Mysteries of the Kingdom of God
Newsletters
April 2001
Sermons by Eli Hofer
03/14/01
08/22/01
08/11/02
The Writings of Ulrich Stadler
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
I SET YOU APART
by Michiko Koyama Murphy
I was born in 1933 in a small, very old village in Japan, a land of Buddhism and Shintoism. Although these religions may not appear to be strong on the surface, their roots are spread deep and wide.
My native village was a very close Buddhist community. Generation after generation lived in the same village which became one large family.
My grandfather became the first Christian in that community. To understand what this means in terms of community relationship, let's picture a small Christian community somewhere in the United States. Every family is a Christian family. Everyone knows every one else in that community and they are supportive of one another. If someone is sick, naturally, you go and help the family. If someone needs prayer, you will pray with him. You help each other in your daily living, from weddings to funerals.
Now a young man in that community decides that Christianity is not for him. He becomes a Buddhist, burns all his Bibles and books about Jesus, and has nothing to do with Christianity anymore. What will happen then? His family grieves, his relatives grieve and the community will have nothing to do with the one who has rejected their beliefs.
This is what happened to my grandfather. He knew, of course, that all these things would take place. He gave up his family. He gave up his relatives. He gave up his life and he chose Jesus. The family's grief is easily understood, but the reason for the grief of the relatives may not be so apparent. Japanese society is a little different than here in the United States. For instance, when you get married, you carry a person and not a family. In Japan, specially at the time of my grandfather, marriages were between families.
When a young man become of marriageable age, his relatives will choose a suitable girl for him. She will be from a family matching him in social status. They check not only the girl and her family, but also her relative's social status and background, who died from what disease, who did what. When they think it is a good match, then they will go to the man or his family and ask, "What do you think of the daughter of so and so?" If the answer is positive, the people will go to the girl's house and talk with her parents. If the parents think it is a good match for their daughter, then the parents will talk with the girl. After all this, the match-makers will arrange a meeting between the man and the girl. Unless one of them strongly objects, the marriage will then take place.
One of my second or third cousin's father told me long ago that when he and his future bride met for the first time, she was so shy that she never lifted her head up to look at him. Although they met several times, he did not know what she looked like until after they got married. My grandfather was a descendant of the Samurai. A Samurai was a member of the military class in feudal Japan. It's social status was very much like the knights of feudal England. They were proud of their nobleness and it meant a lot to them. My grandfather knew that his in-laws would say, "You have ruined our daughter's marriage.''
But this did not deter him. He gave up everything for Jesus. He burnt the family shrine which was in the house for generations. He burnt all the books and ornaments which were of Buddha. Thus he broke the strong bondage of tradition and the power of Buddha, and one by one his whole household was saved.
When I was a child, we were accepted in the community as we were. There were several hundred students in the elementary school that I attended and my brothers and I were the only Christians. Everyone knew that we were Christians. During the war, the government spread propaganda accusing the Christians of being spies and enemies of the land. I remember very well that during recess some of the older students came to me and said, "You are a Christian, aren't you!"
The persecution from the older children hurt me, but it made me think about God. No one talked about God except my family. I didn't even know if God really existed.
In November of 1942, my father died after many years of illness. I was nine years old at that time. As it was the custom of the school, my entire class and my teachers came to the funeral. They stood outside of the house, quiet and sober, listening to the hymns we sang. I wished that they weren't there. I wished that my relatives and the pastor wouldn't sing so loud because I knew that my classmates would make fun of me about singing songs when someone died.
Over the years all these things added to my shyness, and I spent a lot of time alone in the garden at our house. All year around flowers were blooming. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. Besides, many creatures were living there and I enjoyed watching them.
In the hot and humid summer evenings, I watched the big spiders hang down from a branch of our fig tree. They would swing themselves to another branch and begin weaving their webs. Some days, I would watch a cicada coming out of its old shell. Another day, I would sit quietly by a hen, which was laying an egg, and wait till she would proudly announce what she had produced. Then I'd hold her so very warm egg in my hands.
One day, as usual, I was spending some time in our well-cared-for flower garden. The sun was warm. It was a beautiful spring day. I was looking at a flower. I looked at each petal. They were so beautiful and delicate. I wanted to paint them and I thought about how I could capture their exact color. Then I knew! It was alive and no human could create such a thing. Then I knew that there was a great God just as my family said. The Almighty God, who made the heavens and the earth, revealed Himself to me, and I was very happy.
I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and was baptized at the age of 14. But I did not begin to read the Bible. I thought that I knew it quite well. I was born and raised in family prayer meetings, churches and Sunday schools. My father was a minister and my mother was a Sunday school teacher. I heard every story in the Bible so many, many times. Before the pastor even began to preach, I would often get bored. I was not abiding in His Word. I was not living His Word. Yet, I believed that I was a Christian.
My life was meaningless. The joyless life continued for about 25 years and I was getting hungry for God. During that time I often looked back and longed for the love that I'd experienced when I was yet very young, with my grandparents, my parents, and all the family at the church.
I knew that I had to read the Bible, so I read it occasionally. It wasn't interesting. I even taught Sunday school some times. Yes, I prayed, too. Some of my prayers were answered, but usually, I did not expect an answer from God.
Yet, God was merciful to me all these years. One day in September of 1974 while I was preparing for a Sunday school lesson, I felt so unworthy and unclean. Yet, I had to teach. I was looking for a picture of Jesus I wanted to use for the lesson. When I saw Jesus on the cross, something wonderful happened. I began to feel God's love being poured out on me. I felt His cleansing power coming down on me, from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. I felt washed and clean. Then my eyes were opened to God. I was saturated in His love.
Fourteen months later, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. The joy and the love of the Lord took root in me and my life was changed ever since. I found it a joy to read God's Word. The Word became alive. I drank and ate God's Words. Now I know that I need to abide in Him and His Word.
Jeremiah 1:5 says
Before I formed you in the womb, I
knew you.
Before you were born, I set you
apart.
I am grateful. I am set apart from sin for a purpose. Whatever it is, I want to obey Jesus.
Right now, I am blessed with a wonderful husband and five wonderful children. My place is to serve the Lord in my family. It is a joy to be a wife and mother of the family that God has given to me.
(This page was last updated on 08/25/00. Visitor
)