Unless you repent
“I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3)
We live these days in the situation of everything very confused. Not only COVID-19, flu, economic difficulties, dangerous international situations, domestic political turmoil, and moreover the Itaewon disaster occurred on October 29 last month further made bigger social anxiety. Thus those who quarrel arguing for selfish rights would have become much busier than before. At time of Jesus, it happened the cases, that Pilate the Roman governor of Judea killed the people of Galilee with related to sacrificial rite, and a watchtower collapsed at Siloam, were dead eighteen people. It seems that people at that time had also intention to blame someones for what happened. Than any other things for us, how desperate it is to look back on oneself!
What would have been the intentions of those who told Jesus of the atrocities committed by Pilate? By listening to Jesus’ answer, we can guess about what their intentions are. Maybe, it seems they had an impure intention to condemn rather the misfortunes of those dead. Such that situation on them makes us remind strongly of the typical impure psychology of human beings. People say commonly, that watching the fire scene and watching to do fight are the most funny things. Even if sympathize it true, we can’t help but feel bitter to hear that. Because myself, had once felt that way. Of course then, I tried to control the wrong thoughts with reason, organized my thoughts, prayed, and switched it to a good heart. But ahead of doing that, I can’t deny what the feeling of mind that instantly popped out was impure.
How sad and painful is it that they lost their life due to the tyrant’s atrocities and died because of an accident? If young people died of disease, and died in an accident while trying to enjoy the festival, their parents’ hearts would be placed within too big pain and sorrow. There will be so many people who become had a hard life lamenting what caused death and accidents. But the obvious answer to that is nowhere to be found. It may sound harsh, but the answer written in Bible is only the cause they had not repented of their own sins. Those who do not believe in Jesus and do not serve God may be anytime in face to such accidents. God’s object who made man according to His own image was in order to live in peace together through obedience from men. But since humans live as if they existed on their own, how can an incident of misfortune not happen?
Also the parable of fig tree that cannot bear fruit eventually teaches us the same lesson. The purpose of planting fruit trees is, naturally, to get fruits. The owner has wanted fruits through three years even, but he has not obtained any of them at all. So, the owner ordered the servant to cut down and throw away the tree. It is important to realize one’s mistakes and repent, but repentance must be accompanied by righteous fruit by all means. If they are good at saying often that they have done something wrong, but they don’t show changed behavior and good results, then such repentance is meaningless in fact. By looking at a child when young, we can guess the future of that child. When a person is youth, he may do wrong or bad behaviors due to lack of experience and judgment. Therefore, Bible says that children need lessons and disciplinary action by all means.
If you don’t repent and bear fruit, the life has to end in failure. This is Jesus’ lesson and God’s law. I really pray for their health and happiness, thinking people who live in agony with heartbreaking mind on account of disaster. However, it leaves for my mind to have another sad problem that cannot give up for them even though praying so. Because of that, I pray for them with sincere mind wishing to be saved in the name of Jesus Christ and become new persons of the flesh and spirit. Nevertheless, it seems what isn’t actually easy thing to be fulfilled is the matter the spiritual repentance and getting fruit. People say, they don’t know why and what they have to repent of any crime when they have not done anything wrong morally or by the law of society. Satan induces a person’s mind so that humans consider themselves the right person by oneself. By the way, if people hear Jesus came to call for sinners, so must be uncomfortable to hear. But, we should realize that even if they are righteous or innocent each other between people, the relationship between God and man has absolute difference.
To live making a lot of money cannot be necessarily a big happiness for man. Therefore people should depart from the thinking way of thinking based on the standard of money first. To be really important, it is to live with faith according to righteousness. Righteousness is like the qualified certificate of knowing the Holy God and gaining Jesus by faith. People with that righteous certificate can enjoy a peaceful life forever. To repent, that means believe in the Savior Jesus. To bear fruit means to live by the faith of practice. If don’t repent, you wouldn’t be able to escape out of unhappy life forever, because you’re not in spiritual peace.
(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Nov 27th 2022)