineapples don’t belong to me anymore. I have given the garden to God.” They answered, “To God?” They were afraid that they were stealing from God. And they stopped stealing. Then, the missionary couple was able to enjoy the fresh pineapples! And they shared the pineapples with them. Soon many of the natives decided to become Christians. For years, he had tried hard to evangelize them. But it didn’t work. But when God transformed his heart, he began to change theirs too. The most powerful message is our lives. When we are transformed by God’s love, the people around us will be transformed.

From Almost to Altogether

As I started the new year, I prayed for the church and the family members. “Lord, I want to be your faithful servant. How may I help your people?” God answered, “All you have to do is to love them.” The Bible says that we have the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us (Rom 5:5). Do you love God? Then, let us love our neighbor. Let us love each other. Let us be the man of love and the woman of love at home, at work, at church, in the community and wherever we go to every person in the world. My prayer is that we may all experience what it is to be not almost only, but altogether Christians! Let me close with 1 Corinthian 13:13: “But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love” (MSG). Amen.

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[1] Albert C. Outler and Richard P. Heitzenrater, John Wesley’s Sermons (Abingdon Press, 1991), 65.

[2] Adapted from the Common English Bible (CEB) and the Message version

[3] http://www.smiths-givelife.com/the-pineapple-story/