Joyce Kim's Blog
Hotlanta, ATL hee hee hee~ / Jul 28, 03:57 AM
i woke up one morning a couple weeks back, and had this realization: im going to be “in” mission year for a year. one full year. not fall, winter, and spring quarters, but from 2007-2008. i’ve had knowledge of that fact, but to really ponder and try to grasp what i’ve gotten myself into was a bit nerve-racking for me. i dont regret my decision to go but it did shaken me up and helped me set my head on straight. no more day dreaming or glamorizing what my life will be like in that year.
as such, i have been trying to “spiritually” prep myself before i leave golden california, aka start talking to God more about what im going to do and to ask for his help on everything and anything. and really, not to sound corny or uber-christianesey but God has been speaking to me and confronting me with realities that i must face, not just for mission year but for the rest of my life, in terms of who he has called me to be. and i’ve been thinking a lot about my conviction and passion for social justice, what it means, what it looks like, and how i fit into it all.
and the one thing that i feel like God is trying to teach me and will continue to teach me this coming year is getting at the heart of Jesus and his ministry while he was here on earth. as i read over the miracle of Jesus healing a blind man, and then dining w/zaccheus in his home, one thing is obvious: upon contact, they received salvation. but looking into it more closely, i saw how intimate the contact between the sinner and Jesus was. he physically touched them, he focused his attention on them, and treated them not as outcasts, as undesirables, as dim witted fools, or as objects in need of his divine and merciful presence. his treatment was much more respectable, personable, and as those worthy to be in his presence even if they werent. in such a way, he restored them not only physically, socially, and spiritually, but he restored them as human beings, as real people with real emotions, life stories, worth merited to them simply because they were human just like the religious teachers or law-abiding Jews.
Jesus restored and saved the souls of people in his relationships with them. he didnt see them as merely souls to be saved, or pathetic beings that needed his pity. he spoke to them gently, with understanding, without flair or condescension, without pointing out that they were a mess, without making them feel condemned and guilty, that they werent just a number or a checklist he needed to complete for God. that is the key: relationship. we arent talking about hit-and-run evangelism, or patronizing sympathy. this is the real deal. this was about knowing the person, treating them like a person, and loving them in spite of what they had done. Jesus says the Father is our shepherd, and the shepherd knows his sheep, each and every one of them, and he knows them by name. i think God wants me to learn that the people i think need “ministering” to or need my help arent just concepts or numbers to be conquered for the Kingdom. it’s about recognizing them as who they are, as a person, just like me, and that any sort of ministry or evangelism begins when i humbly accept that i am just as sinful and unworthy of Christ’s love as they are, and to forge a relationship that strives to really love a person, for who he/she currently is, in spite of what he/she has done in the past, and that real Justice happens when they are restored as worthy and beautiful human beings by the love and grace of Christ.
my mom and sister tell me im very prickly (it’s hard to translate korean words into english ones…) aka im very very mean-streaked. and i willl be the first to admit that it doesnt take very much for a person to annoy me and get on my bad side. this is reality. what is also reality is that i’ve sort of saw mission year as a chance to minister to people i considered marginalized, in need of my help, aka concepts to be won over and helped. how conceited am i? who am i to believe that people in innercities need my sociology BA? my ucsd education? my christian upbringing? such condenscension is so ugly to me, and it’s the very thing i hate in other people. hypocritical, right? but that’s why im thankful that God is challenging me with these things. because im coming to grips with the reality that beggers on the street need to be treated as human beings too, and instead of walking away without even acknowledging their presence is so the opposite of what Jesus would have done. and in the same way, people who get on my nerves (aka children who “cry” but really just wail in their high-pitched voice without a single tear on their face) are to be seen and treated like people too. it’s too simply to say but it’s sums up what i’m trying to tap into: Jesus loves all of us, and all of “them”.
so, with those lessons still being learned and grappled with by me, i’d like to tell you guys that i will be going to the ATL (atlanta georgia for you non-pop cultured folks) for my mission year. i was a bit bummed bc i wanted initially to go to philly but i hear that atlanta’s a really fun city once you get adjusted. so, im excited to know that i have a definite place i’ll be going to, and it’ll be a lot easier for me to write ATL instead of mission year. yipee?
with that said, i still need some monies people! friends! loved ones! if you click that red button to the right, you can donate ooor write a check out to mission year (w/my number 07-0037 on the memo line) and send it to the address shown under the red button. my goal is to raise 6000 smackaroos before i leave for georgia and i dont think im anywhere near. so, please? help me? im sort of cyber-groveling right now. :( haha. but if you after prayerful consideration would like to donate, please do so!! and send me your address so i can add you to my newsletter mailing adress.
alrighty. it’s almost two am and i am beat. signing off.
0 Comments
Leave a Comment...
Read more of Joyce Kim's Blogs.
