But to do Justly, and to Love Mercy

I’ve never liked alien movies, since creatures with strange body parts and languages simply don’t appeal to me. Even the word alien used to sound frightening, at least until I became one living in Korea. With this newfound and disappointing realization, I decided that it might be a good idea to find out what God had to say about people like me who are sojourners or, more bluntly, aliens.

My first discovery was that He seems to be extremely concerned about those who have left their homeland for whatever reasons and are living among a different culture. In fact, in over twenty passages He commands kindness and even handedness to the alien, promising judgment to those who withhold it. In Exodus 22:21 God gives His people a reason for this call to mercy that they should be able to easily understand – they were at one time aliens in other lands where they were mistreated. He urges them  to carefully reflect on the suffering they endured so that they will be compelled out of love to reverse this curse by extending grace to those who find themselves in similar situations.

But God’s concern surpasses mere suggestions and carries with it instead a clear cut command for action. “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien” Lev 19:33. In Jeremiah 7:5-7 He warns the people that if they practice this kind of indifference and oppression His presence will not be with them and they will fail to receive His blessing. At one point, in Isaiah 58 He explains that if they want to be truly blessed they won’t find it through more fasting and prayer and putting on sackcloth, but by doing justly, releasing the bonds of oppression, and showing kindness to the stranger in the land.

So how does this apply to you and me? How are we to respond?

As a Southerner who grew up in Mississippi and moved as an adult to North Carolina, I know a lot about living among aliens in the land. I saw firsthand how certain people groups were oppressed and denied rights that others freely enjoyed. The issue hit closer to home when we moved to North Carolina where there was a large Asian community. I watched as a close friend was overlooked in crowds and excluded from conversations. Oftentimes we stood side by side at gatherings where I’d receive numerous invitations to lunches and get togethers while she’d stand inches away a mere vapor it seemed as those talking with me rarely even noticed her.

While I became increasingly aware of the oppression and opposition she and others endured, I considered myself innocent of any wrongdoing since I wasn’t participating in it. I prayed some about it and went on my way, unable to fully understand the extent of their suffering until I moved to Korea. Upon arriving here, it didn’t take long to realize that I not only looked different, but spoke another language and had completely different customs. I didn’t understand, however, that these differences would often set me in a place of discrimination much like the one my friend endured in North Carolina.

Over the course of four years, I’ve encountered many people who have shown me Christ’s kindness and love, treating me as they’d want to be treated. On the other hand, I’ve also on occasion been shoved aggressively in stores, excluded from events, and many times treated like a second class citizen when it comes to receiving promotions or benefits. With this kind of treatment a pain has emerged that I’d never felt before – one that I’d never had to experience.

All this said, I realize I have two choices in how I can respond – my way or God’s way. And while God has a lot to say about fair treatment of the alien, He has even more to say about loving those who hurt us, spitefully use us and even oppress us. He calls me to love, to forgive (70 times 7), to bless those who curse me and to keep blessing them with a genuine heart of faith that longs to see them come under the fullness of God’s grace and mercy, which He says will lead them to repentance.

Yes, I’m guilty of the same sins that have been committed against me. For many years I sat on the sidelines and watched with sorrow as others were oppressed, but I rarely took action. My own suffering has opened my heart to see that God’s call to mercy extends beyond sentimental feelings of sadness and regret, but demands that I step out in faith to be an instrument of healing and restoration for those who are enduring oppression. My hope is that God will take this hurt and use it for incredible good in the future as I’m now praying and believing that He’ll transform me from a mere observer to an activator on behalf of those who, like me, are calling out for kindness, justice and righteousness to prevail.

"Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, o man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Mic 6:7-8

http://www.justbetweenus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=315083

Storms of Life

Monsoon season in Korea is not the time to visit if you want to enjoy your vacation. As we’re making plans for family to come this summer, we’re determined to avoid this time of year when water gushes from the sky nonstop and winds blow and beat against our wall to wall windows causing them to rattle like they’re going to explode. Our three story villa, which has an amazing view of the bay, unfortunately also gets the most aggressive winds during this time since we have nothing standing between us and the waters. Like so many of the older buildings on the island it wasn’t designed well, so when these storms come water seeps and sometimes pours in the windows, puddling on the floor. It’s a stressful two weeks of constantly mopping up water, trying to keep the wallpaper and the curtains from being damaged and making sure we don’t have too much humidity in the apartment so the mold doesn’t grow.

As much as we wish we could make monsoon season disappear, we can’t. Thankfully, because it comes every year without fail we can be somewhat prepared for it. But when storms of life hit, they rarely follow patterns or give any warning. One day everything is fine. We wake up to a great cup of coffee after a peaceful night’s sleep, look around our beautiful home and think, “Life’s really been good to me.” Everything seems secure in our world, so much so that we can’t imagine it being otherwise. Then a call comes, or a doctor’s visit reveals unwanted news, or we enter into a disastrous situation that drops from the sky– something that as one person put it “just gets shoved down our throats.”

When storms hit, those closest to us quit saying how well life is treating us. They often don’t know what to say or how to communicate their sorrow or even how to understand the reason why circumstances so earth shattering could come and destroy a life they thought was so impenetrable. The storm that has blown our world apart scares them as much as it hurts us, so they back away and try to buffet their minds from the reality that something similar could wipe out their world in a matter of seconds as well.

All this leaves us alone to digest our tragedy, to try to make sense of events so seemingly meaningless. There’s no amount of thinking, researching, back tracking or focusing on what we could or should have done to give us peace or wisdom in the midst of a storm. The world tells us that we’re destined to go through life’s hardships so we have to toughen up, face the reality of what’s happening and “make the best of it.” The only alternative is to yield to despair like Job’s wife was tempted to do and just give up and die.

But God has a better way. He reminds us, along with giving amazing real life examples, that storms are going to come (not may, might or could, but most definitely will). He says that there’s only one way to survive tragedies and losses and that’s not to man up or try to handle it ourselves but to build our house on the Rock, on Christ -- to anchor our hope so firmly in his finished work on the cross each day so that when the lightening unexpectedly flashes and threatens to destroy us we’re standing on the one foundation that can’t be moved or removed (Matt 7:24-27). When we take refuge in him, we experience what Paul did when he said, “We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (2 Cor 4:8-9). We’re weather beaten but not destroyed by the storms of life because Christ is our Foundation, our Hope, our Deliverer. He promises that no matter how terrible the storm, how costly the destruction, it can’t separate us from his unshakable love and the promise that we’re his forever

Life can and often does change in the blink of an eye, and no one knows what will happen tomorrow (Js 4:14). If we live long enough, we’ll encounter huge storms, and they’ll likely be unexpected. One minute we’re here, the next we’re gone. One day we’re piling up wealth, the next our investments fail or we lose a job and everything we’ve worked for comes to nothing. One year we’re celebrating our marriage the next we discover our partner has found someone else and everything we’ve been living is a lie. One day we’re basking in our good health, the next we find we have only a short time to live. These scenarios are almost inconceivable because we often feel so secure, so alive, so blessed, so immovable in the hours just before the storm.

The option isn’t to make the storms go away. Like monsoon season in Korea, some are going to push their way into our lives no matter how vigilant we are in trying to prevent them. We can’t toughen up and weather them ourselves, since we’re just flesh and blood and honestly lacking the ability to control anything in the world. The only reasonable solution is to put our hope in Christ today and to trust him not only to get us through the hard times, but after we’ve made it through to deliver us from death and the grave. He promises that once we’ve surrendered our hearts to him, admitted our need of his saving work and transferred our trust from ourselves to his work that he’ll never fail us or forsake us. We may possibly die in one of life’s storms. But if we’re in Christ we don’t have to be afraid – even of death. "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rm 8:35-39).