Seeds of life, are you well in Christ?
We have entered the bloody month of June, the month that contains Memorial Day commemorating the tragedy of the Korean War. Can you envision the country before your eyes?
Seventeen year olds, eighteen year olds, young men under the age of 30 quietly faded away before they had the chance to blossom and the blood they shed covered their nation’s mountains and rivers. Now, even before that blood has run dry, the wheels of the seasons have turned again and the rays of June are shining down and the red peonies are in full bloom. God’s providence planted within the seasons now cries out as the silent voice of nature and awakens us from our slumber so that we hear the words of a wise man, “what has been will be again, what has been done will be done again.” It seems that only human beings completely forget yesterday, and cannot look forward to tomorrow, only to act shamelessly and out of place.
Only 30 years ago, our nation experienced the tragedy of a bloody fratricidal war. Why? On that day, our fathers, husbands and children died. They were so wise, so true, and so brave. They silently died in nameless valleys and protected their nation’s mountains and rivers with their blood and their bodies and yet, we are so quick to forget their bloodshed.
Let us reflect upon ourselves under the June skies. What has become of the descendants of the souls who shed their blood and died defending their country? Before we fearlessly step out, we are in desperate need for humble reflection upon the lesson that the red peony in full blossom gives us in this month of June. This is because, without reflection, we are doomed to repeat yesterday’s tragedies.
Our patriotic martyrs, fallen heroes, and all the souls who have fought for their country cannot be laid to peaceful rest upon this earth. We must wake up. Our ancestors lived in utter devotion so that the 36 years of Japanese occupation and the tragedies of the Korean War would not become the sorrowful inheritance for their descendants, but that they become the blessed rod of God that awakens this nation so that it may have a brighter tomorrow.
The multitudes of people who undermine the nation so that they can rest in peace put to shame the holy blood of our ancestors. Our hearts tremble with fear as the national sorrow and suffering that they cause resemble the chastisement of God that is poured upon those who have betrayed the Way.
Visions of a second Korean War linger before our eyes.
Each time we reflect upon their holy deaths, their loyalty, and their spirit which did not seek for personal success or acquisition of wealth, our duties and attitudes as their descendant only become clearer and clearer. The loathsome deeds of the selfish and inhumane make us lose heart and throw cold water upon those who try to live in earnest, but we possess a stronger life. The sacrifice of our ancestors and the bloodshed of the patriotic martyrs have left an indelible mark on our hearts. We can no longer waver and place blame on social conditions.
We can no longer immerse ourselves in the useless regrets of the weak. Perhaps history will not continue to remain indifferent to the cries of our patriotic forefathers. Look! What are the conditions around the world? Flames of war are raging in different parts of the world, and hunger and shortage of natural resources plague the nations. Wars already set afire are racing toward their climax and flames of war are igniting in unexpected places. Above us in the north, the communists have sharpened their swords for 30 years. What can be more suicidal than disregarding the lessons of history and dismissing the threat of North Korea?
From the ancient times, wars were not about foreign invasions but disasters brought upon oneself. The North Korean communists are an unprecedentedly evil group that has sharpened their swords for 30 years, only to attack the South in the end. We have protected ourselves well until this day. In the month of June when the voice of the blood of our patriots resound, we realize that their souls and loyalty have manifested themselves in the hearts of the people of this nation and have become the invisible source of strength that has kept the nation for the past 30 years.
The winter passes and the summer comes. The summer goes and the winter comes. What is the meaning behind the seasons? The strong powers that had ruled nations throughout history have become mentally lax and cannot control their lewdness and extravagance. They have met the winter of their history and have fallen helplessly. This is the voice of God. We who are living in this loud and dizzy world! The only sound we must lend our ears to is the sound of the blood of our patriotic forefathers in this month of June. “I have risked the only life I have in order to protect you.” Listen to the words of the fathers of this country, of our husbands and our sons and as our hearts become heated by these words, we know that this is our path to life again. From this place, we will see our nation and the image of the true sons of this nation.
The nation will find life again when its people hear the voices of the blood of the patriots that have seeped into the ground. Who will open the eyes of the people so that they see? Who will open the ears of the people so that they hear?
Seeds of life! Do you hear the voice of the martyrs? Are your
souls, spirits, and bodies immersed in the blood of the cross?
The clamor above this earth and the cries of lament over hunger and thirst: are these the wages of the sins of the believers who have consumed the seeds of life without shame of and those who stray away from the blood of the cross? We must know!
Why can’t you see the history of the people of Israel who did not give heed to Jesus’ rebuke, “So that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar” (Matt 23:35)?
They crucified the Messiah that they had been waiting for, lost their country and for 2,000 years endured all sorts of suffering. They experienced a massacre of six million Jews. Even today, they sit at the center of war and cry out, “Lord, when will you come!” Is this a mere coincidence?
Seeds of life! Are you listening to the sounds of the blood of the martyrs? This nation will come to life again when we hear the sounds of the blood of our patriotic forefathers which have seeped into the ground. 

The tragic history of the Israelites! This is the price for their sin of neglecting the sound of the blood of their forefathers and the voice of God. Even today, the cries of the martyrs ring loudly above this earth. Do you hear the sounds of the blood of the martyrs who wish to be avenged?
“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth” (Rev 6:9-10).
Today, the whole world is moaning as a woman giving birth and complete darkness knocks the wind out of the people, causing them to become faint. This, perhaps, is the price for neglecting the sounds of the martyrs for the past 2,000 years. History has met the dark, dark night. These are dark times when human beings have no choice but to faint physically and spiritually. What does this darkness mean? This darkness is the darkness that strikes just before dawn. History is experiencing the pangs of labor in order to hand over the authority to the main characters of the new history, the seeds of life.  The laments of those on the earth strike our hearts. “Watchman, how far gone is the night? (Isa 21:11). But we also hear the answer of the watchman, “Morning comes but also night” (Isa 21:12).
A new morning dawning! This is the eternal kingdom rising toward those who have crossed over history’s dark night. Seeds of life, you are the ones awakening this night! God has come to you in the midst of June and is asking, “Are you listening to the cries of the blood of the patriotic forefathers?”
Have your hearts been immersed in the blood of the martyrs and the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ? The Seeds of life have only thanksgiving for His boundless love that shakes and awakens the seeds of life that have fallen asleep in this faithless world. When we hear the sounds of the blood of the martyrs in our hearts, when the will of those who have given their lives grip our hearts, then there, the nation will be established and the seeds of life, for whom there is no life or death, will overcome the night and usher in the new dawn of history.
God, open our eyes so that we may see the bloodshed of our patriotic forefathers. Avenge the dead souls who cannot close their eyes and find rest on this earth.

Senior Pastor Abraham Park