우리들교회

First, a God who invites even when we refuse.

The eldest son is returning home from a hard days work in the fields when he hears the sound of wind music and dancing near his house. He calls a servant to ask whats going on. He hears that his younger brother, who has been living off his fathers inheritance, has returned healthy and happy, and that his father has excreted his feast by catching a live calf. Upon hearing this, the firstborn son is furious and refuses to enter the house. However, my father invites the eldest son, who is living in hell, trapped in his own thoughts, feeling victimized and ashamed that he was the only one who worked hard, to enter the house.

There were times when I was a broken reed and strongly rejected my fathers counsel in the face of injustice. When my ex-wife was having a hard time at work, I would say, 'Its because youre not clean,' and I would point out the little things, demanding that she keep up appearances like a preachers wife. One day, I saw her cell phone messages and found out that she was having an affair, and I was very upset, thinking, 'Ive been working so hard in the ministry, and Im not even a goat!' But I couldnt share it with the community because of my dignity and sophistication, so I broke off the relationship through divorce. Then, when I was going to school as a returning student, I met Pastor Yangjae Kim, who was a lecturer at a faith retreat. When I heard her testimony of interpreting suffering and coming back to life through meditation on the Word, I thought, 'She is real!' and her presence at the retreat was Gods invitation to me to come home.

When things happen that we dont want to believe, when things happen that we cant acknowledge, we leave the church, we blame God, we retreat into our own caves, we divorce, we commit suicide, we lash out, and yet God comes to us and invites us to worship, invites us to attend the ranch, invites us to cutie. Because thats how were set free from the events of resentment and can enjoy the true joy of God.