Moving mountains with faith: a missionary couple’s journey
By Han Sang-hee
Staff reporter
Going to church may be a fundamental responsibility for Christians, but the weekly activity does not guarantee escape from emotional problems, depression or fear. Faith is more than just sitting in church, listening to the pastor and reading scriptures, and the most important way to realize it seems to be breaking out of society’s shell and understanding and accepting who you truly are.
Missionaries Marc and Melinda Millan have been traveling the world to share their beliefs and insights on Christianity, and their third visit to Korea means a lot to both them and Koreans.
The couple sat with The Korea Times last week in Itaewon to talk about their new book, ``Faith That Moves Mountains,’’ and their way of communicating with and believing in God.
``Korea has the highest rate of suicide, which means something. What is the belief system of Christians here? We can’t cut things out of the scriptures like they never existed. You must build your trust (through them),’’ Melinda said.
Walk into the religion aisle of a bookstore, and you will find numerous essays and books, but the Millans believe everything we should know is in the words of the Bible. Their book ``Faith That Moves Mountains’’ works as a guide to their beliefs, with anecdotes, stories and their experiences regarding important scriptures. They hope it will help those in need of certain spiritual guidance. The two missionaries openly share their experiences of how God has developed their faith, leading them to win over their troubles.
``The book is better read meditating, reading it again and again. God talks about faith and everything is in the scriptures. God is encouraging you to build up your faith. He’s teaching us to have faith,’’ she added.
Technology has taken over society and everybody is busy learning about the next trend instead of taking time to learn more about the present and themselves. Following the trend has become a prerequisite in earning respect, but this pattern of living cannot bring happiness and, most of all, faith in God, they said.
The habit of relying on the world or artificial factors enables people to expect the world to give them a solution when they are confronted with a problem. But the solution is not elsewhere, but inside you, says the couple. Searching for the solution within you is difficult in a ``world where logic has taken over,’’ but they say it’s not impossible.
``Asia is (about) scientific minds. When there is a problem, logic kicks in. But what Jesus did was illogical,’’ Melinda said.
The writers give an example in the book to thoroughly explain this concept and further help fellow Christians open their eyes to true faith. According to an Indian folk tale, a man stole an eagle’s egg and placed it into the nest of a chicken. The eagle grows― not aware that he is in fact an eagle ― and follows the usual traits of a chicken: digging the ground with its beak for worms and bugs. One day, the eagle looks up and finds another eagle flying over the farm. He asks his fellow chickens about the peculiar-looking bird, and they answer that it’s an eagle, the king of all birds. Not being able to realize his true identity, the eagle shrugs and lives the rest of his life as a chicken.
``We all have a `chicken mentality.’ When the eagle sees the other eagle flying above and wonders if he will ever get there, the world will say no, you cannot do that, it’s not you. Even when (you) see the truth, you don’t know that you are capable,’’ Marc explained.
``Read the book and get a handle on how to exercise (your faith). People would ask God to give (them) faith, but (God) can’t give you faith. Faith comes by hearing. (God) never puts limits on us. We can do anything.’’
The Millans are planning to stay in Korea for a year and hold meetings and lectures for Koreans.
``We need to find the human spirit. (Some people) think it’s just an image or intellect but according to Jesus, the human spirit is in us. Some call it conscience but it has nothing to do with thoughts, images (or) physical sensations. (The human spirit) has the ability to communicate with God, and from there he communicates,’’ Marc said.
``It’s almost like learning a new language. With a language, you can communicate, but if not, you cannot understand what is going on.’’
Weekly lectures are held every Sunday at Jesus Church, Seocho-dong, southern Seoul at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.ariseandshineministries.net or call (02) 3471-7300 or (02) 416-3386 for inquiries in English.