Parable of Heaven (2) ​

If you look at the Bible, you can see that various interpretations of the kingdom of heaven are recorded. From the parable of the sower to the story of the five wise virgins, there are many different accounts of the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, the general view of heaven we know is that anyone who believes in Jesus can go to heaven. That is why they believe that if a person who has lived as an unbeliever throughout the world accepted Jesus even at the moment of death, everyone would have gone to heaven.

Can we all go to heaven if we live as unbelievers for the rest of our lives and only accept Jesus when we die? Then, why does the Bible explain so many parables about the kingdom of heaven? If, like ours, anyone can go to heaven if they only believe in Jesus, wouldn't it be necessary to explain this lengthily in the Bible? If our thinking is correct, the Bible is clearly creating contradictions. And if the Bible isn't wrong, we're doing something seriously wrong about heaven.

Then, we need to point out what went wrong in the process of misunderstanding the Bible, one by one. The first thing we must know about heaven is that it is not a place you can go to just because you have lived a long life of faith, nor is it a place you can go to just because you have a high position in the church or wearing a badge of honor. Heaven is a place you can only go to if you believe in the Son of God. Therefore, to the Jews who lived under the law, they must believe in Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh, and to the Christians who lived under the Holy Spirit, they must believe in the Son of God, who came spiritually.

In the New Testament, it is said that believing in Jesus is necessary for salvation is speaking with the Jews in mind. Therefore, Christians today do not have to believe in Jesus who came to the land of Israel to be saved, but believe in the Son of God who comes before the Gentiles to achieve complete salvation. . Therefore, because the Lord has not yet come to Christians, none of the living Christians have attained complete salvation. This does not mean, however, that all those who have died so far have gone to hell. Among Christians, those who live according to the will of the Holy Spirit will be saved by God, and those who disobey the will of the Holy Spirit will all come out through the resurrection of judgment. Therefore, the Bible explains the kingdom of heaven in various ways so that all believers can come to complete salvation by believing in the Son of God.

The parable of the vineyard in Matthew 20 is one of them. The kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, is like a housekeeper who goes out early in the morning to find laborers and bring them into the vineyard. After work, those who arrive at 9 am, those who come to work at 12, 3 pm, and 5 pm, pay their own wages and pay their own wages. He said that he was receiving denarii one by one. Then, when the person who came early in the morning complained to the master why he was paying the same wages as the person who came later, the master rebuked him, saying, “Why are you protesting because you are doing what I want with mine? .

In other words, “whether it is late or early, I am giving because I want to give, so why are you meddling?” However, this is the part that is not well understood by humans. Of course, it is customary to give even a little more to the person who arrives early, but why is it treated the same as the person who came last? It is because of this thought that humans believe that they can go to heaven according to their own thoughts.

The most important thing this parable wants to give us is that we do not go to heaven just because we have been living the life of faith for a long time. And when it comes to believing in the Son, there is no discrimination between those who believed from 9 a.m. and those who believed at 5 p.m. However, humans are chasing after this. Why is it that I believed in the Lord from the beginning, but I treat them the same as those who later believed? In that case, the Lord asks, “Why are you arguing with me when I do my own thing with mine?”

Not to mention the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-30), and the story of the five wise virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) is in the same vein. The foolish virgins do not have enough oil, so they run out of oil at dawn and doze off to meet the bridegroom. that there is In other words, the wicked and lazy people live their lives at risk because they depend on God for only today, but those who are deeply aware of their situation (sin) always know that they are sinners, so the voice of the Lord at any time When you hear this, you will immediately go out to meet the Lord.

This is not the only parable about heaven. It explains how to believe in the Son of God in so many different ways that it is so difficult for the believing people to believe in the Son of God who comes as their Savior after living under the law. How could it be so easy for people at that time to believe that Jesus, who was born the carpenter's son, is the Son of God? That is why Jesus continues to explain it to his disciples in parables. The book that recorded it is the New Testament.

If we look at the contents of the parable of the prodigal son who returned, a man has two sons, and the first son listens and obeys his father, but the second son does not listen to his father very well. In addition, the second son argues with his father in every way his father tells him to do, and in the end, he asks his father to take the portion that will come back to him, and then he suddenly leaves his father's side.

He left home because he didn't want to hear his father's nagging. First of all, he had the property he had inherited from his father, so he had no worries about whether he might not be able to paste his throat wherever he went, and there was no immediate regret. So, he was busy spending the money he had. Money is hard to earn, but easy to spend. Likewise, the wealth of the second son's wealth was quickly exhausted due to his debauched life.

As a result of the catastrophe, there was a great famine and even the people's hearts were atrocious. Because the people's hearts are ferocious, those who do not have no choice but to become more and more destitute. Then he realizes that he is in need and tries to beg here and there, but the time is right and there is no place to accept him. You can't help but go into a pig-raising house and just paste it on your throat. However, his family's circumstances are also difficult, so he can't help but want to eat as much as he wants to fill his stomach, even the nut fruit that pigs eat, but the Bible records that even that was not enough. It would be unimaginable for me. But difficult circumstances made him that way.

Then he groaned deeply inside. “How many laborers in my father’s house are plentiful, and in the end I die of hunger here!” (Luke 15:17) Whatever he was thinking, he jumped out of his seat and got up, eight! I would rather die of starvation here. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. See me as one of the hired men (Luke 15:18-19)!” With that in mind, he started running to his father.

As we examine the content of this parable, we should seriously consider what we should feel and realize. The parable of the prodigal son is the content that Jesus explains by entering into illustrations in order to enlighten the Jews at that time. Such an example can happen in our reality today.

What parent in the world wants their child not to do well? The wish of all parents with children is that their children do well. In this way, all parents give advice, scolding, and sometimes scolding their children out of love and caring for their children when they go down the wrong path in the hope that their children will be well. However, from the point of view of the children who accept it, they regard the advice of their parents as regulating them rather than obeying them. If such conflicts between parent and child occur frequently, in the end, the child will suddenly leave the parent's side like the prodigal son.

These behaviors of children include the intention that they do not want to be subject to parental control, but rather, the very bad idea that the parents should suffer because of me by leaving home like that is at the center. But it's not just the parents who suffer when they leave home. You have to know that in the end you'll end up in a much bigger, but bigger predicament for yourself. If you look at the words of the prodigal son in the text, you can easily guess it!

Parents who have lost their children are also unhappy. No matter how much a child disobeys their parents and runs away from home, who can sleep comfortably when their child is out of the house? Whether he sleeps or wakes up, there is no day to feel at ease knowing where and when this guy is eating well, where he is sleeping well, and who he is fighting with. On the other hand, if I open my eyes, I look out of Dong-gu several times a day, anxious whether I will return now or later, because I am eagerly waiting for the children who have left home to return to their parents as soon as possible.

How much more even human beings who do not have the truth, how long will God, the Lord of all things, be waiting for His children who have left home? All human beings are like prodigals before God. Wouldn't it be great if such prodigal sons could realize their own plight even through various tribulations and pains while they were away from home and return to their father's arms as soon as possible? But every time he sees his children, who do not realize their plight even after eating the bread of hardship, and who do not think about returning home even after eating and drinking because the world gives them the rotten fruit and rotten drink, is heartbreaking.

Still, the prodigal son quickly realizes his plight and can be seen quickly returning to his father's arms. When all the prodigals leave the house, they leave the house as triumphant as if they would never see their parents again. It's as if the world welcomes you. However, it is only when the money is thickly in the pocket for a while, and after the money runs out, it is treated as garbage in the backyard. Those who have left the house have no reason to know that. So, for a while, they get excited because they have money, but when they run out of money, they quickly become shabby.

Humans are most humble when they have nothing. Then what will we do? Will he repent of his sins and return to his father's house? Or will you continue to live in the world with your own ego up to the end? The Bible makes it clear that the prodigal son who returns with repentance for his sins will be accepted, but whoever refuses to return home without breaking his stubbornness to the end will never accept him, even if he has the status to become a child of God. .

Also, the Bible records that the father welcomed the prodigal son who returned after he sincerely repented of his mistakes without asking for his past wrongdoings. The reason is that the prodigal son, who has been away from home, knows better than his father what kind of pain the prodigal son lived through in a foreign land. Because such a child would never again disobey his father and say that he would leave the house.

Therefore, sometimes this great pain brings greater maturity. But we must keep in mind that not everyone is like that. This is because there are so many prodigals in this world who have left their father's house and have not been able to return. If we can, we should know that the life of obedience, obedience and following under the Father is a much more blessed life. How are you currently living? If you are living the life of a prodigal son who left home, you must return to your father's arms immediately. With a sincere heart, “See me as one of the hired men!”

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