Once Life to Live, One Life to Give
Health and wholeness, this is what our groaning world desires so earnestly during these times of disease and pestilence. Many strive diligently to achieve health and prosperity during their allotted time on this earth, but as important as caring for our physical health, the investment of our time and energy to eternal things transcends the short 70-80 years of life we have.
These are the thoughts we were inspired and challenged with on July 29-31, 2022 at East Coast Korean Campmeeting at Collegedale, TN hosted by Collegedale Korean SDA Church.
One Life to Live, One Life to Give. This became the motto raised in our minds as we listened to Alistair Huong and Calvin Kim share stirring messages on what it means to truly live - to live a life of giving.
As exercise to our physical health, so is witnessing to our spiritual health and only as we give can we truly thrive. All of the natural world was created on this model of receiving to give and giving to receive again. When this balance is disturbed in our world and in our physical and spiritual bodies, stagnation and disease are sure to follow.
Our Restorer Savior, Jesus, came to live out a perfect example of a life dedicated to giving, living in perfect harmony with His Father God so that He could, in full surrender, give His life for us. As pilgrims on our journey on this earth and with Christ at our head, we are surrounded by so many faithful witnesses who have gone before us and the fire of their devotion lights our way. The words of this special music song resonated in our hearts as it echoed the sermon messages.
The children and youth program was based on Ephesians 6:14-18 as they learned about the Armor of God interwoven with health talks of the various vital body organs that an armor would protect. Through lessons, songs, crafts and games, the children not only learned about caring and protecting the physical body but more importantly the putting on of the spiritual armor, the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith, sword of the Spirit and the helmet of salvation.
In deeply studying these few verses, the secrets of living a victorious Christian life of giving were discovered.
The CKSDA English Ministry church members were so blessed through hosting this campmeeting as we all gained through personal experience, the joy and strength to be gained in the unity of one Spirit, each department working faithfully and uniting in one accord to give to others. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-13
We were in turn blessed more abundantly as the fire of the Holy Spirit ignited our hearts to a more fervent relationship with God, a fire, we pray, won’t cool down after the sermons end but one that will burn hotter to ignite other hearts in our spheres.
As the weekend came to a close we were left with this charge and resolve to put on the armor of God daily and live to give.
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Ephesians 6:18
So as the choir sang their final song, this question was asked:
“The field is white all around us
The Lord of the harvest calls
Who will work to bring one soul unto Him?
For night time falls
Who will offer hope to the hopeless?
Give light to a world so lost
For this is the day, this is the hour
This is the work of God.”
Will your answer unite with the hearts at ECKCM in this resounding response?
“Here are my hands to lift the lonely
Here is my voice to teach the way
Here is my heart, O Lord, please make it more like thine, I pray.
All of the courage I can summon
Each drop of faith that I can bring
All that I have to give I offer it to Thee
Here I am, Lord, send me. “
As we all, in our corners of the world, come together as members of one body of Christ, united through the Holy Spirit, let us join our voices in unison to say:
“We’ll raise the banner of virtue and carry the shield of faith. We will speak with the tongue of angels and we will sing His praise. For no power on earth can stop it, the truth will ring bold and clear til it’s reached every clime and swept every land and sounded in every ear.”
So put your armor on and join in the one job God has given us! Let us live the one life we have to give for the cause of God! Then and only then can we have true health and wholeness in our lives!