When we practice pure love and mercy without expecting any price or reward in this world, only then does the true blessing of heaven come upon us. “And He also said to the one who had invited Him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous’” (Luke 14:12–14). (1) Today, as I read and meditated on Luke 14:12–14 in both the Korean Bible and the Greek Bible, I became interested in the fact that the word related to “repaying” appears three times repeatedly. (a) The first word for “repay...
If a human being tries to seat himself in the “place of honor,” he will ultimately be put to shame; but if he seats himself in the “lowest place” (the place of Jesus Christ), God will exalt him.
If a human being tries to seat himself in the “place of honor,” he will ultimately be put to shame; but if he seats himself in the “lowest place” (the place of Jesus Christ), God will exalt him. “Now He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this man,” and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be e...