Let All That You Do Be Done in Love

We once lived in darkness, not even knowing that we were sinners. Then the light of Christ showed us our sin, and after the word and grace had washed us clean, we came to bear the name of saints.

Yet even after receiving so much grace and becoming saints, we took for granted the cross that stood beside us every day. At times we even told ourselves that of course Jesus had to die for our sins.

But as the Lord kept pouring out his grace and we were clothed in it again and again, we began to feel an ache rising from deep within our hearts.

That ache came because we had realized what the cross we took for granted really was: a death brought about by our sins. And the grace we had received and enjoyed so confidently was the pain of God, who gave his beloved Son to the world.

Having grasped that love and grace so deeply, the apostle Paul followed in the footsteps of Jesus and, carrying the same pain, brought the word of life to people living in darkness.

Jesus and the apostle Paul show us that loving souls always costs sacrifice. To claim to love souls without any sacrifice is a selfish love, one that cares only for its own salvation.

Paul had learned two things: only Christ, who gave his own life, can save souls, and only when we see God’s aching love at the cross can we share the pain Jesus bore. Knowing this, he took up his own cross and ran the narrow way.

First Corinthians is the trail Paul left behind as he ran that road.

As I preached through 1 Corinthians and then went through the work of turning those sermons into a book, I saw how little ability I have to show the depth of God’s work as it truly is, and I was deeply sorry.

So I think I tried all the harder to hear what Paul was saying. He preached the gospel with death as his constant companion, and his faithfulness and his love for Christ were a faith that no one could ever imitate.

God always placed coworkers at Paul’s side and shaped every circumstance so that he could preach the gospel. Seeing that perfect love, I came to know that if we are the first to forsake the world and do not doubt God, God goes to work ahead of us.

In more than ten years of ministry, one lesson has come home to me every time: when we give ourselves up and make sacrifices for the gospel, the joy and happiness that such devotion brings are far greater.

You who carry the love of Christ in your hearts can run as the apostle Paul ran.

Why? Because the more you bear the cross of Jesus, the lighter it grows.

Run with all your strength, and when you look back you will see that the Lord has made level the thorny paths and the valleys alike. You will see that it was not we who preached the gospel; it was the Lord who preached it and brought in the harvest.

If you give thanks in all things, you will see with your own eyes the grace and love that Paul received, and you will hear the sound of God laughing aloud. For the gospel we preach with our lives at stake is itself the reward.

February 2014
Cho Chun-sook, Senior Pastor of Watercourse Church