바울의 마지막 문안 인사 (30) 바울 은 마지막 문안 인사에서 이렇게 말씀했습니다 : “아킵보에게 이르기를 주 안에서 받은 직분을 삼가 이루라고 하라” ( 골 4:17). 아킵보는 자신의 직분을 충분히 입증하라는 말씀 입니다 . 신약성경에 나타난 주요 직분으로는 목사 , 장로 , 집사 등이 있습니다 . 직분자들은 자신의 직분을 충분히 입증하기 위해선 (1) 그리스도 예수님께 감사해야 합니다 . 디모데전서 1 장 12 절입니다 : “나에게 힘을 주신 우리 주 그리스도 예수님께 내가 감사하는 것은 나를 충성스러운 사람으로 여겨 나에게 직분을 맡겨 주셨기 때문입니다 . ” 바울은 자신이 예수 그리스도를 믿지 않았을 때에 모르고 하나님을 모독하고 성도들을 핍박하던 난폭한 사람이었는데 하나님께서 자신을 불쌍히 여겨 주시사 회심케하셨을 뿐만 아니라 사명을 주시사 이방인의 사도로 세우셨기에 예수님께 감사했습니다 . (2) 은혜의식 속에서 더 많이 수고해야 합니다 . 고린도전서 15 장 8-10 절입니다 : “맨 나중에는 부족하기 짝이 없는 내게도 나타나셨습니다 . 나는 사도들 중에 가장 보잘것없는 사람이며 하나님의 교회를 박해했기 때문에 사도라고 불릴 자격마저 없습니다 . 그러나 오늘날 내가 이렇게 된 것은 하나님의 은혜로 된 것이며 내게 주신 그분의 은혜가 헛되지 않아 내가 다른 모든 사도들보다 더 많이 일했습니다 . 그렇지만 그것은 내가 한 것이 아니라 나와 함께 하신 하나님의 은혜였습니다 . ” 그래서 그는 은혜 의식 속에서 다른 모든 사도들보다 더 많이 일을 했습니다 . 우리도 그 리 해야 합니다 .
A mourner who refuses to be comforted
"So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, "Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son." So his father wept for him" (Genesis 37: 34-35).
There was a grandmother in our church who lost her three children before her death. Her husband died early and had all three of her six children died when there were adults. The last son who died at the age of 56 years died as he was sleeping at her apartment living room. I still remember that moment when her son died. She was wailing and telling me, "Pastor, Pastor". I cannot forget what she said to me after her son’s funeral service: 'Pastor, I am resentful to God.' I cannot imagine how much her heart was aching when I saw her wailing after losing her adult son. I am sure we cannot fully understand the parents' hearts of losing their beloved child. I am sure that a mother’s pain and a father’s pain are different. The problem is that no one can comfort the hearts of the parents who lost their children. Of course, the beloved family members, the relatives, the friends will try to comfort the parents who lost their children but that parents will refuse to be comforted because their hearts are so painful.
Jacob in Genesis 37: 34-35 was like that. He refused to be comforted by his sons who tried to comfort him. The reason his sons tried to comfort Jacob was because Jacob was mourning for his son Joseph (v. 34) whom he loved more than all his sons (v. 3) because Jacob thought that Joseph had been devoured by a wild beast (v. 33). In other words, Jacob refused to be comforted by his other sons when he was mourning for his beloved son Joseph’s death. How painful was Jacob’s heart that he refused to be comforted by his sons? This extreme suffering can only be comforted by the Holy Spirit. In other words, there is a mourning that can only be comforted by God, for which man cannot comfort. And that mourning is the death of a beloved child. The pain of separation on this earth with beloved child can only be comforted by God. That’s why we are praying to God. There is nothing much we can do except praying to God to comfort those parents who lost their children. In doing so, God will answer our prayer and show mercy to those parents who lost their children by comforting their mournful hearts. Not only that, God will strengthen and hold them so that they can endure the great sorrow, pain and suffering and will overcome them. And through all this process, God will manifest His glory. As a result, we will see the beauty of Christians through our brothers and sisters in Christ.
There are many people around us who need comfort. There are a lot of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ around us who are in pain, sorrow and suffering. And God wants to use us His instrument to comfort them. Therefore, we should pray to God so that we can be used as a comforting instrument of God in order to comfort them rather than be comforted. In particular, we must acknowledge that we have brothers and sisters in Christ who are mourning whom we cannot comfort. So we should pray for them quietly and earnestly before God. In doing so, the Holy Spirit God will comfort them, and they will be able to comfort the mourners even in such painful situations.
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