(Matthew 12:28-34)
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
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<Let’s build a healthy church with depth>
"No church in this world is a finished product; rather, every church is on a journey toward completion. We are continuously being built into a more whole and holy community. Then, how can we be built into such a 'whole' church? What kind of longing do you hold for the church? For me, there is a deep yearning for a 'church life where we live in a profound relationship with God and in deep solidarity with our brothers and sisters.' Over the next four weeks, I would like to share how we can build this kind of church together.
Richard Foster once stated, 'Superficiality is the curse of our age.' While it is true that technological advancements have brought many benefits, they have also made us superficial—losing both the need and the ability to read between the lines. The church is no exception. In our time, faith and the church are also becoming superficial. The first sign of this is 'spiritual distancing.' The Word of God fails to pierce deep into our souls because we ourselves have become shallow. Fellowship within the church rarely moves beyond a surface level. This superficiality has sowed the virus of 'isolation' within the church, infecting our activities and culture, and ultimately giving birth to a superficial church.
This superficiality is not merely a cultural issue; it is a tendency of sin. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, sin has brought alienation from God and from one another. This sinful nature within us hinders us from moving toward deep, bonded relationships. Yet, every human heart harbors a longing for depth. Jesus' salvation has enabled us to transcend this superficiality and restore profound fellowship. The church is a community of people who deeply enjoy God’s grace and who, by breaking down barriers, experience deep spiritual intimacy with one another.
When a teacher of the law asked, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?', the Lord replied that faith is about relationship, and this relationship is a deep bond forged through profound love. The church is not just a place where we worship; it is a network of relationships bound by love in Christ. We may hesitate when asked if we are truly pursuing such relationships. This is natural, as perfect completion is impossible here. However, we must never lose our direction: repenting daily, loving more each day, and laboring for deeper bonds of love.
Deep faith consists of forming profound relationships of love with God and our neighbors. This depth is specifically cultivated through meaningful weekly worship and deep fellowship within our small groups (mokjang). To a world experiencing total alienation due to sin, let us show that true relationships bonded by deep love exist here. Let us become a church that can confidently say to those weary of loneliness, 'Come and see.'"
