I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
(1 Timothy 1:12-13)
Kim Shin-jo (born June 2, 1942) is one of two survivors of the 31-person team of North Korean commandos sent to assassinate the then-president of South Korea, Park Chung-hee, in the Blue House raid in January 1968. Kim Shin-Jo, now known as a gentle pastor from South Korea, used to be a trained killer. In January of 1968, Jo and a team of assassins descended from North Korean, slipping through the woods in a daring attempt to kill the president of South Korea. The team of 31 commandos made it to within a few hundred meters of the president's residence before they were intercepted. A fierce battle ensued, killing 30 South Koreans. All of the North Korean soldiers were killed, except one who escaped and Kim Shin Jo, who was captured. After months of interrogation, and through a surprising friendship with a South Korean army general, Kim Shin Jo's hard heart started to soften. Later he would confess, "I tried to kill the president. I was the enemy. But the South Korean people showed me sympathy and forgiveness. I was touched and moved." The South Korean government eventually released Kim Shin Jo. Over the next three decades he worked for the military, became a citizen, and then married and raised a family. Finally, he became a church minister. Today Jo's life serves as a symbol of redemption for the entire country of South Korea. Reflecting on the day of his arrest, Kim Shin Jo commented, "On that day, Kim Shin Jo died. I was reborn. I got my second chance. And I'm thankful for that." Kim Shin Jo found a new birth and God's grace through the power of Christ. But his encounter with Christ came through the unexpected, surprising love of other people. Despite his betrayals and sins, an army officer accepted him, befriended him, and believed in him. At one time he was the enemy of the South Korean people, but in the spirit of Jesus Christ, they surprised him with the startling gifts of belonging, forgiveness and even citizenship.
Just like that, we as the church are called to extend the gift of acceptance so others will find Christ's "second chance." God unleashes tremendous power for good when his people live out their faith in the world, especially with unlovable, broken people. We must demonstrate unconditional love, friendship and forgiveness. Kim Shin-Jo was interrogated for a year by the South Korean authorities before being released and becoming a citizen of South Korea in 1970. being released without charges on April 10, 1970. Six months later, he married a South Korean woman who had become his pen pal while imprisoned. She wrote him several times after having read about his arrest but did not give him her name or address. As it became close to his release she finally revealed who she was to him a letter. She succeeded in leading Kim Shin-jo to her faith and he is now a Christian pastor at a megachurch in Seoul. His parents were executed and his relatives purged by North Korean authorities as he was labeled a defector upon his release as he chose to stay in Seoul.
Later in life he became a pastor at Sung Rak Sambong church in Gyeonggi-do province. Now aged 81, he says he has learned to accept his life as chosen by God to serve Him.
When we get caught up in some cause outside of our faith, we can easily go down that same path. We become blind to truth and see only with our eyes that which is false. It is that darkness that overcomes us by the slow darkening of our soul and the legalism of this world. Kim Shin-Jo talks about how he was trained and taught to be a killer of the enemy and that isn't far from what Paul was before his conversion. Not a demented killer but a man misled by the beliefs of man. Scripture says that Paul was moral man who tried to follow the law and his persecution of the Christian church was in his mind a holy calling. It wasn't until he came face to face with Christ that he realized his sin and through that redeeming grace was forgiven by the very man he was persecuting.
We also must come face to face with the living Christ. It is at that time we truly understand just how sinful we are and how He has forgiven us through His grace. Scripture tells us in John 3:20 – “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” We are called to the light and then told to lead others to light. Paul wrote 13 books of the NT, established 14 churches and ordained and installed multiple pastors and elders to build the kingdom but most importantly brought the message of salvation to the Gentiles. He died for the cause being beheaded in Rome by Emperor Nero for his faith.
Paul truly learned and then lived- by grace are we saved through faith and that not of our ourselves. It is the gift of God, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Much love,
Preach
video of Pastor Kim Shin-Jo
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