Standing with Brothers and Sisters We Cannot See
Pray for the Word of God to be known in North Korea
Pray for North Korea
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Support the WorkI remember the first time I stood at the demilitarized zone, or the DMZ, on the border between North and South Korea. I looked across this dividing line, knowing that on the other side I (and we) have brothers and sisters who are suffering and dying for following Jesus and making him known.
I think about Soon Yangown, a pastor in a leper colony during the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula many years ago. He refused to worship the shrines that had been set up for the Korean people to worship, so he was arrested and imprisoned. When the Japanese occupation ended, he was released.
Years later, his two oldest sons, Tongin and Tongsin, were in middle school when a mob representing the communist party came to their campus. The boys were known to be strong Christians, so the mob brought them out of the school and began to beat them. Eventually, a leader of the mob named Ahn shot and killed both the boys.
By the time Pastor Soon heard of his sons’ death, the revolt had been quieted, and his sons’ killer had been apprehended. Upon hearing this news, Pastor Soon immediately sent a messenger to the court to plead for them to spare Ahn. The judge agreed to do so, and Pastor Soon then offered to adopt Ahn as his own son.
Years later, communists invaded the leper colony where Pastor Soon was pastoring. He refused to flee and chose to stay with the church. He was arrested, imprisoned, tied up with 75 other followers of Jesus, and executed.
I wish these stories were only from the past. Unfortunately, however, suffering, persecution, and martyrdom are present-day realities for our brothers and sisters in North Korea. So what can we do for them?
For starters, we can remember them and learn about what they are experiencing. In the words of Hebrews 13:3: “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”
We can take time to listen to and learn the story of our family in North Korea as if we were with them in North Korea. (Radical’s documentary Hard to Reach: North Korea is a good place to start.)
As you remember our brothers and sisters in North Korea and other hard lands, I invite you to pray for them. Let your prayers be guided by Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 6:18–20 for the church to pray for him while he was in prison: “To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Finally, let’s join them. They’re giving their lives to share the gospel with people around them. If you’re reading this, the likelihood is that your life is not at stake in the same way as theirs. But you can still give your life to what they’re giving their lives to: speaking the gospel and sharing God’s love in Jesus with the people you and I interact with today.
Let’s lock arms with our brothers and sisters in North Korea, following Jesus and making him known no matter what it costs, because we know that he is our reward.
This article first appeared in The Commission, Radical’s biweekly newsletter featuring global gospel stories and encouragement from David Platt and others to help you follow Jesus and make him known. Subscribe today.
