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).
A pastor may sometimes
experience being at the bottom of life.
The
officials took the prophet Jeremiah and lowered him
by
ropes into the cistern of the royal prince Malchiah,
which
was in the courtyard of the guard.
The
cistern had no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud
(Jeremiah
38:6).
As I
meditate on this passage,
I am
reminded of the prophet Jonah, who disobeyed God's command.
When
he prayed to his God from the belly of the great fish
(Jonah
2:1), he described himself as being in the deep waters (vv. 3, 5)
and sinking
down to the roots of the mountains, imprisoned in the land of death (v. 6).
Yet,
despite his situation, the prophet Jonah prayed to God,
saying,
"But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.
What
I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord" (v. 9).
As a
result, the Lord saved the prophet Jonah’s life from death (v. 6).
If
the Lord rescued the disobedient prophet Jonah,
wouldn’t
He also save the prophet Jeremiah, who was obeying God’s word?
The
Lord used Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian court official, to go to King Zedekiah and
say,
"Your
Majesty, what these men have done to the prophet Jeremiah is an evil act.
They
have thrown him into a cistern, and he will starve to death there
since
there is no bread left in the city."
So,
King Zedekiah commanded Ebed-Melech, "Take thirty men from here with you
and
lift the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies."
Thus,
the prophet Jeremiah was rescued from the pit where he had been trapped
(Jeremiah
38:7-13).
It
seems that even pastors, who are servants of the Lord, may sometimes experience
being
at the bottom of life, like being in a pit or the depths of the sea.
Such
experiences can lead them to feel a sense of despair.
However,
the great grace of God given in those desperate situations is
that the Holy Spirit makes them long for the
Lord even more and fills them with hope,
ultimately
allowing them to experience God's salvation.
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