Faith & Life

Worry First, Enjoy Later

先憂後樂 This is a four-character Chinese idiom written in the essay, Yueyang Lou Ji (On Yueyang Tower) by Fan Zhongyan, a noted premier in the Northern Song dynasty of China. It means, “A venerable man is concerned about the future of the country before others begin to do so, seeking his own pleasure only after the people are assured of their happiness.” So this expression is often mentioned to emphasize the mindset of those who are entrusted with something great of a country. In the Bible too, there is such a role model. It is Apostle Paul. In the process of preaching the gospel, although he encountered so many dangers and went through overflowing sufferings, he was always concerned about…

I Am Always on Your Side

When I was a high school senior, whenever I needed pocket money, I used to sell my articles online rather than ask my parents for allowance. Trade of used articles seemed to have many advantages; I could not only make pocket money but also clear away the items I no longer used, and I could have a sense of economy. Fascinated by used goods trade, I thought over how to make a profit through the trade although I outwardly seemed to study hard in the reading room like other students. While spending precious time on buying and selling things, Scholastic Aptitude Test was just around the corner. One day, I received a call from the police station. I was told…

Kang Min-seo from Seongnam, South Korea

Banbogi (Meeting at the Midpoint)

In Joseon Dynasty in Korea, married women could hardly visit their parents. At that time, a married daughter was no longer a member of her own family and had to become a member of her husband’s family thoroughly. Such daughters-in-law were allowed one-day trip to their parents around Chuseok, an autumn festival, after a busy farming season. But staying away from home overnight was not considered acceptable for women. What was worse, if their parents lived far, it was not easy for them to return home the same day. That’s why they had banbogi. Banbogi was a custom of married daughters’ meeting their family members at the midpoint between the two villages. In anticipation of banbogi, women prepared special delicacies…

Age Groups

In 2015, the United Nations [UN] presented the age groups again, considering the average life span, physical changes, etc. This result was brought by taking the increase of the elderly's longevity with the development of science and medical technology into account. When we look into the age groups divided into five stages, until age 17, it’s considered as under age, age 18–65 as young adults, age 66–79 as middle-aged, age 80–99 as older person, and age over 100 as elderly person; we’re literally living the 100-year life. Some perspectives think it’s chimerical but generally people are welcoming the new age groups because as much as young adult and middle-aged period—the most energetic and active period in lifetime—is long they will…

Opportunities in Everyday Life

People say, “An opportunity is just like long bangs which we find it easy to catch but hard to recognize that we miss it often; it has no back hair, so we cannot catch it again once it gets passed by; it also passes so quickly as if it has wings on its shoulders and heels.” So people say they have to grasp the opportunity at the right time. But how many times in our lives do we sense it, thinking, ‘This is the very opportunity!’? If we can recognize the golden opportunity at first glance, none of us will foolishly miss the opportunity. Opportunities come into our everyday lives and constantly flow like time. Ichizo Kobayashi, a Japanese industrialist,…

If We Work with One Mind

In the morning after a heavy snow warning was issued, I received a message that we were going to volunteer to remove the snow. When I got ready and arrived at Zion, it was already crowded with brothers and sisters, holding different kinds of snow removal tools, even from the entrance. We made teams and left for each assigned location. The snow on the big road around Zion had already melted, but in small alleys were icy roads. We started to remove the snow, walking carefully as if we were stepping on an ice skating rink. Although there was no one giving directions, we knew what to do; those with shovels broke the ice, those with brooms gathered the broken…

Im Mi-ran from Seoul, South Korea

Like a Diamond

Diamond is considered to be the emperor of gemstones and the hardest natural mineral on earth. It’s composed of carbon just like graphite that becomes a material of pencils and charcoal. Although diamond and graphite are made entirely out of the same atoms, while graphite and charcoal break up easily and appear black in color, how could diamond become a gemstone that symbolizes “everlasting love” with colorless transparent beauty and great hardness? The answer lies in the difference of their distinct crystal structures. In charcoal and graphite, the carbon atoms, a network of regular hexagons, are arranged in an infinite array but they are layered. So they are easily broken even by weak forces. But diamond is the hardest material…

Make a Family Time Capsule

What plans did you make with your family around this time last year? In the New Year, we make many plans to spend the year more fruitfully. As time passes, however, it tends to end in smoke unlike the first resolution. How about writing down those goals and commitments this year and putting them in a time capsule? You may add letters, meaningful objects, and photos. Then keep it sealed for a year and open it with your family at the end of the year. When you open the time capsule that contains what you wrote, imagining how better you would change a year later and love for your family, won’t it be a fun and meaningful time? Tip Write…

Walking with God

I spent the summer of 2017 in Fukuoka, Japan, and in January of the following year, I participated in the overseas mission for a month in Japan again. This time, it was in Yokohama. Before departure, I was excited, wondering what kind of gospel work I would witness in Yokohama although it was still the same country. However, what I felt when I arrived in Yokohama was completely different from what I had expected. Although Yokohama is the second most populous city in Japan, it was difficult to meet a soul seeking the truth. Even when I simply greeted them, they said no right away or passed me by without even looking at me. No fruit was borne though I…

Do Seong-yeong from Tongyeong, South Korea

Rejoicing in His Salvation

Let’s say, you were on the brink of death but get saved by someone’s help. You cannot help but rejoice at the relief that your one and only life was saved. At the same time you will be thankful towards the person who saved you, along with the joy of salvation. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” Isa 25:9 We were mired in the swamp of sin and had no choice but to die. However, God saved our souls. Even though there may be lots of tough things in life,…

The Church That Is Good at Volunteer Activities

On an autumn day, we had a cleanup at Yeongrang Beach in Sokcho. Our voluntary service was postponed a couple of times because of the typhoon and tidal waves, but that day, the weather was fresh with a cool breeze. It was a perfect day for a voluntary service. In the city of Sokcho, the Church of God is known for its voluntary service. That’s because since last year, we’ve cleaned up the streets with the community service centers of the districts where we live every month. This time, the staff members from the community service centers joined us. We cleaned up around Jangsa Port where there are many restaurants, and Yeongrang Beach which is a resort beach during vacation…

Tak Jeong-sun from Sokcho, South Korea

Bronco and Donkey

Broncos were once a symbol of the vast American western region. A bronco is a wild and rough horse, so if a person rides on or burdens it with a load, it jumps up and down. So, when people used a bronco, they had to tame it. In order to tame a bronco, cowboys mounted on the bronco and subdued it, which has been developed into rodeos today. Another way to tame a bronco is to tie it to a donkey. If the two are tied together on the grassland, at first the weak donkey will be dragged on by the wild horse running around. Surprisingly, however, the bronco, which acts as he pleases, will follow the donkey gently in…

Walking with God

Have you ever been disappointed because the scenery of a famous tourist attraction was not as good as you had expected and the surrounding facilities were also poor? Nevertheless, if your trip still remains as a pleasant memory, it is most likely that you went there with some like-minded people. Being with those who have similar tastes makes you feel satisfied, wherever you are and whatever you do. It is the same when you walk with God. If you are like-minded with God, you can always be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Th 5:16–18). As long as you have the same mind as God who always cares about our salvation and our glorious future in…

Mother Answers Even the Smallest Prayers

One day, about five months after I had my first child, I lied down to get some sleep. Then suddenly a thought came into my mind and kept me from falling asleep. ‘What happens when I die?’ I had no idea why I was curious about it all of a sudden, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the life after death. Maybe it was because I had just become a mom, who needs to take care of her baby, and it made me even more eager to avoid death. Around that time, I met some people from the Church of God. Actually, my relationship with the Church of God began when my first child was still in my womb. I…

Kim Gyeong-suk from Osan, South Korea

Stopped Tennis Game

In September, 2016, the game was abruptly stopped during the tennis match in Mallorca, Spain. Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal stopped a match at the voice of a mother finding her missing child. As he looked up to the audience and found a crying woman calling out the name of her child, this caught the attention of about 7,000 people and they all cried, “Clara!” Then finally, the woman spotted her little girl who looked distressed among the crowd. Upon seeing her mother, the toddler cried and opened her arms wide and the two got emotional. The crowd erupted in applause at their reunion. This video got broadcasted all over the world, and people said this showed his class and that…

Words

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Eph 4:29 “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt . . .” Col 4:6 There are many verses related to what we ought to speak in the Bible. Most of them teach us to speak something that moves the listeners and help them. Words can become a seed of blessing or a seed of unhappiness. Some live blissful lives with proper words whereas some ruin their lives with a slip of the tongue. Most of accidents that became headline news began from improper words if…

Brotherly Love Is the Best Filial Piety for the Parents

Yi Seong-gye established Joseon Dynasty in Korea and became the first king called King Taejo. His fifth son, Yi Bang-won, was very ambitious. As one of his half-brothers became the crown prince, Yi Bang-won got furious and killed the half-brother and another half-brother as well. Then King Taejo’s second son sat on the throne, but this time there was a conflict between the brothers born of the same mother—Yi Bang-won and Yi Banggan, the fourth son. The former one is called the First Strife of Princes, and the latter is called the Second Strife of Princes. The tragedy from family discord, which took place at the beginning of Joseon Dynasty, often occurs in this age, too. Among the top forty…

To the Kid Who Will Have My Brother’s Heart

In March 2016, an 11-year-old child named Eric was killed in a car accident in the United States. His family was in deep sorrow and anger, but decided to forgive the driver and to donate Eric’s organs for the life of others. Eric’s older brother posted the following message to a kid who would receive his brother’s heart: “Eric gave us great vitality and love. He knew his time was not long, so he lived his life to the full. You may have been living a hard life, but now that you have the heart of my brother, please live a positive and active life. Sometimes you may find it hard to love. Sometimes you may feel like you’re alone…

Heavenly Mother’s Pain and Sacrifice I Understood in Ireland

I would like to share what I realized while walking the path of the gospel for eight months in Dublin, Ireland, a few years ago. Ireland, located in the northeastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean, is highly influenced by Catholicism among European countries. Catholic festivals have become big holidays in the country, and you can hear the bells telling you the prayer time anywhere at noon and 6 p.m. Religion takes up a special part in the lives of individuals as well as in the political and cultural sphere, and the Irish people seem to be inseparable from God. However, it was different from what I had expected when I preached the gospel. Most people did not seek God,…

Choi Nan-young from Cheongju, South Korea

What God Has Given Us

The backcountry explorers say the most difficult time of the day is wake up time in the morning. When they hear tempestuous wind blowing outside, lying inside the tent, they are scared and this makes it hard for them to get up. However, once they get up and go outside, many times they see the weather isn’t as bad as they thought it would be. We may all have similar experiences. It takes a while to put what we have determined to do into action. However, after you put it into action, you will realize that you have worried over nothing. The problem is timidity. Of course, we need to be prepared no matter what we decide to do, but…