Finding my Family

“Then Israel said, ‘It is enough. Joseph son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” Genesis 45:28

One of the most tragic events of modern Korean history is the Korean War. It broke out in 1950 and it lasted for 3 years. A cease-fire treaty had been signed to take a break and that break has been lasting until now. Technically we are still at war. When the war started a lot of families were separated. As they were separated, they thought that this would be a temporary separation. But these families have been separated for over 60 years now. According to statistics in the 1980s there were at least 10 million people in South Korea that had families in the north. Since there were 40 million South Koreans during that time, approximately, a quarter of Koreans have families in the north.

The South Korean government and the north had come to an agreement to let the families meet in 1983. So the search to find families started. They had no idea whether the families were living or not so they had to make banners so that the television cameras can air them. The TV show holds the record of airing the program for 138 days non-stop. Over 53,000 cases were aired and 10,187 people actually found their families in the north and were able to talk to them over the phone. In 2015, over half of the people died without finding their families.

Here we have Israel, whose former name is Jacob. He lost his son many years ago. He thought his son Joseph was dead. And now as he finds out that Joseph is alive and that he is the prime minister of Egypt, he gets prepared to see his son. What a dramatic story!

I wonder if this is our story. We have been long separated from God due to our sins. God has made it possible for us to be together again through Jesus. The only thing in between is our choice to accept Jesus as our Savior. Only then, we can be together with Him again.

Clothes

“And he recognized it and said, ‘It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him.” Genesis 37:33

When I joined the Korean army due to mandatory service, one of the first things we did was to send our clothes home. As we entered basic training, we were given a brief orientation about basic training life. Of course, even this orientation included a lot of pushups. Then the training instructor took us around for us to collect government issued uniforms, toiletry, manuals, etc. Once we were done with that we were brought to the room where we would be staying. We all stood in one line. Then we were told to take off all of our civilian clothes, fold them and put them in a box. As the box was taped, we wrote down our home address on the box. They would be sent home soon. Imagine what my mom would have felt when she received the box. Her son drafted to the military, who would go through series of difficulties and hardships for the next two years. That life was symbolized by a box of my civilian clothes. It showed that her son was gone to live a difficult life.

It must have been worse for Jacob as he had in his hands the clothes of his son Joseph. The torn and blood stained clothes of Joseph truly broke the heart of this elderly man. He loved his son so much! And now he is gone. It was unbearable for this man that he would never see his loving son again. (We know the story did not turn out that way though.)

I wonder what God must have felt when the soldiers “crucified Jesus, took His garments and make four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic.” John 19:23. Jesus the Son of God was slain to death. It must have broken God’s heart, and yet it was necessary. Why? Because God wanted to save us. Because God loves us. That is how much God loves us. He sent us His Son Jesus. “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9

Following a car

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.” John 14:16

On Thursday night, I got done with the evangelism and got into the car to return back home. It was a long way back to get home. I had to go for over an hour. It was raining and not only that, there was fog all over. Visibility was not that good. I thought to myself, I would really be in trouble if I see a deer in this situation. I wanted to get home safe.

So I started driving. When I left the city and got into the highway everything got dark. And soon I caught up with a car in front of me. Usually, with my driving style (or I would say my temper), I would try to speed up on a two-lane road to pass that vehicle so that I wouldn’t have anyone in front of me. But this evening, I decided not to do that. I just drove behind this car, not too close, not too far away. I just followed the car. When it slowed down, I slowed down. When it picked up speed, I did the same thing. I let the car lead me and I just followed. I felt rather safe by doing that in this kind of visibility and weather. This car eventually led me all the way to Superior and I got home safe.

As Jesus returned back to heaven, He didn’t leave us alone in this dark and foggy world. As the verse above, He sent us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to lead us and guide us safely. As I had chosen not to pass that car and drive alone, but to simply just follow, we can do the same as the Holy Spirit is willing to lead us through. We can find security and comfort as we make the choice to follow according to His ways.

Being hated

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Mark 13:13

You know when I was young, I really wanted a pair of Jordans. I wanted to be like the other kids. I wanted to be cool like them. I begged dad for months to buy me a pair and in the end dad gave in and finally bought me a pair. I felt so cool and I felt like I was among the peer. Now as an adult I realize how expensive the shoes were back then (even today they are expensive). I know that wearing the pair of Jordans can’t make me better in playing basketball, or be like his ‘airness.’ I know the pair of Jordans can’t make me look more handsomer or make me become taller. I simply wanted them because I didn’t want to be ‘disliked,’ or ‘hated’ because I wasn’t as cool as the other kids. It’s so foolish when you think of it.

Many people who become Christians do not realize what it means to become one. They do not realize what they are getting into. Free gift of salvation is guaranteed as we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and yet until we see Jesus again in His second coming, it will not be an easy one. Jesus’ teachings are contrary to what all the ‘kids’ have and believe. To follow Jesus means to not be like the cool kids. It’s a quick path to being ‘hated.’

People dream of a bling, bling life with abundant blessings when they become Christians, when they don’t realize what it means to be faithful to Jesus and what He tells us, because there is so much sacrifice to it even to the point of losing your beloved ones due to your faith.

And yet, Jesus asks us to be faithful to Him. For He tells us that when we ‘endure to the end,’ we will be saved. We cannot be drawn to the temporary rewards of this current life. We must look to the joy of being with Jesus and all the rewards that He has promised in Heaven.