日本を守る神

The news of the tsunami & quakes in Japan has laid heavy on my heart since I found out the news Friday morning.

I remember visiting Tokyo on a weekend trip back in 2007. I remember thinking everything about the city was extremely clean, almost sterile. But from the short time I've spent there, I got the impression that something about Japan just seemed cold, grey, and bleak. I couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly, but there was a dismal emptiness that clung heavily in the smoggy air. And now that I think back on it, I think it's because it is a nation that is devoid of God. Everyone seems so bright and chipper, but under it all- it is a country that is tarnished with loneliness and corruption.

Even with the rocky past of Korea-Japan relations (being constantly reminded of it from my grandma), I have always had a soft spot for the nation that introduced the world to Hello Kitty, anime, and Ichiban Ramen. In fact, I've been very involved in a Japanese-American community during my childhood when I attended a Japanese church. They were the ones who introduced me to the phrase Praise God- "Kansha-nae!" Though it seems like forever ago, they were such a huge part of my life back then, and I still think about them often.

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When a monumental disaster strikes, we often find ourselves questioning God and His divine purpose. Was that really necessary? At least when an individual tragedy hits us (whether it is a loved one dying from cancer or getting in a fatal car accident), we try our very best (though it might be painstakingly difficult) to make some sense of the situation. Perhaps, the death of one person could've brought another family member to God. Also, it offers us some consolation to know that the victims will get the proper recognition and honor that they deserve from their passing. But when such disaster takes place in such colossal proportions, there is no way to make sense of it at all. And there are no personalized gravestones or obituaries, no hours upon hours of mourning from loved ones- people's deaths merely become a number/statistic... a part of detached history like the giant floods and plagues that occurred in the Old Testament. As we find ourselves getting frustrated, angry or confused about everything, I also find myself having no other satisfying option than turning to God. If I believed there was no God, there would be no redemption to these situations; a natural disaster strikes, thousands of people die, and that's it. End of story. But since I believe there is a God who saves and reverses all the hurt & suffering in this world, hope can be found even in the most desolate situations. So though we might not know what is the meaning behind this all, I find comfort in knowing that at least there is a meaning rather than no meaning... that there is some crazy purpose behind it all that our little human minds cannot yet grasp or understand. After all, it's better to have hope for something than for nothing.