LTKC: Preface
LTKC: Preface
As I start these series of letters to the Korean American church, I want to first and foremost state that the place that I am coming from is as a fellow brother. For those who know me well, you know where my heart is for our people and for the state of the Korean American Church. I do not speak as an outsider, but rather as one who has been born, raised, and spent many years in labor for the Korean American Church. Having said that, I do also believe that it was necessary for God to allow me to see, travel and traverse the outside world. It is often said that sometimes in order to have the clearest perspective of your environment, it requires you to travel outside of it for a time. It is from this place that I come now. There is great concern and hope for what may lie ahead, as our hope is found in Christ alone. My faith for the Korean church lies not in the faithfulness of our own, but in the faithfulness of God (Romans 3:3).
My first immediate question that I want to ask Korean-American believers today is:
“Do you know who you are?”
At first glance this may seem like a very strange and straightforward question on what seems to be basic identity. I think if we were to ask any Korean American who they are, many of us would respond with very similar stories and sentiments. Many of us can extrapolate stories of feeling caught in the middle of two worlds and cultures. Many of us can talk about and testify to both the glories of our experience in the Korean American church, but also the stories of the darker times which have left us confused and wounded. These shared experiences is what allows Korean Americans to relate to one another.
However, my question here is a little deeper.
“Do you know who you are?”
As we navigate this question, I simply draw our attention to the way I believe God chooses to define identity. From the Biblical narrative, it would seem as though God connects identity with history. Isn’t it interesting and peculiar that God introduces and reintroduces himself to Israel as the “God who delivered you out of Egypt”? Thats interesting. God identifies himself in that statement as the God who can be identified through what He has tangibly done. Conversely, in that statement Israel finds their own unique identity. If God is the God who delivered them out of Egypt, then that communicates back to Israel that they are the PEOPLE, whom GOD has delivered out of Egypt.
God identifies Israel as not only His people, but the people that He proved His faithfulness to. I believe there are many reasons as to why God does this, but essentially I believe it is because God is interested in tangible history. Stones of remembrance are set up because of it. Yearly reciting of the various stories are done in the midst of festivals because of it. God reminds His People of their unique identity through the power of story. Real Story.
So my question for you once again is this:
“Do you know who you are?”