They have not been released just yet, so keep these South Korean believers in your prayers, but praise God that the door is being opened for their release! (Read the previous Ambassadors post on the hostage situation here.)
Read the CNN story.
***UPDATE***
12 of the hostages have been released. Praise the Lord!
This release raises some interesting questions, though–questions that are very important for all Christians to think about. The South Korean government has promised to ban all Christian mission work in Afghanistan to obtain the release of the hostages, among other things.
These men and women knew the risk before they left. Some commentators have made the argument that they were foolish to go to such a dangerous place as Afghanistan. Certainly, if they took the risk lightly, or if they failed to use wisdom in their preparations, I would agree, but otherwise that argument rings hollow. Missions work would be virtually non-existent if we only went to "safe" places–goodness, even inner city evangelism would have to stop. As Christians, we are called to take certain risks to fulfill our calling to take the gospel to the lost, and to minister to those in need.
What about those that died? Should we look back, in the 20/20 vision of hindsight, and say that their trip was a mistake? The sorrow of their families must be intense, and their death is a tragedy, but seeing only the tragedy is forgetting eternity. The history of missions is full of stories of tragedy; the story of Jim Elliott comes immediately to my mind. He and two other promising, bright, smart young men were killed trying to reach out to the Auca Indians in South America, and though I cannot speak for them, I bet they would do it all again. Their sacrifice was not foolish; as Jim Elliott himself said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
And what about those that have lived? What a praise, that they escaped the temporal tragedy. But at what cost?
I am grateful I did not have to make the tough decisions that the South Korean government has made. They were given no good option, and I do not mean to try to place myself above them. But as Christians, we must think these things through in light of eternity. What is the eternal value of ministry? If the risk is worth taking, then the sacrifice is worth making.
Our brothers and sisters overseas face these risks and make these sacrifices daily, not because they choose the risk, but because they choose Christ. We don't face that persecution. We have it easy. But will we take the risk, and make the sacrifice, if we are called to do so?
