But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)
Young Nam left his family behind in North Korea to search for money and food
in China. Christians there helped him but on the way back he bumped into a
North Korean patrol, and he was arrested on the spot. A prison official let
Young Nam go after taking away all his money. Young Nam fled again to China,
only to be arrested by Chinese policemen. And now he was back in the same
prison with the same official who took a bat which was wrapped in newspaper.
After Young Nam had taken the beating, the guards dragged him back to an
overcrowded cell.
He convinced the prison official that he was not going to betray him and was
released a second time. If he wanted to survive, the only option was to go back
to China and stay there. He was able to secure a job working in the kitchen of
a Beijing restaurant. There he met Eun Kyung who also came to work in the
kitchen. Her husband had died in North Korea. Her sweet daughter died in her
arms and her son was put in an orphanage. She and a bunch of other women were
locked up in a house and sold into marriage to Chinese men.
Eun Kyung protested. “I have just lost my husband. Don’t force me to marry
someone!” The human traffickers listened to her and placed her on a Chinese
farm, where she had to work for room and board, but the family treated her very
well. She ultimately came to Beijing and met Young Nam. There was chemistry
between them. They took some secret Bible study classes together and they
married, also in secret of course. After a while, the situation in Beijing
became too tense for North Korean refugees, and the restaurant boss arranged
false passports and put Young Nam and Eun Kyung on a plane to another country.
Now, Young Nam and Eun Kyung live in small apartment far away from their
home country. There is little that reminds them of their painful past, unless
it’s the eyes of their baby. Inevitably the eyes look similar to the eyes of
the child she left behind in that wretched country with its love-wrecking
system. Eun Kyung holds her few-months-old son tightly. The child is tense. Eun
Kyung doesn’t seem to notice. She will protect this precious child with her
life.
After their escape from China, Young Nam and Eun Kyung really got to know
God by studying the Bible with a local pastor. They realized it was God who
protected them. “God saved us, brought us together and gave us another child.
We are very grateful for his love.”
Young Nam and Eun Kyung look to their son. For them, the child is a symbol
of God’s hope and love. They know that God will not undo the past. However, God
promises us that all tears will be wiped from our faces. That’s possible
because the Son of God, out of love, let Himself be crucified. God Himself
carried our pain. He knows what it is like to lose a child.
They conclude, “No matter what happened to us, we trust in God. We know that
He is love.”
RESPONSE: Today I will forget the past, rejoice in God’s love and be
thankful for all His gifts of life.
PRAYER: Thank You God that You can feel the pain
of those who have lost a child. May Your love envelop them today and wipe the
tears from their faces.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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