6 September 2009. Seoul, Korea. As an estimated 100 thousand young people gathered at the City Hall grounds as waves of revival filled the city skies. It was a very meaningful experience.
As an invited guest with my fellow officers and representatives of the Commission on Evangelical Unity, we are privileged to witness first hand a revival movement that spreads to other Asian countries.
Rise Up, Korea has a following of more than 50 thousand young people from various evangelical denominations—and increasing. For ten years, starting with humble beginnings, the revival was initiated among children led by Muksanim Lee. Steadily, the passion to consolidate young people from various evangelical denominations into a prayer and revival movement grew.
As the fire of hunger for God cries in the wilderness of these concrete jungles of S.Korea, the maze and glitters of living in the affluent city could not fill the vacuum it left in the lives of many youths. There is a huge spiritual need to meet among these endangered young lives.
But the colossal challenge is not impossible to face with the God of impossibility! It is such a blessing to witness young people praying for hours for their country and fellow youths. Prior to the event, with the aid of an interpreter, Muksanim Choi, I remember myself talking to these of young men and women.
“It is a privilege to stand before you and witness your passion for God and your country. I came from a country considered to be the only Christian nation in Asia. But is it also the most corrupt nation in Asia, maybe in the whole world. There must be something wrong with our idea of Christianity. But with a generation like you—the now generation who hungers for God and the salvation of the people—I’m very hopeful that our country will be transformed to a brighter future for our children and the generations to come.”
Of course, it is obvious. We cannot expect the unbelieving world to usher the breakthrough of God’s Kingdom. Godless opportunists were and are unfit to lead. 30 years ago, Korea was poorer than the Philippines. But when I asked: what was the secret why they prosper as a country? Their reply was unanimous: Christianity.
Quite ironic, isn’t it. We claim to be Christians, but we’re almost living in an accursed land and times! Evangelicals are not even united. We’re not influential witnesses to the people in the community, almost without a voice in the society. We spiritualize too much and our God is pictured irrelevant in the life of the people and country. Added to this, maybe the populace embraced a different brand of Christianity mixed with paganism and idolatry!
With due respect to our foreign friends, theirs is a fervent praying Christian life. It is not the usual front page of leading figures in newspapers praying to a god (or is it mammon?). What we need and our future generation is a changed nation by the grace of God, the Maker of us all.
In less than three minutes, I summed up my short message to those young revolutionary warriors. “If we want to see a changed nation, what we need is a change of heart.”
