Kevin Kwak’s Blog

Almighty God. More than 100,000 human beings had been swept away, literally within minutes. Tsunami victims have lost everything - no adequate food and water, no shelter, and missing or dead family members.
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Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy
December 29, 2004 — Fresh Words Edition

“The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. . . This God—his way is perfect” (2 Samuel 22:5, 31).

After the loss of his ten children owing to a “natural disaster” (Job 1:19), Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). At the end of the book, the inspired writer confirms Job’s understanding of what happened. He says Job’s brothers and sisters “comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). This has several crucial implications for us as we think about the calamity in the Indian Ocean.
1. Satan is not ultimate, God is.

Satan had a hand in Job’s misery, but not the decisive hand. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job (Job 1:12; 2:10). But Job and the writer of this book treat God as the ultimate and decisive cause. When Satan afflicts Job with sores, Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10), and the writer calls these satanic sores “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). So Satan is real. Satan brings misery. But Satan is not ultimate or decisive. He is on a leash. He goes no farther than God decisively permits.
2. Even if Satan caused the earthquake in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas, he is not the decisive cause of 60,000+ deaths, God is.

God claims power tsunamis in Job 38:8 when he asks Job rhetorically, “Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb . . . and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” Psalm 89:8-9 says, “O Lord . . . you rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” And Jesus himself has the same control today as he once did over the deadly threats of waves: “He . . . rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm” (Luke 8:24). In other words, even if Satan caused the earthquake, God could have stopped the waves.
3. Destructive calamities in this world mingle judgment and mercy.

Their purposes are not simple. Job was a godly man and his miseries were not God’s punishment (Job 1:1, 8). Their design was purifying not punishment (Job 42:6). But we do not know the spiritual condition of Job’s children. Job was certainly concerned about them (Job 1:5). God may have taken their life in judgment. If that is true, then the same calamity proved in the end to be mercy for Job and judgment on his children. This is true of all calamities. They mingle judgment and mercy. They are both punishment and purification. Suffering, and even death, can be one or the other.

The clearest illustration of this is the death of Jesus. It was both judgment and mercy. It was judgment on Jesus because he bore our sins (not his own), and it was mercy toward us who trust him to bear our punishment (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) and be our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Another example is the curse that lies on this fallen earth. Those who do not believe in Christ experience it as judgment, but believers experience it as, merciful, though painful, preparation for glory. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20). This is God’s subjection. This is why there are tsunamis.

Who suffers from this fallen world of natural disasters? All of us, Christians included: “Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). For those who cast themselves on the mercy of Christ these afflictions are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And when death comes, it is a door to paradise. But for those who do not treasure Christ, suffering and death are God’s judgment. “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).

For children, who are too young to process mentally the revelation of God in nature or Scripture, death is not the final word of judgment. God’s commitment to display his justice publicly means that he does not finally condemn sinful people who could not physically construe natural or special revelation (Romans 1:20). There is a difference between suppressing revelation that one can mentally comprehend (Romans 1:18), and not having a brain sufficient to comprehend it at all. Therefore, when small children suffer and die, we may not assume they are being punished or judged. No matter how horrible the suffering or death, God can turn it for their greater good.
4. The heart that Christ gives to his people feels compassion for those who suffer, no matter what their faith.

When the Bible says, “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), it does not add, “unless God caused the weeping.” Job’s comforters would have done better to weep with Job than talk so much. That does not change when we discover that Job’s suffering was ultimately from God. No, it is right to weep with those who suffer. Pain is pain, no matter who causes it. We are all sinners. Empathy flows not from the causes of pain, but the company of pain. And we are all in it together.
Finally, Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

That is the meaning of mercy—undeserved help. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).

2004 has been my “Best Christmas Holiday Up-To-Date” and I am truly thankful.
I had finally COMPLETED editing all my families’ dv archives! From the day I started capturing (importing to PC) all the videos, to the day I had published the output videos into a DVD, the entire project took 2 weeks! A minute of an edited video takes an average of one hour, so you do the math. I feel great now since I have organized all the archives and no longer need to rely on the camcorder and Hi-8 tapes to watch the videos. Now we all can select the chapter and scenes from the dvd, with a push of a button.

The best part of the project is yet to come. The main purpose of spending a good two and a half weeks on this single project was for the upcoming Christmas Holiday. I really did not want to purchase a gift card because there is not a significant meaning when you present such a lame gift to those that you care about. (I mostly received gift cards this year, lame) I wanted to surprise my relatives and my parents when I present them our very own DVDs of our family vacations and social gatherings. [b]It was a success![/b]

In one of the DVD, I had compiled all the videos of my grandmother (she is in heaven now). My father could not be any happier. I heard from my cousin that my uncle had teary eyes when he saw the video. I know that my family and relatives will treasure the videos and can now easily access our family videos in few seconds, rather than several minutes.

The 2004 Sarang English College Church winter retreat, titled “Powered By Prayer,” was splendid. Three nights and four days high [b][i]well[/i][/b] spent in the Lake Arrowhead mountains. I did not have a specific prayer topic prepared ahead of the winter retreat. But that was taken care of during the retreat.

This winter retreat was a unique experience for me. I can’t quite grasp why the retreat was unique but it sure was different from all other retreats that I have attended.
I carpooled with Peter Kim and Pastor David in his car. Peter Kim is such a [em]cool[/em] brother! We were on our way to the retreat site when Pastor David needed to stop by his house. The house resides in a secured community within a gated community (Irvine is such a beautiful & expensive city to live in). Continuing on our drive to the mountain, Pastor David receives a phone call, informing Pastor David that John Cho was left behind. Scott was supposed to wait for John after picking up the U-Haul van. Thus, we drove back and picked up John. The sun was setting and we headed down the same highway once again. Wait! Another phone call from a church member. The praise team had forgotten a music box from church! Pastor David was frustrated because of the back and forth drive and the fact that he had to be present in the retreat site. We drove back to church and fortunately, there was a huge banquet and we had our dinner there.

The discussions that we had in our drive to Lake Arrowhead was a great learning experience. One topic that I like to share with you is a charismatic church. “Generally a Charismatic church has a more independent, non denominational tone, sometimes with more emphasis on spiritual exploration, and less emphasis on established tradition.”
The topic was new and when I heard what a charismatic church was and which Korean church was a charismatic church, I was immediately saddened. Reason will be disclosed but I was deeply saddened at that moment. I also like to note, shouldn’t we not judge which church is [b]good[/b] and which are [b]bad[/b]? We are worshipping the same Lord, our father Jesus Christ.

-This is the longest blog I have ever written.

During the retreat, Pastor Steve from EM came on the first night and gave us a seminar. We also had a Q&A session after the sermon. It was great. The 3rd night, Senior Pastor Daniel Kim drove to the retreat site during the night, in a hazardous condition. A strong rainstorm in the windy highway is not a pleasant drive. The sermon was powerful and the prayer time was overwhelming. We also had a Q&A session afterwards.

The praise was awesome.
The seminar was awesome.
The meals was awesome.
The outdoor activities was awesome.
The entire retreat was awesome.

Wednesday was our departure date. And guess what, we had a snowstorm early in the morning. Well, not actually a snowstorm but it was raining pellets of ice. The roads were now icy and all the FWD and RWD vehicles had a difficult time climbing hills. While our drive down the mountain, only 5 to 10 feet were visible outside of the front windshield because of the snow fog and the rainstorm. It was a very dangerous condition to be driving, especially for vehicles without a tire chain.

I am truly thankful to have the opportunity to go the winter retreat. I look forward for the next retreat.

I got off the phone after hearing a sad news. My gomo had been transported to the local hospital after an incident, where she was vomiting blood. My father and my cousins are all there next to her. I have yet to hear the result of the diagnosis. Hope she is doing well physically.

Times like this, I truly sense the power and love of God. We are so helpless without God. Whatever happens during my life, I shall give thanks.
Down my road when I am laying down in the hospital bed, I truly hope that all my friends and families will visit me and support me with love. I will always have God to look over me. Thank you.

Currently listening to “[b]Lovesong On The Radio[/b]” by [b][URL=http://www.johnnyhi-fi.com]Johnny Hi-Fi[/URL][/b]

Constantly, God is revealing my path in terms of career. I don’t want to sound like a self-centered person but I believe a successful career is important in a christian life. First and foremost, I will be able to use the gift for His name. Everyone has a talent and it is essential to seek your talent and nurture it constantly. You do not want to remain lukewarm and wonder when to take the first step. Second, much of the wealth that I accumulate will be for good will. Third, having a successful career makes me an exemplary brother/family/friend/husband. Finally, you have the ability (the capital) to invest in what is most important in life, our reason to live.

I am majoring in Management and Human Resource under the Business Administration department, emphasizing in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I believe my father had a great influent in my desire to seek B.A. as my major because my father is an entrepreneur, a small business owner. While I am majoring in B.A., ….

Time to end this entry here. I have two presentations to prepare at the moment. God bless.