 |
North Korea publicly executes 80 people, some for reading
the Bible
|
“If the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed”
(John 8:36, NIV).
Kim had come home, unable
to speak. His mother could tell he was in shock and sat with him, soothing him
and trying to find out what had happened. Finally he began to open up to her.
“I was with one of
my best friends today when two police officers approached us. They grabbed my friend
and accused him of being a Christian. One of the officers knocked him to the
ground while the other took out his gun. My friend didn’t get angry or curse
anyone. He… he didn’t even try to defend himself.
“Even
as the gun was pointed directly at him, his face remained peaceful. He looked
straight into my eyes, and without speaking a word, I knew exactly what he was
saying. He wanted me to believe the same thing he did. And then he just said, ‘Bless
them.’
“He
was executed right in front of me – because he was a Christian. I do not even
know what a Christian is. I don’t understand any of this.”
Kim’s mother held his head in her hands. There were tears
in her eyes. Now it was she who was in shock. She then told him simply, “I understand.”
“How could you
possible understand why they would kill my friend?”
She slowly began to tell her son about her Lord Jesus
Christ, how He had miraculously been born of a virgin and crucified on a cross
to save all those who would believe in Him. As she continued sharing with her
eldest son, she began to sob. Now it was she who couldn’t go on. She felt the
pain of never daring to tell her son about Jesus Christ, lest his fate would be
like that of his friend. She also felt the overwhelming joy of knowing that God
had not forgotten her son, but allowed someone else to bring him the Gospel.
Finally she told him, “God allowed you to witness the
martyrdom of one of His brave children. As those bullets hit his heart, a seed
of hope was planted in yours.”
The son prayed that night and received Jesus Christ into
his heart. He was filled with joy as he embraced his mother and thanked her for
telling him the truth. But suddenly he began to weep again and appeared
distraught. Confused, the mother asked, “Now
what’s wrong?”
“My brothers,”
Kim cried, “they do not know Jesus. We
must tell them!”
His three brothers soon came home and discovered their
older brother and mother crying together. Their first thought was that
something terrible had happened to their father, and they quickly knelt down
beside their mother, asking what was wrong.
With unnatural boldness the eldest son stood up and
responded, “You should also receive Jesus
Christ.” Before the evening had passed, all three had done exactly that.
The mother was filled with joy. Although she had never
dared to speak to her children about her Christian faith, she had diligently
prayed for them every day. Now that her children had accepted Jesus, she began
cautiously looking for a Bible so they could learn more of God’s Word. But she
could not find any.
Eventually her oldest son secretly crossed the Yalu River
into China in search of Bibles. You can imagine the look on his face when he
finally came across a miniature Bible in the Korean language. He pleaded with
the Christians in China, asking how he could obtain some of these Bibles. Regrettably
no more were available. Refusing to admit defeat, he told the Christians the
dramatic story of how he had witnessed his friend’s death and how he and his
brothers had learned of Jesus Christ. Before departing for North Korea, he
said, “I am in need of five thousand of
these Bibles to share with my family and others in North Korea. I will be back
in one month to pick them up.”
Hearing of her request, some Christian workers hurriedly
printed five thousand copies of the miniature Korean Bibles. Over the next year
or so, Kim returned on several occasions to smuggle the Bible back across the
border. All four of these brothers are now actively sharing their faith,
knowing first-hand the consequences if they are discovered. Since their last
pickup of these Bibles some months ago, no one has heard further news of them.
[Taken from Jesus Freaks: Revolutionaries (2002) by
dc Talk. Title mine]
The cost of serving Jesus Christ is your life.
What are you doing with your life now? For Christ and
His Kingdom? or for self?
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
No comments:
Post a Comment