The Gospel of Compelling Grace (8)

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

After knowing too much about the Gospel and going through many processes, people get tired of the Gospel. People say that their passion for God has cooled, they are afraid that they will receive more grace now, and they do not feel the grace even though they know everything. Then, the temptation of being ordinary begins to creep over the difficult steps of the Gospel that climbed up toward the high places. People shouted and bravely set out to live as witnesses of the Gospel, but the Lord is not coming soon, we are not going to heaven right away, and the world is still strong. So, we keep opening our hearts to the temptation of “being ordinary,” which we had never seen before.

‘Am I going alone? Can I make it to the end?’ The sensitive feelings and human lusts of the sick-self, who had not been deceived, arise. The recognition, reputation and smell of people are continuously missed. It has already been concluded in the Gospel of the cross and it has been a long time since we have been freed from deception, but sometimes our souls and hearts get sick and struggle for the truth. And after our first love cools down, we fall into the temptation of “being ordinary.” This ego’s depraved desires continue to incite the old emotions that have not yet been given up in the mind.

While serving God the same as before, shouting the Gospel and going to the place of prayer, unlike before, the thrill of salvation, which is the unimaginable feast for the returned son that the Lord gave to a sinner like us, begins to disappear. Then, while listening to the moving story of the Lord, we still sharpen the sword in our hearts. We have great theological knowledge, religious status and evangelical truth, and we are accustomed to the culture of the church because many of us were born in a Christian family from generation to generation. However, aren’t we the prodigal son or the eldest son of the family who couldn’t find the thrill of the salvation at all? Aren’t we the ones who do not have a heart to fear God?

Who is worthy to be invited to this holy feast of the Lord? The invited Jews only considered themselves worthy because of their arrogance. No one is worthy to go there, and no one is worthy to receive God’s invitation. All of us could not receive God’s calling, but the Lord forcibly called us and held the feast of grace.

If you are angry with the prodigal son, the second son who left the house, after hearing this amazing and moving message, pay attention to the father’s words.

“My son, all you have received is not because of your qualifications, but because of my grace. All things you receive and enjoy are not given in return for your hard work, but are simply given to you freely. All mine is all yours. But, remember! Your brother, the protagonist of this feast that you cannot understand, is the one who died and came back to life, and I should rejoice and rejoice because I lost the son and gained him again.”

These words are actually spoken to the Pharisees and the scribes. The outwardly revealed sinner in this drama was the younger brother. However, the moment the older brother realizes his father’s heart, the older brother realizes that all revealed was his own sin looking ugly.

Missionary Young-Ui KIM

(Itinerant Missionary Representative of LOG Mission)

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