여러분의 청빙을 받아서 이곳 울산교회에 부임한 지 벌써 석 달이 되어갑니다. 그동안 늘 마음속에 떠나지 않는 주제가 ‘만남은 하나님의 선물’이라는 명제입니다. 선물은 그 성격상 받는 사람이 그 내용을 결정하는 것이 아니라 주는 사람이 결정한다는 것이 특징입니다. 물론 요즈음 새로운 세대는 미리 받고 싶은 것을 주문하기도 하지만 그것은 탈격식에서 나온 것이지 고전적인 선물 개념은 아닙니다. 하여간 나는 만남은 하나님의 선물이라는 생각을 요즈음 더욱 여러분을 만나면서 더욱 자주 하고 있습니다.
태어나서 부모를 만나는 것도 하나님이 주신 선물입니다. 자식 편에서는 우리가 미리 신청해서 부모를 청약한 것도 아니고 부모 편에서는 자식을 분양받은 것도 아닙니다. 미리 제품 사양을 결정해서 주문 제작한 생산품도 아닙니다. 만남을 결정하신 분은 하나님이십니다. 자라면서 만나는 친구들도 하나님이 주신 선물입니다. 때로는 친구를 주시도록 기도해서 얻기도 하지만 여전히 하나님이 주신 선물임에는 변함이 없습니다. 성숙 한 다음 가지게 되는 배우자와의 만남도 하나님이 주신 귀한 선물입니다. 우리 편에서 보면 우연히 만날 수도 있지만 잘 생각해보면 하나님의 필연 속에서 이뤄지는 사건이요 하나님이 허락하시는 선물입니다.
지난해는 년 초부터 부쩍 자주 내가 지내온 삶의 여정을 회상하면서 그 여정 하나하나로 인해 하나님께 감사드렸습니다. 지나온 여정마다 아름다웠고 때마다 소중한 분들을 만나게 하신 분께 감사드렸습니다. 삶의 여정마다 하나님이 주신 소중한 분들로 인해 감사할 수 있다는 것은 얼마나 큰 특권인지 모릅니다. 주일날 만나는 백오십여 명 남짓 되는 얼굴 하나하나가 내게는 소중한 하나님의 선물로서 새삼 여겨졌던 것은 내가 감지하지 못한 이별을 앞두고 있었기에 하나님께서 미리 준비시킨 과정이었는지 모릅니다.
하나님의 소명 앞에 그토록 소중한 분들과 헤어짐이라는 내 생애에 가장 어려운 순간을 통과하고 이제 여러분과의 만남을 하나님의 선물로서 얻게 되었습니다. 여러분이 제게 허락하신 하나님의 귀한 선물이듯이 저도 여러분의 생애에 하나님이 보낸 좋은 선물이 되기를 소원하고 있습니다. 부모와의 만남도, 친구나 스승과의 만남도, 배우자와의 만남도 소중하지만 성도에게 있어서는 누구를 목사로 만나느냐하는 것도 결코 사소한 복이 아닙니다. 그런 면에서 울산교회 성도 여러분은 하나님의 특별한 사랑의 대상임에 틀림없습니다. 지난 33년간 귀한 목자를 허락하신 분께서 또한 부족하지만 저를 여러분에게 선물로 주셨기에 여러분과 함께 하나님께 감사드리고 싶습니다. 목사와 교우와의 만남뿐만 아니라 구역에서, 기관에서 여러분의 만남도 하나님의 귀한 선물입니다. 하나님의 선물로서 서로를 바라보며 서로가 서로에게 더욱 귀한 선물이 되도록 기도하며 복되게 살아가는 한 해가 되기를 소원합니다.
It has already been nearly three months since I accepted your call and began my ministry here at Ulsan Church. Throughout this time, a theme has lingered constantly in my heart: the premise that 'encounter is God’s gift.' By its very nature, a gift is characterized by the fact that the giver, not the receiver, decides what it contains. Of course, the younger generation nowadays sometimes orders in advance what they wish to receive, but that arises from informality rather than the classic meaning of a gift. At any rate, as I meet you all these days, I find myself thinking ever more frequently that every encounter is indeed God’s gift.
Being born into this world and meeting our parents is a gift given by God. From the perspective of children, we did not subscribe to or choose our parents beforehand; nor, from the perspective of parents, were children adopted like a pre-selected allocation. Nor are we custom-made products manufactured according to pre-set specifications. The One who determined our encounter is God. The friends we meet as we grow up are also gifts from God. At times we receive them through prayer asking for companions, yet it remains undeniably true that they are gifts from God. Meeting a spouse once we reach maturity is also a precious gift granted by God. From our human perspective, it might seem like a chance meeting, but when we reflect deeply, it is an event unfolding within God's sovereign necessity and a gift granted by His hand.
Beginning early last year, I found myself reminiscing quite frequently about the journey of life I have walked, thanking God for every single chapter of it. Each past step was beautiful, and I thanked the One who allowed me to meet such precious souls along the way. What an immense privilege it is to be able to give thanks for the treasured people God has granted throughout life's pilgrimage! Perhaps the reason why each of the 150 or so faces I met on Sundays felt so anew like God's precious gift to me was because God was gently preparing me beforehand for a parting I had not yet foreseen.
Standing before God’s calling, I walked through one of the most difficult moments of my life—parting with those deeply cherished souls—and now, as God's gift, I have received this encounter with you. Just as you are a precious gift God has bestowed upon me, my earnest wish is that I too may be a good gift sent by God into your lives. While encounters with parents, friends, teachers, and spouses are all precious, for believers, the shepherd God appoints to pastor them is by no means a trivial blessing. In that regard, the members of Ulsan Church are undeniably the objects of God’s special love. The One who granted you a precious shepherd for the past thirty-three years has now, despite my shortcomings, given me to you as a gift, and so I wish to give thanks to God together with you. Not only the encounter between pastor and congregation, but also your fellowship within your small groups and ministry teams is God's precious gift. It is my prayer and longing that in this coming year, we may view one another as God's gifts, pray that we may become ever more precious gifts to one another, and live blessed lives together.
Dit is reeds byna drie maande sedert ek u beroep aanvaar het en my bediening hier by Ulsan Gemeente begin het. Gedurende hierdie tyd het 'n tema my hart voortdurend bygebly: die stelling dat 'ontmoeting 'n gawe van God is'. 'n Geskenk word immers gekenmerk daardeur dat die gewer, en nie die ontvanger nie, die inhoud daarvan bepaal. Natuurlik bestel die nuwe geslag deesdae soms vooraf wat hulle graag wil ontvang, maar dit spruit eerder voort uit informaliteit as uit die klassieke begrip van 'n geskenk. Hoe dit ook al sy, namate ek u deesdae ontmoet, besef ek al hoe sterker dat elke ontmoeting waarlik 'n gawe van God is.
Om in hierdie lewe gebore te word en jou ouers te ontmoet, is 'n geskenk uit God se hand. Van die kinders se kant af het ons nie vooraf aansoek gedoen om ons ouers te kies nie; en van die ouers se kant af het hulle ook nie 'n voorafbepaalde toekenning ontvang nie. Ons is ook nie pasgemaakte produkte wat volgens voorafbepaalde spesifikasies vervaardig is nie. Die Een wat ons ontmoeting bepaal het, is God. Die vriende wat ons op ons lewenspad ontmoet terwyl ons opgroei, is eweneens gawes van God. Soms ontvang ons hulle deur gebed waarin ons om maats vra, maar tog bly dit onveranderd 'n geskenk wat God ons skenk. Om ná volwassenheid 'n lewensmaat te ontmoet, is ook 'n kosbare gawe wat God verleen. Uit ons menslike oogpunt lyk dit miskien na 'n toevallige ontmoeting, maar as ons dieper daaroor nadink, is dit 'n gebeurtenis wat binne God se soewereine voorsienigheid plaasvind en 'n geskenk wat Hy genadiglik toelaat.
Vanaf die begin van verlede jaar het ek al hoe meer teruggedink aan die lewensreis wat ek afgelê het, en ek het God vir elke liewe skrede daarvan gedank. Elke deurgemaakte reis was mooi, en ek het die Een gedank wat my telkens kosbare mense op die pad laat ontmoet het. Wat 'n onmeetlike voorreg is dit tog om dankbaar te kan wees vir die kosbare siele wat God ons op elke lewensreis geskenk het! Miskien was die rede waarom elkeen van die sowat honderd-en-vyftig gesigte wat ek Sondae ontmoet het, vir my opnuut soos kosbare geskenke van God gevoel het, omdat God my vooraf voorberei het op 'n afskeid waarvan ek self nog onbewus was.
In die aangesig van God se roeping het ek een van die moeilikste oomblikke van my lewe deurgemaak—die afskeid van daardie geliefde mense—en nou het ek die ontmoeting met u as 'n gawe van God ontvang. Net soos u vir my 'n kosbare geskenk is wat God my gegun het, is dit my hartsbegeerte om ook vir u 'n goeie geskenk te wees wat God in u lewe gestuur het. Die ontmoeting met ouers, met vriende of leermeesters, en met 'n huweliksmaat is alles uiters kosbaar, maar vir 'n gelowige is dit geensins 'n geringe seën wie God as hul leraar beskik nie. In daardie opsig is die lidmate van Ulsan Gemeente gewis die voorwerpe van God se besondere liefde. Die Een wat u die afgelope 33 jaar lank met 'n kosbare herder geseën het, het my nou—ten spyte van my tekortkominge—as 'n geskenk aan u gegee, en daarom wil ek God saam met u dank. Nie net die ontmoeting tussen leraar en gemeentelede nie, maar ook u onderlinge ontmoetings in die wyke en bedieninge is kosbare gawes van God. Dit is my innige bede dat ons mekaar as God se geskenke sal aanskou, sal bid dat ons vir mekaar 'n steeds ryker gawe mag wees, en so 'n geseënde jaar saam sal beleef.