Transcription
[Applause] [Music] Let us pray, our loving God, our Heavenly Father, thank you for every opportunity we receive to meditate on your word. The word and we are yours; may your holy name be glorified in us. May today's word meditation be a cause for blessing and for the praise of your holy name. Graciously hear our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. I understand a current concern in your minds. It is: "When will this end?" It is very difficult for those going to this convention to summarize. However, for the past two years, I have not preached for more than four or five minutes in worship. I don't know if the Pope said this knowing this: "Do not preach for more than five minutes." Therefore, you can trust me; it will not exceed five minutes under any circumstances. I was watching the time here. We have a service at the church in Pullaloor, Tholikkode, at 8:00 AM. Everything will be finished: the announcements, the Mass, the sermon, everything. If there is a time like 9:40, it will be over. So, sitting on these benches for so long is not a very comfortable thing. It's not like sitting on a chair at home; it's not comfortable sitting on these wooden benches. I also know that you are not sleeping only because of this. Therefore, I will not trouble you further. I heard a sentence somewhere: "Adas pakshaphadashab ivaird ga." Therefore, you must call me again, and only for that reason, I will speak briefly. Time starts now. Today is Youth Sunday. The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verses 21 to 26. It is set aside for Youth Sunday only because the word "young man" is there. However, this is applicable to all of us. Therefore, we should not see this as a passage specially designed for the youth. A young man comes and asks Jesus, "Lord, I want eternal life." Jesus said, "You must obey the commandments." Then he asks Jesus, "What are the commandments?" The Lord said, "Do not lie, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, love your father and mother, love your neighbor." He was very happy and said, "Just ask if I have done all these things. I have been doing all these for a long time. Is there anything else?" Then the Lord said, "There is one thing lacking. What is it? Sell all that you have and give it to the poor." He turned away and went. He said, "That little bit of heaven is enough." If asked, "Do you want to go to heaven?" everyone will raise their hands. If asked, "Do you want to go first?" they will say, "No, I'll go after my daughter-in-law." Because they want to go to heaven without any rush, without any hurry. But there is no hurry. He went away. There are two small things to tell you here. One is that this young man's desire is to attain eternal life. Jesus told him the things for that. After saying there is one thing lacking, Jesus tells him, "If you wish to be perfect in goodness." So, why did he come? For eternal life. Jesus tells him, "Be perfect in goodness." So, we can take perfection in goodness as a synonym for eternal life, a synonym for eternal life. If we want eternal life, if we wish to be perfect in goodness, often we have no clarity about what eternal life is. It has no form, no scent, no appearance, no quality. Jesus says, "Be perfect in goodness," and that is a way to enter into eternal life. So, what is eternal life? It is not something received only in heaven. It is something we receive in this world by living a life of goodness. So, Jesus says that living a life of goodness is the way to attain eternal life. Second, he is told that there is one thing lacking. What is the lack? "Sell all that you have and give it to the poor." So, he is a Mr. Clean, so to speak, who does not lie, does not murder, does not commit adultery, does not steal, respects his father and mother, and loves his neighbor. But when told one thing, the Lord said, he said, "That little bit of eternal life is enough." We are also like that. We want eternal life, but there are many things in our lives that we love more than eternal life. We all live a good life, we are decent people. At least, looking at how we sit, one might think who we are. We are decent people. We come to church every week, which is not bad. But when it comes to some important things, we think it's okay even if we don't get eternal life, and we hold on to them. Is there anything like that in our lives? The love of money might be one of them. This young man went away sad because he has a lot of wealth, and he doesn't want to give it up. So, there are some things in our lives that we love more than eternal life. We all live good lives, we are decent people. At least, our posture suggests we are decent people. We come to church every week, which is not bad. But when it comes to some important things, we think it's okay even if we don't get eternal life, and we hold on to them. Is there anything like that in our lives? In the life of this young man, his love for money is the reason. Let me end with a story. We know Hudson Taylor, who went as a missionary to China. He had a girlfriend. Don't ask if a missionary can have a girlfriend. In the language of children, they are dating. For us, dating means eating dates. So, Hudson Taylor, he had a great desire to become a missionary. His girlfriend also had no problem with it. She was happy for him to become a missionary. But he prayed about where he should do mission work. God's answer to him was to go to China. He told this to his girlfriend. Then his girlfriend said, "There is no problem with becoming a missionary. If you become a vicar in Maramon, okay. If you are going to Andhra, sorry. I am happy for you to become a missionary, but if it is in China, I will not come with you." Then Hudson Taylor said, "Do one thing. Take two weeks' time. You also pray. God will speak to you." After two weeks, they decided to meet at Starbucks. I don't know if Starbucks existed then. They decided to meet at Starbucks. Hudson Taylor had hope. Surely, the God who called me to China will surely speak to my girlfriend like that. They met and talked at Starbucks. "So, what is your decision?" Then the girlfriend said, "I am very happy for you to become a missionary. If you are going to China, I am not going." Hudson Taylor was very sad. A girl he had loved for so long. Finally, Hudson Taylor said, "I love you very much, but I love the Lord more than you." Let us pray. Let us pray. Let us pray. This day has also become Youth Sunday. We thank you for the opportunity we have received to gather at your feet on this day. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. [Applause] [Music]