Testimony

Longing for pure love

When you walk the path of faith, you could meet many trials and questions in your life. That comes to us apparently like a challenge, and sometimes secretly like whisper. It would be good for us if we didn't have any difficulties and sufferings, trials. But those things come to us like a certificate that we are alive. When we meet trials face to face, we come to pray and pray, worrying things. Some things could take a long time to overcome for us. Sometimes we fall down because of trials and stand up again. Some difficulties are not difficult for us since that come to us too often.

What is the method of Jesus overcoming the test? How was the mindset of Jesus? I came to ponder about the method of Jesus who is our way to go. If you look at Matthew 4:1~11, it is a scene of Jesus winning over the test of Satan. Those three tests were not easy for a man to overcome in a wilderness. When Satan told him to 'tell the stones to become bread', it was after 40 days of fasting. And the next test was to throw him down to see whether God saves him.
Moreover, Satan tempted Jesus showing all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and telling to give them to him who was a son of the carpenter. Whenever he tempted he started the word of "If you are the Son of God." "Are you really the Son of God?" This is what Satan constantly asks to us He is showing the best cards to Jesus

When these tests came to Jesus, he overcame them with the words of God. We can find love and faith towards God in the answers of Jesus.

Other than the contents of the words of Jesus, now I want to focus on the heart of Jesus when he overcame with the words. The heart of Jesus was the same until the death. The core of the heart of Jesus, above all the Law and the Prophets, the biggest law in the heart of Jesus was 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ( Matthew 22:37).
That love was pure without impurities, and incomparable to others. What can come as trials when you love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind?

I think Satan wanted to test if the love of Jesus has any impurities or not. Is your love pure? If you are the son of God, do you love God with all your heart like a son? Do you love God in any situation?

Regarding the fact that he overcame all three tests, the answer is 'Yes'.

He lived with a pure heart in the world that is full of impure love. He considered the center of the heart as the most important one because 'LORD looks at the heart' (1 Samuel 16:7)
At the place of the cross, the pure heart of him was revealed the most.
Actually, the meaning of the cross is love, and it overflows like spring water. I don't know how much I have to ask to know that deep meaning of love. But what I know is that his love was 'true'.
Above all, this was stronger than death. Smart Satan made a mistake of testing Jesus with materials and glory because love of Jesus is stronger than death. I become speechless and silent when I look at that love. The love of Jesus smells like sweat of much suffering. The true love of blood makes my heart helpless.

When Apostle Paul found out this love, he confessed this in the letter to Romans.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."(Romans 8:38-39)

Now the question about pure love comes to all who follow Jesus.

This question came to Peter who had to run away with fear at the night that Jesus had been caught. Peter not only denied his teacher but also curse him, and he cried out looking at himself. But resurrected Jesus asked a question silently. This kind of question doesn't sound like a loud order. This question is deep in the heart, and it sounds like a whisper.

'"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"(john 21:15)

Peter answered like this.

"Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

I think peter couldn't help but to answer like this. He couldn't say "Lord, my friend John know that I love you" or "My brother Andrew know that I love you" because they remembered that peter had run away. Peter had to confess his heart with a standard of Jesus who knows his center of the heart. The center of the heart is known to himself and the Lord. So he confessed with all his heart regretting running away and denied Jesus. "You know everything. You know how much I love you, and how much I will love you, and how much I can give perfect love and faith." And he wrote down that confession with his life. Peter's life afterwards was 'confession of love' towards Lord.

I found out that so many people's lives were 'confession of love towards God'. I see how much they fought to give pure love and faith to God.

When we meet difficult situation, when we meet trial, we know that is the time when we can reveal true of towards God. That's the time of discipline to take off the impurities. I have the scars of the past days. Those days were precious memory, however, still there are unsolved pain inside of me. But when I prayed for this, God said, "and yet, you tried to follow my will. I received that as your love towards me" That's the time when I changed me attitude towards my scars and difficulties.

Just as Paul who were the slave of love, I want to overcome everything with love.. I see myself with hope not as a wounded remnant, but as a wounded healer.

Still, I have a love way to go. But I can have courage because there are people of faith before me. I hope my life to be confession of love that 'the Lord knows'.