Dear Brothers and Sisters, Shalom.

I am Won KIM voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Today, we will move on to Lesson Five, “You Are Precious”.

All of us are precious because God had created mankind, man and woman, in His honorable image. In other words, there is no place for self-abasement in our lives. Indeed, we are to cast such a notion aside, and, in its place, build up a healthy self-image in the centre of our being. Most of us are familiar with the Bible verse in the book of John chapter 3 verse 16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And in the book of Mark chapter 8 verses 36-37, the Bible teaches: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

These two verses tell us that we are truly precious in the sight of God. Which do you think God attaches greater importance to: the world or us? If you were to weigh your life against real estate, you will see His verdict: “You are more precious than everything in this world.” How precious we are to Him!

Consider what God did for us when we were once undeserving sinners? Why did He do that?

The Bible says that God loves us so much that He even gave His Only Son to die for us. That shows how He values your life and mine. It is only proper, therefore, for us to respect our own lives.

In the Bible in the book of Romans chapter 5 verses 7-8, it reads: “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What did God do for us when we were once undeserving sinners? This verse tells us that our value in the eyes of God is beyond measure.

The expression “While we were still sinners” highlights that God gave us His Only Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ -- the Ruler of the Universe to die for our sins when we did not deserve to receive any good from Him.

Can you imagine the Minister of Health volunteering to donate his kidney to you to replace your ailing organ? Do you think that would happen one day? The Bible says God loved us when we were still sinners -- even giving us His Son so that we have a new life again. How He treasures you and I!

 Why do so many people have feelings of self-abasement or self-conceit today? This comes from making comparisons with other people around us. So, you and I must start by acknowledging the different gifts and abilities that God has conferred upon every one of us.

At this juncture, allow me to quote the Bible in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 4-11: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

 God has conferred different gifts and abilities to every one of us; are we then to go into self-conceit or comparison mode with others because of these blessings? Obviously, such behaviour is not in order. These blessings are for us to build up the body of Christ -- His Church. They should be used to serve one another so that everyone benefits. In other words, they should not be taken as our boasting rights, as if these did not come from God at all. Neither should intelligence and abilities be used to measure ourselves against others -- and get excited about one-upping someone else.

Picture this: one fine day, the mouth questions why the nose is seated above it. To which, the nose snaps back, “C’mon, can you sink in your teeth before I sniff through all these offerings?”  The nose, in turn, grumbles that the eyes are above it. The eyes hit back in surprise, “Hear, hear! Won’t you have to snoop all over the place if I hadn’t been looking for food?” Irritated, the eyes now enter the fracas, too, “Why are the eyebrows planted over me. I don’t buy that!” After a pause, the eyebrows retorts mildly, “Pray tell me, where do I fit in, if not here?”

Dear brothers and sisters, every one of us has a role to play and should therefore be at the right station at the right time. There is no need to put yourself down: Isn’t the heart the most critical organ in the human body? It is working 24/7, totally out of our sight!

The fact is that some gifts are more visible than others. Some gifts are on prominent display, others are more like backstage players. No matter what the situation may be, no one should deem himself to be of lesser value. Indeed, all gifts, seen or unseen, should be attributed to the glory of God, harnessed to edify people and used to build up the Body of Christ.

How God Measures Success, and What He Wants Us to Do

God has deposited various gifts within us, so how should we measure up? What does He want us to do? Is it to be successful? Obviously not. Just look at the two Bible verses below:

In the book of Luke chapter 12 verse 48, it reads: “But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

And

In the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1-2, it reads: This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, how does God measure success, and what does He want of us?

Everyone needs to requite God for His gifts. As told in the parable in the book of Matthew chapter 25 verses 14-30, the responsibilities of the servants were in accordance with what they have been gifted.  The greater the gift, the higher would the returns have to be, and vice versa.  To the servant who returned another five bags of gold after being trusted by God with the first five, the master praised him as a good and faithful servant, but not if he could just make one bag from the same gift. On the other hand, if he had been gifted with just one bag, no one is expected to return another five either. Just one bag will do.

 “Success” as mentioned here corresponds to what the Bible speaks of as ‘loyalty’ – doing one’s best as a servant of God. This is different from that demanded by the world, where we are differentiated by what we have acquired or hold in our possession. I would have to achieve something spectacular, even earth-shattering, before I am to be counted, or catch the admiration of others. No, the Bible does not see things that way. The keyword here is “loyalty”, in other words, we need to exercise 100% responsibility in our work, to become the “good and faithful servants” in His sight. Long story short, it’s all about us going for our best, and not fighting for the best.

Affirming and Respecting One Another

Let’s move on to two more Bible passages, first in the book 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 27:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all these parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable, we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Next, the book Romans chapter 15 verse 7 teaches us: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Believers in the church are parts of a body; each one is endowed with different gifts. What must be done to help each of us build up his own self-respect and affirm his self-worth?

To begin with, we must recognize that we are inseparable from one another as a single entity. There is no way that I can separate myself from you, nor you from me. We are members of the same body as designed by God; as such, He will allow no part to be removed, no matter what happens.  

 We have to accept our own limitations.  It is only when we acknowledge that no one person is capable of doing everything that we can accept the inadequacies of other people around us. It is not right to demand other people to have no limitations when we are no better ourselves. Neither would it be right for us to claim that we have no limitations. Every one of us has his own limitations.

It is for this reason that we need to help one another, respect one another and care for one another. What do you do when there is something wrong with your foot? None of us would leave it alone. On the contrary, we would be paying more attention to it. When we find that we are not able to tote a heavy load with one arm, it is only natural to put both arms into use. Why? Because it’s all for one, and one for all! As part of the same whole, it’s only natural that we support one another, care for one another and affirm one another. This is crucial. You could be having a stroke if you don’t feel a thing at all! Let’s hope such a situation would not befall our church; let us love, edify, affirm and respect one another instead, so that the presence of everyone would be accorded due respect. This is of paramount importance.

Let me now end with a story. One day, someone picked up an egg laid by an eagle and deposited in in his backyard together with other eggs laid by his chickens. By and by, the baby eagle hatched out together with the rest of the chicks and grew up with them. The young eagle lived with and behaved as another member of the brood. It joined everyone and scratched the soil, looked for worms, chirped around and occasionally flew up above the rest. The days went by and the eagle grew old. One day, it lifted up its head and saw a huge bird spreading its magnificent wings as it circled above them. It looked so grand, so gracious, so majestic that all the chickens gazed at it in awe. “Hey, what’s that?” someone asked. Another volunteered, “That’s an eagle, the king of all birds! It belongs to the sky, while chickens like us belong to the earth!” From that day onwards, the grounded eagle lived as a chicken for the rest of its life, because it just considered itself a chicken.

What would we do if we were that eagle?  Let us pray to the Lord as we are touched in our hearts. Let us affirm ourselves, release our potential to the fullest in Christ, so that we can be of use to Him. Amen.

Let us pray

Dear Father, we give our thanks to you, because you have renewed our lives with your power, and showered us with different gifts to serve you. We are most grateful to you, O Lord, for enabling us to serve you with these gifts. You have affirmed that we can offer ourselves to be your precious vessels. May our lives not be in vain, show confidence within our fellow men and await in humility in your presence. We want to be of use to you, to bear witness to your Holy Name as we spread your Word far and wide. May the way we live our lives touch the people around us so that their own lives would receive affirmation, acceptance and support. May our prayers reach your Ears, O Lord! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address： [email protected]