Matthew 16:24-27
Every one of us has an ambition, or a desire to live a successful life. We want to be success in whatever we do; be it in the church like this, in the family, in the company, or at the university. The success of a person in all these areas is determined by hard work, personal commitment, and skills. Without hard work, commitment, and skills it is almost impossible to be succeed in life.
We have a number of successful people around us; Yeong Gi Cho, Moksanim, because of his commitment, hard work and love for God’s people, or an athlete Kim Yu-na, who has recently compete her first world female skating championship successfully, or Barak Obama, the existing US President, for his hard work and skills by using the word ‘change’.
On the other hand, the success of a person is counted by his income, wealth and possessions. If you earn a lot of money and become rich, people we say, “Wow, what a successful person!” There are so many successful people in this area; businessmen, company owners, millionaires, and others.
We all can become successful in one way or the other. You can become wonderful preacher, and a successful Pastor like Yeong Gi Cho or Rick Warren. You can become a successful engineer, businessman, educationist, and musician. You can become a successful father or mother. Yes, you can enjoy a successful life by having a good husband, or a good wife, Amen. All these are part of our life and they are important to us.
However, the word ‘success’ in Bible has different dimension. Successful is not measured in terms of wealth, or possession, or professional skill, or good living on earth. When all these are part of human life, they are not taken as determining the success of a person.
Then, who is a successful person? Or, what do we mean by Successful Success?
1. A successful person is someone who lives for Christ. Living for Christ means following Christ, having good relationship. It is all about choosing the things of Christ rather than the things of the world. You chose to follow the teachings of Christ and give priority to the things of Christ. Once, there was a famous comedian celebrating his 50th birth anniversary. The birthday party was going on, and one of his friends was invited on the stage to say something about the comedian. That man stood up and begins his speech. He said, “Well, as we all know, this comedian is a good man. He truly loves God and he always admires the things of Christ. But, the problem is he doesn’t want to follow the ways of God…” People laugh at him, loving God but never follow his ways.
This is not what a successful person does. He not only admires but also follows God’s commandments. In Matt. 16:25, Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Choosing the things of Christ and following his teaching will determine the success of a person. So, living for Christ even at the cause of all other things on earth will lead a person into a successful ending. If your relationship with Christ is always right, you can be the most successful person in the world.
2. A successful person is someone whose soul/spirit is saved and secured. Soul is your spirit that keeps you living, moving. Your body without spirit is nothing and useless. Paul mentions elsewhere in his letters the contrast between flesh and spirit. In Matt. 16:26, Jesus said, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or, what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” The answer is ‘nothing.’ Nothing can be given in exchange for the soul of a person. A soul is worth more than the whole world. You are worth more than the whole world, Amen. So, gaining a soul is much more important than gaining the whole world. If your soul is saved and secured in Christ you are the most successful person in the world. But, the problem is- nobody cares for the soul, but the flesh.
You know the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man enjoyed the world and lived a luxurious life every day. But, he didn’t have the most important thing in life, i.e. (i) he has no relationship with God and (ii) his soul was not saved. So, he went to hell and suffered all kinds of suffering for eternity. On the other hand, Lazarus was a beggar who suffered all kinds of suffering during his earthly life. But, he believed in the God of Abraham and his soul was saved. So, he went to heaven and enjoyed in the arms of Abraham. Therefore, the real success of a person is not determine by his profession, skill, wealth, possession or good living on earth, but by his relationship with God. If the rich man believe in God and live for God, he would be the most successful as well as the luckiest person. Because, he will enjoy his life not only on earth, but also in heaven.
So, successful success means saving your life and serving for Christ. Success in life here on earth is one thing, but success for eternity is quite another thing. God wants you to live a successful life not only here on earth but also in heaven.
God bless you all to be Successful success, Amen. Praise the Lord, Amen.
(For Sungji Church, “Youth Worship Service 1 pm”, April 26, 2009)
