FORGIVING THE KILLERS OF HIS FAMILY

Around the time of the Korean War, Kim Joon-gon had seen 2,000 out of 20,000 people on Chunnam Island murdered by the Communists. They dragged him and his family outside their village where Kim’s father and wife were beaten to death and Kim was left for dead.

When he revived and sought safety at an acquaintance’s house, he was turned over to the Communists. Only the sudden appearance of an American ship off the island coast saved him this time, for the Communist soldiers hurried away to the battle.

Kim hid out in the countryside until the South Korean army captured the island. The Communists who had killed his wife and father were arrested. Because it was wartime, the police chief had authority to execute without a trial. But as the chief prepared to kill the men, Kim pleaded, "Spare them. They were forced to kill."

The police chief showed great surprise. "It was your family they killed! Why do you now want to spare their lives?"

Kim replied, "Because the Lord, whose I am and whom I serve, would have me show mercy to them."

The Communists were spared execution because of Kim’s plea. News of his action spread among other Communist supporters in the area. When Kim later climbed a mountain to preach to Communists hiding out, he was not killed.

Many of the Communists became Christians, and when Kim finally left the island there was a flourishing church of 108 members.

Surrounded But Undefeated!

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are engaged in spiritual warfare with unseen wicked forces. To overcome our enemy in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must remain resolute in our confidence in God and determine never to accept defeat.

A story from the Korean War illustrates this attitude. As enemy forces advanced, Baker Company was cut off from the rest of their unit. 

For several hours no word was heard, even though headquarters repeatedly tried to communicate with the missing troops. Finally a faint signal was received. Straining to hear, the corpsman asked, "Baker Company, do you read me?" 

"This is Baker Company," came the reply. 

"What is your situation?" asked the corpsman. 

"The enemy is to the east of us, the enemy is to the west of us, the enemy is to the north of us, the enemy is to the south of us." 

Then after a brief pause, the sergeant from Baker Company said with determination, "The enemy is not going to get away from us now!" 

Although surrounded and outnumbered, he was thinking of victory, not defeat. (Our Daily Bread)