How painful would Peter have been to weep after he betrayed Jesus? But it’s too late. The disciples denied and left Jesus but Jesus died on the Cross.
When Jesus who was tired on the cross said that he was thirsty, people offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. (Mark 15:23)
I think we, too, are like wine that is past its best. If you regret saying “I should have given an offering to God when I had money if I knew I went bankrupt like this. I should have prayed more when I had time. I would attend the early morning service diligently if I am as healthy as I used to be. Those regrets are like the wine that is past its best.
The Cross weighed 90kg when Jesus went up the Golgotha. Even though he was the Son of God, it was hard for him to deal with the weight because he was weak.
At that moment, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. It was not his will to carry the cross but Simon was blessed because his name has appeared in the Bible since he took the cross instead of Jesus.
Like this, we too must do the work of God at right time. Even though it is in the courtyard of the high priest, Caiaphas, where we have to deny we don’t know Jesus, we must be able to speak we are with Jesus.
Church members become lazy comparing to those days when they going and coming to the church since they are self-isolated at their home because of Covid-19. However, once you miss the right time to live a life of faith, it should be hard to recover. It will be a mistake if you think you can do it later. It’s because there’s no guarantee to do it again. Looking back on the first half of the year, let us examine our life of faith and settle it whether it’s stale wine or not.
Pastor Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #681
