In lieu of the recent,
surprise announcement from my Pastor last Sunday that he is stepping down, and
the varying opinions and feelings from my friends who also attend OEM, I was
reminded of a lesson that I learned many years back from a story found in
Daniel 3. Allow me to give those of you
who are not familiar with this story a brief summary.
In the third chapter of
Daniel, 3 Jewish men, (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were called out by some
jealous, Babylonian rulers for not bowing down to the statue that King
Nebuchadnezzar had made. They were
summoned to the king’s palace and given another chance to bow down to the
statue or suffer the wrath of a flaming furnace. They refused to bow down because bowing to
this statue went against the commandments that God had given to Moses for the
Jews to live their life by. When they
refused the king ordered that they be thrown into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the heat
instantly killed the guards who threw them in.
The three men however survived the furnace and were called to come out
by the king. When they exited not a hair
on their bodies was singed and they didn’t even have the smell of smoke on
them. King Nebuchadnezzar realized that
the God they serve was the one true God and ordered that anyone who speaks
against God be destroyed.
So you may be
wondering, what does this have to do with a pastor stepping down from his
position? Well, in this chapter, a key
character in the book of Daniel is missing.
That character is Daniel himself.
In the first 2 chapters of Daniel the four men collectively, didn’t back
down from the laws God had given them centuries past, even though they had
several opportunities to do so in this pagan nation. While other Jews gave in these four
didn’t. They trusted God through all the
trials and were saved every time. The
reason this is so important is because in the first two chapters Daniel was the
leader of four men. He was the mouthpiece
for speaking on behalf of God’s will and plan for the Jews in Babylon while the
other three followed his direction and leadership.
In chapter 3 Daniel is
nowhere to be found and these 3 men have to stand up for what is right
themselves, without their leader to guide and support them. I believe the same holds true for the members
of OEM and the Onnuri Korean Ministry.
Pastor Eddie has done an AMAZING job of bringing awareness to some major
issues throughout the Korean peninsula and the rest of the world; issues such
as the injustice in North Korea, human trafficking, and defending the
orphans. He has attacked injustice
daringly and boldly; fully aware of the danger that he could face, because of
his obedience. He has stepped on the
toes of government officials and church leaders in the Korean church, causing
some major uncomfort to their comfortable lives. He has done what God calls each and every
Christian to do and that is fight against injustice, defending the vulnerable,
the widow, and the orphan. While doing
this he has also instilled a heart for justice in some who never knew. For me, God used Pastor Eddie to reignite the
flame dulled inside me that once burned passionately about these injustices.
Now it is our
turn. Soon our leader will be gone, fighting
and bringing awareness and justice somewhere else. He is the Daniel in this story and we are
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God is
making a way for us, and the Onnuri Korean Ministry, to continue fighting this
battle we have been made aware of, a battle that defends those close to the
heart of God, fulfilling the commands He has given to us as Christians. Will we be successful like Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, or will we have another ending, one that is sad and
cowardly?
So my question to you
OEM family is what are you going to do now?
Are you going to continue to fight and bring awareness to these justice
issues; standing up to defend those that are vulnerable? Are you going to give up, stay angry, be the
cause of a church split, and let the enemy win, stopping the work that has
already been started in Korea and other parts of the world? The choice is yours so be wise about the
decision you make. I really believe this
is God’s way of testing our loyalty. Is
it to Him or to man? Someone is waiting on the other side of your obedience.
I’m gonna call some of
you out now, Why do you even go to OEM?
Is it because of Pastor Eddie or is it because you firmly believe this
is the church community God has called you to while living in Korea? If you are here because you feel called to
the community and work of OEM then I want to encourage you to stick this out,
pray for Pastor Eddie on his new journey, pray for the Korean church to
continue fighting for the vulnerable in Korea, and support whatever pastor
comes to OEM in his place. If you are
only here because of Pastor Eddie please pray about your motives before joining
another church. People come and go but
God is forever faithful. His faithfulness
should cause us to desire to be faithful to Him, not to man.
“Then King
Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, ‘Did we not
cast three men bound into the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True,
O king.’ He answered and said, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the
midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is
like a son of the gods.’” ~Daniel 3:24-25
No comments:
Post a Comment