바울의 마지막 문안 인사 (11) 두기고와 오네시모의 두 번째 공통점은 그들은 신실한 사람들이었습니다 ( 골 4:7, 9). 흥미로운 점은 바울은 골로새 교 회 성도들에게 마지막 문안 인사를 하면서 신실한 사람들인 두기고와 오네시모를 언급하였는데 , 시작 인사를 보면 그는 골로새에 있는 성도들 “ 곧 그리스도 안에서 신실한 형제들 ” (1:2) 하고 언급했을 뿐만 아니라 에바브라는 그들을 위한 “ 그리스도의 신실한 일꾼 ”(7 절 ) 이라고 말했다는 것입니다 . 여기 골로새서 1 장 2 절에서 “신실한 형제들”이란 말을 현대인의 성경은 “그리스도를 믿는 형제들”이라고 번역을 했 는 데 여기서 “신실한 형제들”이란 예수 그리스도를 계속해 서 신실하게 믿는 형제들입니다 . “신실한 형제들”이란 (1) 믿음이 충만한 자들이요 (full of faith), (2) 신뢰하는 사람들 (trustful) 이요 , 또한 신뢰할 만한 사람들 (trustworthy) 로서 (3) 그리스도에게 충성된 자들 (loyal to Christ) 입니다 (KJV 성경 주석 ). “그리스도 안에서 신실한 형제들”은 그리스도에게 충성된 자들이요 예수 그리스도의 충성된 증인들 입니다 ( 계 1:5). 그들은 흠 없이 정직하게 주님을 따르며 ( 시 101:6), 지극히 작은 것에도 충성하며 ( 눅 16:10), 죽도록 충성하여 ( 계 2:10) 주님 앞에서 설 때에 “잘하였다 착한 종이여 네가 지극히 작은 것에 충성하였”다는 주님의 칭찬 ( 눅 19:17) 과 더불어 주님께로부터 생명의 면류관을 받을 사람들입니다 ( 계 2:10).
God who extends kindness to him
when he is confined
“But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer” (Genesis 39:21).
My heart is hard sometimes. The reason is that I see my loved ones suffering from sickness and lying at the crossroads of life and death. There are times when my heart is heavy and painful when I see them going through the unbelieving pain of their bodies. There isn’t much I can do for them except to praise God by their side and pray to God for them and to preach the word of God. As I do so, there are times when I cannot bear the tears that come out especially when I pray for them. Then, when the loved ones leave us, God guides me to lead the funeral service with the power of His grace. But when I come to the church on Sunday morning after their funerals and see their vacancy, my heart longs for them due to their memories again. But the amazing grace is that God gives me His love a little more, a little deeper, a little greater when my heart is hard and difficult. In particular, at the end of last year, I have experienced God's love more deeply as I sent off one of my church brother in Christ to God. It was the grace of God. The small enlightenment God gave me was that the harder my heart is, the more God gives His love to me.
In Genesis 39:21, we see Joseph who has been imprisoned under a false accusation. Since Joseph was handsome in form and appearance (v. 6), his master Potiphar’s wife looked with desire at Joseph (v. 7). So she spoke to Joseph day after day to “Lie with me” but Joseph didn’t listen to her not only to lie beside her but also even be with her (vv. 7, 10). The reason was because Joseph didn’t want to do this great evil and sin against God (v. 9). But one day, when Joseph wen into the house to do his work, “none of the men of the household was there inside” (v. 11). And the Potiphar’s wife caught Joseph by his garment and said “Lie with me!” (v. 12) So Joseph left his garment in her hand and had fled outside (vv. 12, 13). So she called to the men of her household and lied to them, saying Joseph tried to sleep with her (v. 14). And when her husband Potiphar came home, she told him that Joseph tried to make sport of her but she screamed for help and Joseph left his cloak beside her and ran out of the house (vv. 16-18). As a result, Joseph was imprisoned in the prison of the king's prisoner (v. 20). But the Lord was with Joseph and He showed him kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer (v. 21). “The chief jailer committed to Joseph's charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper” (vv. 22-23).
The secret of prosperity is that God is with us (vv. 2, 3, 21, 23). We are prosperous because God is with us (v. 2). Even the non-believers around us see that God is with us and that God gives us success in everything we do (v. 3). And God gives us favor in the eyes of them (vv. 4, 21). But we must remember that there can be temptations and under a false accusation (vv. 7-20). As a result, we may be stuck and face difficulties that we cannot escape by our own strength even if we look at the north, south, east, and west. What is surprising, however, is that God gives kindness to us in such adversity (v. 21). What a wonderful God's love. Therefore, although we may be trapped, it may be a best opportunity to experience the love of God more in depth and greater, so that we endure our hardship with the love of God. And finally, God will make us to open our hearts and lips to praise and worship Him because His eternal love is better than our lives (Ps. 63:3). Hallelujah.
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