Lee Su Jung: A Man of Macedonia for Korea, Part 1

Posted on May 14, 2015 by tdillmuth

Photo 1_A Memorial PhotoIn this Voice of the Martyrs guest blog series, Pastor Kim Sung Chul tells the intriguing story of Lee Su Jung, the man responsible for bringing Christianity to Korea–and the man who was martyred because of it.

In August, 2002, a folding screen was found in the birthplace of  Pastor Nijima Jo, the founder of Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan.  It contained a confession of faith written in a Chinese poem by Lee Su Jung, who made stupendous achievements in Korean church history.  Lee Su Jung was a Man of Macedonia for Korea, and he served as a guide for the path of the Holy Spirit to embrace Korea; otherwise the Holy Spirit may have passed by Korea from Japan to Southeast Asia. The Chinese poem on the folding screen is the only bequest in his own handwriting. The translation of the poem reads as follows:

If man has a heart to believe in God, it is compared to a tree with a root.  If man does not have a heart of compassion, the tree seems to have its root dried up.  A loving heart is like water and enriches the root.  The leaves fall in fall and winter, but its root does not dry up.

It is always spring for the tree; it sprouts, blooms, and gets leafy.  If man fears God and believe in His Word, he will be like a tree full of flowers,  full of great and sweet fruits with deep fragrance on each and every bough.  Its stalk is like that of a pine or a nut pine; snow and frost will never get it withered.

To the brothers and sisters in Doshisah University by a Korean, Lee Su Jung whose nickname is the Center of the Heart.

 [1] Kim Su Jin, Lee Su Jung, Forerunner of Korean Christianity, (Seoul: Jinheung, 2006), pp. 175-176.

Until now, his trace could be scarcely revealed in the memorial photo taken after the All Nation’s Japanese Christians meeting held in Tokyo from May 8-12, 1883. Lee Su Jung is seated in the middle on the first row, the fourth from the right, in white. Also in the picture are Elder Yuhasa, the Chair of the Japanese House of Representatives; Dr. Tsuda Sen, who presented a Chinese Bible to Lee Su Jung; Pastor Nijima Jo, the founder of Doshisha University; and the famous Pastor Uchimura Kanzo.

Who is Lee Su Jung who seats himself in all dignity at the center of the Japanese Christian leaders? Who was this Korean “Man of Macedonia” from the late 19th century?  Read Lee SuJung: A Man of Macedonia for Korea, Part 2 here Monday to find out.

About the Author 

The Rev. Kim Sung Chul 

CEO, ITC Inspirational Theatre Company

Former Professor, Theatre Department, Seoul Institute of the Arts

Former Guest Professor, English Department, Yonsei University

 

Posted in Korean Christianity, martyr, persecution | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Are Martyrs And Persecuted Christians More Perfect Than Us?

Posted on May 7, 2015 by tdillmuth

in gods underground 2When I’ve read stories of persecuted Christians, at times I’ve felt a little hopeless–hopeless in the sense that I know I can never attain the level of moral and spiritual maturity that these brothers and sisters seem to have reached.

Those of us who work in persecuted church ministries like Voice of the Martyrs Korea, often highlight the positive aspects of the faith of Christians in persecuting countries, but we don’t always report on the day-to-day struggles that also beset them.

Our founder, Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, told about his own life in an altogether different manner.  In God’s Underground he tells of his sins and struggles right alongside victories and miracles. For example, Rev. Wurmbrand fully admits that early on in his time in prison he strongly considered killing himself.  He tells us that over the course of a full month he stockpiled enough pills to do the job (In God’s Underground, 42). He also tells the story of how he signed false confessions stating that he was an adulterer and a homosexual and that he sold the church bells and pocketed the money for himself  (48).

Rev. Wurmbrand freely shared how he struggled with thoughts of violence and sexual temptation.  He said,

I was also troubled by dreams of violence against those who had put me in prison, and tormented by erotic fantasies.  I was thirty-nine when I entered prison, healthy and active, and now the return of tuberculosis brought increased sexual desire.  Lying awake, I had hot sweaty dreams of sensual pleasure with women and girls, then-although I tried to drive them out-came visions of perversions and exaggerations of the act of love ( 62).

And Rev. Wurmbrand admitted to thinking too deeply about being released from jail if he would act as the church’s figurehead for the Communist government.  Wurmbrand said,

I needed strength from above to say no, when doing so meant serving eleven years more, with the sacrifice of my family and almost certain death under terrible conditions; but at the moment God’s face was veiled and my faith failed me (261).

Rev. Wurmbrand openly shared his struggles, temptations, and sins when he could have very easily left those portions of his life out of his books.

I hope that you don’t read the above quotations and feel more relaxed about your own sin.  I also hope the opposite isn’t true . . . that your respect for Rev. Richard Wurmbrand might somehow be diminished because of the sins with which he struggled.  My goal in sharing these quotations is to remind us that Christians who suffer in parts of the world like North Korea, Syria, and Eritrea are human beings just like you and me.  They struggle with sin, just like you and I do.  They are in need of a savior who can forgive their sins, just like you and I are.  And except for the grace of God combined with good discipleship, they would not be able to endure in times of suffering, imprisonment and certain death.

Instead of looking at the faith of these men and women as never being attainable, we can imitate (1 Cor. 11:1) their courage, their reliance on God, and their faithfulness to God despite difficult circumstances.  We can also understand how amazing their steadfastness really is . . . because morality and spirituality do not come any easier for them than for us. These men and women are able to stand for Jesus not because of their own goodness, but because they were discipled by other Christians and because of God’s grace given to them in their time of need.

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Status Update: Sinners Sin. Instead Of Being Outraged, Let’s Be The Church

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Pastor Foley

Facebook is a popular forum for confessing sins.

The sins of others, that is.

We Christians have an insatiable, prurient appetite for viewing and sharing posts expressing outrage and alarm over those whom we are sure are doing things that are very, very, very wrong.

And yet, it should not surprise us that sinners sin. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit, they make poor choices rather than wise ones. They exhibit little self-control. They act in partisan, self-serving, self-aggrandizing ways.

The truth is, we should actually be surprised when sinners don’t sin. That would be worth posting on Facebook.

Also worth posting would be outrage at our own actions. The Apostle Paul was a pioneer in this regard. You can almost envision him posting the following status update:

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Imagine what would happen if Christians posted outrage at our own personal actions on Facebook, not the actions of others. Imagine what would happen if we ceased being outraged, shocked, or stunned by the actions of sinners. Imagine if the only way we posted about the actions of sinners was empathetically, readily admitting that if it were not for the indwelling spirit of God, we ourselves would be committing far more grievous sins than these. Consider what could change if Christians interceded for sinners rather than mocking them or being outraged by them.

And by interceding, I do not mean the “Take a look at what this world is coming to; God help us” kind of prurient despair. I mean the kind of intercession in which “God help us” identifies us with the sinner, not the purported righteous among us. For while we were yet sinners…

It is worth noting that the Christians in the Middle East who first encountered invading Muslim armies did not post their alarm and outrage on Facebook. Instead, they confessed that this was just judgment for the way they as Christians had failed to honor and obey the Savior’s commission for us to go unto all nations and teach them everything he had commanded. They saw the Muslim incursion as a call to self-examination and repentance, not a call to arms.

Rev. Christopher Akinola, a Nigerian pastor, takes just such an approach as he considers how Christians, especially pastors, in the lead-up to the last election focused their energy and attention on warning about the dangers of electing the Muslim candidate and the trouble this would mean for the Christians of Nigeria. Pastor Akinola suggests that the more immediate and certain danger for Nigerian Christians…is Nigerian Christians. I highly recommend you read his article and consider how it might apply even moreso to us.

This is not a call for Christians to abandon politics, nor for Christians to stay silent about sin. It is simply a reminder of the Lord’s command to us, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly…”

There’s a way to begin to bring about this sea change on Facebook: We can embody it ourselves. We can make a point not to click on links expressing outrage or statements like the ones above. When we do comment about sinners, we can use the word “us” to identify with them rather than to identify with the purported righteous. We can give glory to God by publicly acknowledging, “I can understand this struggle, this foolishness, this behavior. After all, there but for the grace of God go I.”

After all, sinners were not drawn to Jesus by his outrage nor by his silent affirmation of their sin, but instead by his standing “in the number” with them.

He even sent them friend requests.

Posted in Doing Good | Tagged , | 2 Comments