"Dear Lord, Bless the North Koreans today. Give them enough food to eat. Put a roof over their heads. Put clothes on their backs. Miraculously heal their bodies. Give them what they absolutely need..."
Wait a minute! Is that how we pray for ourselves? "Enough food to eat" or cupboards and refrigerators overflowing with food? "A roof over our head" or many hundreds of thousands or even millions on a unique mansion made just for us? "Clothes on our backs" or clothes filling our many closets, attics, basements and garages? "Heal our bodies" or help me believe you to pay my medical insurance? "What we absolutely need" or every little thing our hearts desire from the "Grandpa" in the sky who wants all of his people to be healthy and wealthy and living like "King's Kids"?
We can't have it both ways you know. Either our prayers for the North Koreans or our prayers for ourselves must radically change. I will leave individual readers to decide which alterations will take place, but for today the message is, Hey, we're no better than they are!
What has given us the feeling of superiority is the naked fact of our prosperity. We have assumed what the Bible never assumes, that "gain" means godliness. But we forget that there are many rich men who are evil. Not even saved. We assume that long life must mean God's favor. We forget the men among us who have died young after having accomplished more with God than we will in 100 such lifetimes. Jesus, for one. Stephen the martyr. Oh you know there are a lot more.
In our hearts we know that a North Korean who is released from his prison-land, finds Christ, and deliberately goes back to NK to tell friends and family about Jesus at the risk of his life, and dies a pauper at the hands of evil men, is far ahead of an American Christian who never once sacrificed for the cause of Jesus. We know that. But we somehow still look down at these "poor" believers.
May God show us our utter depravity. Our abject poverty. Our total inability to please Him in the flesh. May He show us Who owns all the riches of the world. The Giver and Taker of life. Above all may He raise His cross before our dying eyes, and when we come back to life filled with His Spirit, may we be willing to see things as He does.
"Social Justice" is not our plea. The world is lost and going to Hell. Their 50-60 years of "equality" is not our concern. Eternity is. The Oneness of the Body is. The coming judgment seat of Christ when all will be equally discerned by Him who knows all, that definitely is.
Well, back to the prayer closet.
http://chosunhouse.com is a website I put together a few months back to get the word out to believers that they need to pray for North Korea. Just about every day I'm writing a blog featuring some news, a book, or a story of North Korea. There's a live news feed on the site, lists of resources, picture essays, and ways to respond to the overwhelming need in North Korea. Let's love Chosun together!
And who am I? A man found of God over 50 years ago, called to the ministry, serving the Lord as needed in my world. Married, member of a local church in the Chicago area, with full time work in public education. Who are you? Would love to fellowship with believers who respond on my site.
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