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

Love is the principle of learning. If you love, you will learn well. If you ask me why I read and write a lot of books, I would say that it is because of love. Love is to share.

 

To love is to share the best with those whom you love. You shouldn't just keep good things for yourself. If you have something good, you should share it. We share the gospel because the gospel is the best thing in the world. The gospel permeates in my writing. Why is love the principle of learning? Why do you learn well if you love? The reason is because love is to have interest. Love begins when someone is interested in someone or in some subject.

In school, if we liked a certain subject, it is very likely that we liked the teacher who taught the subject. We learn the best from the teacher we love. When we love someone or when we are interested in a topic, we tend to observe the person or subject in depth. Also, we always think about the person and subject with concentration. When you focus and think, mysteriously, you will see things that were unseen and you will know what you did not know. When you have deep interest, you will ask questions. An excellent question widely opens the door to learning. If you love, you will remember. As we have experienced, it is not easy to remember something. If we can remember well, we might be able to master any language. We can form good relationships through memory. If you remember the name of the person you meet and call them by name, you will experience a big change.

How can we remember well? The secret is in love. We remember what we love. Memory is a matter of love and care rather than a matter of the brain. The secret of Bible recitation is also in love. When we love the Word, we can remember it well. Of course, in order to remember well, we need wisdom along with love. Those who are good at memory relate what they already know and what they want to remember. It is difficult to formulate the matter of memory into a short formula of love.  I want to be fluent in English, but it is not easy. So sometimes I think that English might not like me although I love English.  

If you love, you will rejoice. The depth of love is to rejoice in something beyond the stage of liking. To love God deeply is to rejoice in God. Learning is not done in one moment but through repetition and continuation. Therefore, if the content you learn is not fun for you, you cannot continue with repetition. Serious things do not last long. On the other hand, fun things last long.

We human beings pursue joy. We try to avoid pain at all cost and seek for joy. So, if something is fun, we continue doing it. Not all fun is good though. Fun sometimes lead people to ruin. We must guard our hearts from the pleasure of sin. We must guard our hearts from being interested in wrong pleasure. The reason is because it can ruin us if we repeat seeking the pleasure of sin. If possible, we must pursue the joy that gives us benefit. We must seek sacred joy. If you love, you will change. Goethe said, "We are shaped and fashioned by what we love." What we love shapes us. It changes us. When you love someone, you change yourself as the person wishes. When we love someone, we become like our beloved. Like Ernest in the "The Great Stone Face" written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, if we admire someone and look at them often, we will become like them.

The secret to change is in love. When we really love someone, we become more and more like them. There is no other catalyst that is as strong as love. When we truly love someone, we are more committed and disciplined not to disappoint them.  The climax of love is sharing. The joy of love is the joy of sharing. Learn so that you can share what you learn. The joy of learning and sharing is the joy of love. As we share what we learn, we learn better. We learn more deeply. It will lead you to a more abundant learning experience. When you share what you have learned, share it with the language of the other person, not your own language. Share it with a language that the other person can understand and empathize with. Nothing is as precious as love. St. John of the Cross said, "The human soul lives for the things it loves." If so, love the Word and love God more. Also love the people around you more. God's love is always in us and near us. I love you in the Lord. Joshua Choon-min Kang from Pastorate