I Know You By Name
My grandfather, Gap-su Kim, is a very special person in my life. His strong character has really shaped who I am. A recent photograph of him taken of him crouching by my recently deceased Grandmother’s grave, speaks volumes about the kind of person he is. He is smiling broadly next to the tombstone that has my Grandma’s name, her birthday and her day of passing. But next to Grandmother’s name is my Grandfather smiling into the camera, in person, not only just his name engraved in the tombstone. When told that it is not acceptable to have his name written on the grave before passing away, my Grandfather still insisted on doing it. He said he knew he was going to die at some point and maybe he will save a little money for the family if he does this way. He is strong willed and stubborn but it is almost always for the sake of others.
But more than the impact on my life, I wanted to share how God miraculously led him throughout his life and revealed Himself to be a protector and guide.
My grandfather was born in 1935 in a small village called Hapcheon in the southern part of South Korea. My grandfather spent his childhood during the Japanese occupation of Korea and did not receive a proper education. He lived in such isolation that he, like most of the villagers, did not even realize that South Korea had gained independence from Japan.
The Korean War started in 1945, only a scant 5 years after the Japanese colonization ended. Since my Grandfather was only a teenager, he escaped being drafted into the army. He did help in the war effort by aiding the many refugees that came out of the aftermath of the war. This was a pattern that Grandfather would display throughout his life, using all that he had to serve noble causes.
Not long after the Korean War ended, my Grandfather got match-made to my Grandmother. Like Isaac from the Bible, his first sight of his bride was on his wedding day. They soon had two sons. At this time, my Grandfather was barely in his twenties. Having to be the head of the household at such a young age in a war devastated country was very difficult. But to make matters worse, Grandfather got conscripted and was forced to join the military, leaving behind his young family.
During his first leave from the army, he visited his family. He was shocked and heartbroken to see that they were living without heat in the cold of winter and were literally starving to death. He realized that he could not in good conscience abandon his family, even if it meant that he would become a deserter. He resigned himself to being a fugitive for the rest of his life since deserting from the army was an offense punishable by death. From that moment on he took an alias, and one of his greatest fears was being discovered and that his name being called out in public would be a malevolent and constant dread in his life. For my Grandfather, having his true identity revealed and even being called by his real name was something to be shunned and even feared.
Living as a fugitive was not easy, and the constant fear made his outlook on life very bitter making him a cynic and a pessimistic atheist. He especially hated Christians. All that changed when he happened to meet a Jehovah’s Witness and he got converted. Diving headfirst into this area of his life, he became a very avid believer, even working as a preacher in the Jehovah’s Witness church. Within a few years, my Grandfather became the leader of the evangelism team and became a very famous preacher.
Many people encouraged him to become an actual pastor, a position that is more of an official position, but my Grandfather could not accept the position since he was considered a deserter of the Korean military. Then something happened that changed the trajectory of my Grandfather’s spiritual life. He was challenged to a public theological debate with the pastor of a Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was stumped by the things that the Adventist pastor was saying and even the most well-versed Jehovah’s witness could not refute the arguments. My Grandfather immediately converted to become an Adventist.
Another wonderful, life-changing event happened when a special presidential pardon was granted and my Grandfather was able to recover his lost name. Although it took the burden off of being discovered, Gap-su Kim, found himself not able to make any meaningful changes in his life at this point because he was a man in his 40’s with four children. Although he was incredibly intelligent and academically gifted, it was too late to go back to school to pursue a legitimate career.
True to his character, my Grandfather put all his endeavors into being a worker for the church. He served as a missionary at a satellite church in Busan. No matter how far away he was, he would always return to Busan to preach at his church to preach on Sabbaths.
Thus far in his life my Grandfather felt led by God but he had an unforgettable experience that left no doubt that God was actively working in his life. It was Friday and my Grandfather was preparing to leave Daejeon (where he was working) to Busan to spend the Sabbath there. He bought his bus ticket and was sitting in the back of the bus, waiting for the other passengers to settle in. Suddenly, an unknown man came into the bus and called out, “Is Gap-su Kim on this bus?” My grandfather was wondering if there was someone with the same name, so he stayed quiet, but then the man called my grandfather’s name and also his hometown and his current town. Suddenly, my grandfather felt a paralyzing fear. Even though he had the presidential pardon, he felt that somehow his past was coming back to expose him. My grandfather realized that he could not hide, so he got off the bus with the man.
My Grandfather was totally surprised when the stranger vehemently insisted that Grandfather must change the bus ticket for the next bus. Since my Grandfather didn’t know the nature of what the man wanted, he reluctantly obeyed. As soon as my Grandfather changed his ticket and turned to go to the cafe to meet the man, the man inexplicably turned around and left the place. Grandfather waited for a long time, growing impatient and frustrated as he wanted to know why this strange man told him to change his travel plans. But alas, he could not find the man and he was feeling sorry for himself wondering why he had this inexplicable and needless delay. Then he heard a special announcement come from the radio from the waiting room.
The announcement was that a bus from Daejeon to Busan that had just left had crashed on the Geumgang Bridge, killing everyone on board. It was the bus that my Grandfather had bought the ticket for. When Grandfather was on that bus, and he heard his name being called, he was certain that it was not a good outcome. He felt exposed, guilty, and wanted to run and hide. But little did he know that instead of doing him harm, the man would be saving his life. Gap-su Kim learned the unforgettable lesson that God wanted to give him plans to “...prosper him, to give him hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.
In Exodus 33:17, it says that, “...you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Although this story dramatically reveals how God supernaturally interceded for my Grandfather by calling out his name and bringing him out of the doomed bus, God does no less for us. He is not a respecter of persons and for each one of us, He calls us by name. He calls us out of this sinful world into His heavenly kingdom. Just as God had an amazing destiny for Gap-su Kim, He has an equally beautiful life for those He called, that is you.