Bethany Well

In case you hadn’t heard, Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been freed from their detainment in North Korea and pardoned from their sentence of 12 years in a prison work camp for entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

As soon as the story broke, I tweeted, jokingly, that “Bill takes the lead as the most culturally-relevant Clinton!” While that may be true. I think, at least in one sense, he has got me thinking of an even greater person.

As I perused some of the images on the internet of Clinton’s trip to North Korea (DPRK – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — How is this country called Democratic, the People’s or a Republic???), I was struck at some of the similarities of my own experience.

I was once a prisoner, convicted of crimes that my freedom could not pay. And so I was sentenced not just to 12 years of hard labor, but to a life sentence. In fact, we all are given the same sentence.

“For the wages of sin is death” ~ Romans 6:23

Mr. X-President left his place of prestige (and celebrity), traveled to a foreign land, spoke up on behalf of prisoners and mediated their release from their sentence. In the same way, Jesus was one who was willing to leave his rightful place, traveled to earth, spoke up on my behalf and mediated my freedom from my punishment.

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!” ~ Philippians 2:6-8

However, there are some very distinct differences between Clinton and Christ. [ed note: Shocking, I know!] First of all, it seems that North Korea actually made the plea for some sort of envoy like President Clinton to come and ask for amnesty. But, we didn’t ask God for salvation; God granted it graciously. In fact, I wasn’t even aware of my own need for salvation. Yet, God granted it graciously.

Second, at the end of his humanitarian trip, Bill returned safely on the same plane as the freed prisoners. Jesus did not walk away scot free. Instead, he had the punished that I deserved exacted upon himself in my stead. If Clinton really wanted to model Christ, then he would have worked those 12 years (x2 = 24yrs) in the labor camp in order to free Ling and Lee.

But that would be crazy!

Well, that was the length to which Christ was willing to go, the price which Christ was willing to pay in order to purchase our freedom from our sins. It wasn’t 12 years in a labor camp. It was dying a criminal’s death on a cross, which should have been reserved for each one of us. Instead, we are free because of Christ’s mediating our freedom through his death.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” ~ I Timothy 2:5

To see footage of Laura Ling’s offering of gratitude to her supporters, check out the video. **Warning: Emotions may ensue.** [Oh, and the tall Korean guy standing next to Lisa Ling in the background, Paul Song, used to go to Bethany Church when we were growing up.]

To read more of Pastor Richard’s blog posts, check out his blog at www.richleeblessed.com.

Written by: RjL on August 5, 2009.