Joshua Choon-Min Kang is the senior pastor
(Photo : )
Joshua Choon-Min Kang is the senior pastor

Wisdom that Pursues Beautiful Change The world is changing at a fast pace. If you do not change according to this changing age, you will get left behind. It is not easy to survive. It is great to be alive, and to survive. But in order to survive, you must pursue constant change. Of course, you should not pursue change for survival alone.

 

In order to live abundantly beyond survival, we must pursue change. We must pursue change not only for our own abundant life, but also to help others live a more abundant life. The life God wants us to live is an abundant life. It is to make others live abundantly.  There is not a person who doesn't pursue change. Everyone pursues change to some degree. We pursue change to be more healthy and beautiful. We pursue change to live better.

The problem is that although we are interested in change, but we do not know how to change. We will produce the same results if we live with the same thoughts, the same attitude, and in the same way. In order to make a change, you need to approach it with a different thought, a different attitude, and in a different way. If you try to approach it just a little differently, you will experience amazing changes. It is not easy to pursue change. It is because change accompanies pain.

Trying to change a wrong posture requires considerable pain. The Bible tells us to repeatedly change, again and again. It tells us to be renewed through change (Rom 12:2). The changes we see in the Bible are related to changes in thought, changes in mind, changes in attitude, and changes in character. Change in the Bible means growth. It means to be mature and to be fully mature. It means to become beautiful. It means to be attractive and sweet. Green apples taste sour. But green apples taste sweet when they are ripened to be red apples. Beauty and taste is revealed when it is mature. It makes a big difference between getting old and getting ripened.

The change we see in the Bible is to be transformed to be more like Jesus. It means to change in order to resemble more of Jesus. Jesus attempted to make great change. At that time, he pursed change that could overthrow all systems. When choosing his disciples, he did not choose the children of priests at that time. He did not choose the Pharisees. Instead, he chose lay people. He chose fishers. He chose tax collectors who were good with numbers. He also chose those who did business well to be His disciples. He chose a disciple who had political passion. He chose various people to be his disciples. Jesus sought after change that would come from the gospel which surpassed the law. That change was a revolutionary change. Jesus has made Jews and Gentiles as one through the gospel. He has made slaves and free men as one. He has made men and women as one (Galatians 3:28). At that time, he became friends of neglected tax collectors and prostitutes. He healed the poor, the sick, the wounded, and the prisoners, and set them free. He made nobody to be slaves of fate. For whoever believed in Jesus, he opened a way for them to be free from all their past, to be forgiven from all their sins and to be a new creation. This was a revolution of existence.

Professor Kim, Seon-wook defines the revolution as follows: "Revolution is an attempt to form a new system and to create a new order. The core of the revolution is related to the emergence of freedom and the appearance of freedom. It is also associated with a new beginning. ... The revolution is related to the spirit that everyone is equal before the law." (Kim Seon-wook, "Hannah Arendt's Thoughts," trans., Hangil, pp.133-145)The revolution that Jesus accomplished was a new beginning in creating a new system and a new order through the gospel. It also restored the primitive order that all men are equal before God.How, then, does the change come about? First, we are changed through pain. Pains such as poverty, deficiency, failure, conflict, disease, and trials change us. Second, we are changed through dreams. A dream means a change from a painful reality to a beautiful future. Third, we are changed through encounter. We are changed through our encounter with Jesus, encounters with great people, encounters with good books, and encounters with events that create change. Finally, we are changed through grace. Without grace, change and maturity is not possible. When God's grace comes, we are changed and become mature. The reason is that the ultimate change comes only through God (1 Cor 3: 6-7). May God bless you to live a life pursuing change and maturity every day. Blessings. Joshua Choon-min Kang from Pastorate