by Jotham Johann Jhang

You might have heard the story about an atheist who was roaming the woods one day.  The sky was a crisp blue, the tall trees were swaying, and the birds were chirping away.  It was a beautiful spring day.  This unbeliever had had a difficult childhood.  He emerged from a broken family and parents of unbelief.  After his parents were divorced, he stopped attending Sunday school at his Lutheran church.  

       Thirty years later, as the unbeliever was walking in the woods, a bear suddenly appeared.  It was a mighty, fierce grizzly bear.  It noticed him too, and then with a growl it lunged toward the man.  The unbeliever immediately turned around and bolted as fast as he could.  As the man turned around and saw the bear gaining on him, he couldn’t resist thinking, “Objects in the rear mirror are closer than they may appear”.  Finally, the atheist tripped over a branch lying in the woods and the bear had caught up to him.

      When the grizzly raised his mighty paw to strike at the unbeliever, he called upon the Lord, “Oh, My God!”  At which point, everything went into freeze frame: The birds stopped chirping, the trees stopped swaying, the brook froze, and the bear’s paw hung in the air.  Then a booming, deep voice was heard, “My son, you have not called upon my name in thirty years, but lo, I have always been with you.  I have never forsaken you.”  The unbeliever replied, “God, I know it would be hypocritical for me to claim you as my Lord right now after forsaking you all these years, but I ask you to be my Savior and consider one plea.”

     The Holy One replied, “What is your prayer request?” “That you would turn this bear into a Christian right now,” the unbeliever said, “or at least a Lutheran.”  The woods rang with laughter. God replied, “My son, your prayer is granted.  Go in peace and forsake me no more!”  The woods liturgically responded, “Thanks be to God!”  Lights, camera, action! Everything went back into full motion:  The birds chirped, the trees swayed, the brook ran, and the bear’s paw started to come down at the man.  But   then,  miraculously,  the bear put his paws together and prayed,  “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this man-gift, to us be blessed.” The woods cheered vigorously as the bear continued, “And may there be a goodly share, for every bear, everywhere. Amen”.  This Slovak-Lutheran bear prayer went on for so long, that the man (no longer an unbeliever) was able to run away from the woods and  head straight to a Lutheran church.

     What a joy and privilege it is to share our belief in Christ in an unbelieving world, even with the aid of bears!  I thank God from the bottom of my heart for the way you sponsor the mission work of the church and the countless ways you participate in reaching out with the Gospel to a broken world.

    At CAME we proclaim that Christ “CAME” to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10) among those who are Hindus, Buddhist, Muslims, atheists, etc. every day.  There are tremendous challenges to this task as we face their closed ears and hardened hearts, their dependence on ancestor and other forms of idol worship, their mistrust of Christians, and the scores of language and cultural barriers before us.  

     In addition, we now face a country which is almost hostile to Christians, one that is on the verge of dropping “God” from currency, constitutions, and the like.  Add to that, the uncertain economy and transient jobs, as families are forced to move to make a living.  Many of us encounter so many new neighbors, many of whom come in just for a bit and just as we are getting to know them and befriend them, move away again.

     Such  is  life as a Christian  in  North America today.  Such is life as a Christian in a non-Christian world. Against these overwhelming barriers and obstacles, what could you and I do?  Well, the point is that we don’t – God does.  But how does God plan to use us in his work of saving those who are hurting, lost and confused?

     When we look at Christ’s work, we see plainly how he is equipping us and readying us to meet these challenges.  Christ can be found equipping us in Matthew 8.  In verse 18 of that chapter, we see Jesus challenging all of us to cross over to the other side.  On that day, the other side was the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the land of another country (or modern day Jordan). To us today, the other side may be another culture, recent immigrants from Asia, Africa, South America or Eastern Europe, Generation X, or your neighbor who is Buddhist or Hindu.

     We look at verse 23, “Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.”  Remember that in verse 18, Jesus invited the entire crowd to follow him.  But here we see that only the disciples follow him.  Did the teacher who said that he was willing to go wherever Jesus would go follow him?  Probably not.  And what of the disciple who wanted to take care of important family needs?                  

He probably was headed toward the funeral.  How about the crowd that was so enamored of Jesus?  Probably not.

In all probability, it was only the 12 disciples that followed him over to the other side.  Indeed the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  All of us here in North America, come from some stream of immigration, whether from Europe, South America, Africa or Asia.  But when we, our parents, grandparents, or ancestors immigrated here, we came to a “better” place than where we were from, a place of more abundant opportunities, more freedom, and better education.  This was a place to spread our wings and search for our American dream.

    But this kind of immigration process was not the case for our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our savior Jesus did not immigrate to a better place.  Jesus left the right hand of the Father, foregoing his crown, his lofty perch and the perfect communion in heaven with the Father and the heavenly host. Jesus, incarnate of the Holy Spirit, immigrated here to be among us, to a place of sin, to a place of imperfection, to a place of miscommunication, even to a dirty stable, to a lowly manger, all the way to death on the cross.  He left all His great possessions in heaven, to immigrate to a place where he owned no home, no bed.

     Indeed Christ is our model immigrant, coming to earth as one of us, in flesh and blood, to be one among us, and to share the Good news with us. Unlike us, Christ did not cross over from heaven to the other side to a better place.  Christ crossed over from that heavenly culture, to share His love and grace with us and with those who are yearning to hear the Gospel. We Christians here are now being granted numerous opportunities to cross over and share the basis of our Hope. The recent immigrants and youth you and I reach, by the grace of God, will have an enormous, unprecedented impact upon the presentation and extension of the Gospel throughout the world.

     So how about crossing over to welcome those recent-ly moved neighbors from out-of-town into your home?  How about going to the library or surfing on the web to learn about the culture of Indian or Chinese immigrants around you?  How about starting an ESL program at your church or organizing a play group in your community?  

     The key is not the type of activity or program you implement to reach out, but that you are intentionally engaging these lonely, hurting people around you, that you are developing a community, and that you are becoming a part of their lives.  When you become a part of their lives, I do not doubt that Christ will provide you opportunities to share the Gospel at the right time and place and that He will speak through you.  If they move away, trust that He will work through others to water where you planted.

     As Christ, our model immigrant, works through you to reach out with the Gospel in so many ways, may you cross over to the other side, “immigrate” your hearts and minds, and share the message of hope and salvation as a Christian in a non-Christian world.  I want to pray a Blessed and mission-filled Christmas  to all of you. Thank you for your prayers, volunteering, financial support, encouragement and partnership!

Dr. Jotham Johann Jhang
Executive Director
CAME

  

 
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