Thoughts On Dying – Reflections On The Korean Hostage Standoff

I don’t want to die.

But if called to it, I hope to do it well.

The Korean hostages in Afghanistan are staring down the barrels of loaded AK’s. Bloggers are saying that it serves them right for going to Afghanistan to proseletyze Muslims. I say to them: you will NEVER understand what it means to live for something higher than yourself, even at the cost of death. Whatever purpose they went for; they went as the good guys. No one wants to die, but everyone who has flirted with fantasies of missionary service has imagined what it is like to die for Christ.

Here in America, we’ve lost that vision of death outside the door. The Puritans of a bygone era taught the importance of dying a good death. Death was an integral part of the theology of the early church because it was so real and so around-the-corner. [catch myself - I don't want to come across as negative and speaking about death prematurely; I pray that they will come home alive and well!] BUT having said that, anyone who considers missionary service – the possibility of death is part of the job description. It’s somewhere there in the bold print, it’s not even hidden. It comes with the territory. So when we travel overseas (my guess is that this was a short-term stint) even for three-weeks or three months, we should make a practice to imagine what the steel of a gun barrel feels like on the back of our heads. We should wonder what the clothe of the black veil feels like at the last moment, if we can see the final blow or not. We should wonder if we will be terrified, calm, defiant, prayerful, remorseful. And then we should have the resolve – inasmuch as is psychologically possible – beforehand to die well.

And that’s just part of being a missionary.

Koreans are doing something unheralded; along with Latinos, they are among the first non-Caucasian missionaries going out into the world. It’s confusing for a Muslim to see a non-white Christian come into their lands. Chinese Muslims were baffled by me, but refreshed by my presence. The work of Korean missionaries is beautiful; read here about what they are doing:

Every year, many church-going South Koreans travel to developing Asian and African countries to provide free health services, educational instruction and some vocational training. Generally, young students volunteer during summer vacation. And whatever little basic services countries in these regions receive — for example, food, medicine, health, etc. — are provided by people willing to risk their lives to help. They include U.N. volunteers and South Korean noncombatant soldiers as well as foreigners working in 189 different international nongovernmental organizations.

Is this not something to live and die for? So I imagine and sometimes have dreams about what it feels like to die. Is this morbid? Emphatically no! It’s part of the Christian calling; to be near to death as we are still the aroma of life. To consider mortality and live well as the good guys, but always, always preparing for death.

Honoring a martyr.

Bae Hyeong-gyu, 42,

was the deputy head pastor and a founder of Saemmul Presbyterian Church.
church members called Bae a passionate leader. “Reverend Bae used to lead all 300 young believers in prayers, one by one,” said one church member. “He was a very sincere pastor, and many respected him deeply.”
Bae led the trip to Afghanistan, taking 19 young volunteers from the church, even though his health was poor. He suffered from respiratory complications and was in need of medication at the time of the kidnapping.
Bae graduated from Jeju First High School, Hanyang University and Sogang University Graduate School. He studied at the Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary in Seoul and became a minister in 2001.
He was scheduled to go on another volunteer trip to Africa after returning from Afghanistan.

Unfortunately and ironically, the day he died was also his birthday.