Now, to get a little more personal… The following is my dad’s story that I wrote down 2 1/2 years ago, and to this day, it challenges me to live radically…
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Forgiveness… This one word (and action) has been an underlying current in the tides of our family’s life. It’s also my Dad’s platform, his message as a pastor and missionary… So, when he shared yet another story of forgiveness, I was amazed AGAIN by his attitude of obedience before the Lord…
I don’t know if many people know this or not, but my Dad can’t hear out of one of his ears. All our lives he mentioned that his ear drum had burst and to speak more clearly… 
Somehow Carol and I had both concluded that it had something to do with the war when he was a child. But we were wrong… A few days ago, while sitting around the dinner table, as he was sharing about how ear surgeries are done, he remembered this story that he had forgotten…
When my Dad was in his early to mid 20’s, he joined the U.S. army and somehow got assigned back to Korea. While there, he said people were really confused by him. He was a Korean, but part of the U.S. army. So both sets would be confused and do a double-take. Well, one day, while my Dad was waiting in line for food in the cafeteria, he urged an African-American man and his friend to move forward. Thinking that my Dad was telling him what to do as a Korean from the Korean military (a few worked on the same base), he struck my Dad so hard on one side of his head that my Dad had to be helicoptered to a hospital. (Quick note: my Dad said that the other guy who was with the African-American man realized that my Dad was part of the U.S. army and was quick to yell it out as soon as his friend had struck him. So, it reminded me of what happened to Paul as a Roman citizen in Acts 22.) The African-American had ruptured my Dad’s ear drum and he had to have surgery. Afterwards, my Dad’s commanding officer asked if he wanted to file a complaint, but my Dad refused. He told his commanding officer that he was a Christian and would not file the complaint… Well, my Dad happened to work in the main office as the first point of contact - the office that every military man has to go through. And one day, the African-American showed up. While there, he recognized my Dad. They talked and my Dad told him not to treat Koreans that way again and shared the Gospel with him. He lead that man to the Lord…
My Dad has other stories from the Army, but this particular story challenged me again about forgiveness… To this day, my Dad can barely hear out of that one ear and even has to read lips to compensate, but he sacrificed his hearing, so that that man could have life. Life eternal, that is… And who knows, maybe others heard that story, too, and turned to the Lord… This is just a small story compared to all the others before and after… Slowly, but surely…