The first Timothy Chapter 4 verse 7 says “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales, rather train yourself to be godly”. That means we need to train ourselves to be godly, to the point of godliness becomes ingrained in our bodies. Reading the Bible many times makes the events within it come alive before our eyes. Likewise, we have to train ourselves to be godly so that it permeates our whole being.
When I used to lead members of the Gloria Mission group to revival conferences, I taught them not only about faith but also about general manners. Especially, I taught them to honor their parents. I told them, “Use polite, respectful language with your parents. You should treat elders like elders. Only by living a godly life, you can truly be an adult” and I urged them to practice how they would behave at home.
When they went home and behaved exactly as they had been taught, their parents were so glad and proud of them. Just as parents rejoice when their children learn manners and act godly, our Heavenly Father is happy when we live a godly faith life. Because He is pleased, He cannot withhold blessings.
To avoid making mistakes before God, we must first know how to honor the visible parents. The Scripture “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”(Ephesian 6:1) means that we should first honor our parents to train ourselves to honor God. It is His call for us to practice godliness. It means, even by doing training and practice, we should make godly lives become part of our lives. It is the Lord's demand for us to make us godly to use us, that none can refuse.
God loves us and wants us to be godly to be blessed spiritually and physically. Because He loves us, He demands us to be godly. He wants us to live godly so we may receive blessings in this world and enjoy happiness in heaven in the time of the soul. To receive God’s love in this life and in the heaven, we living godly is essential.
Pastor Seok-Jeon Yoon
Extracted from Yonsei Newspaper #924
