Guests arrived from Korea for a major church event. Among them were two senior elder couples whom I was meeting for the first time, yet I found myself feeling strangely familiar with their long lives of faith. Through the testimony of their eldest daughter‑in‑law, a deaconess, I came to learn in detail the exemplary faith and life they had lived. Their five children, raised in the conviction that God must come first, all grew to be successful, formed model Christian homes, and became contributors to society.

Though both elders were over seventy, their spiritual vigor was as strong and passionate as that of people in their twenties. They had lived their entire lives with God at the center. Inheriting the faith of their ancestors, they served the Lord as a pediatrician and as a couple devoted to charity, volunteer work, church building, training pastors, mission work, and relief ministries. They spent their later years as elders of a single church. Their outward lives alone were worthy of deep respect, but seeing how faithfully they upheld the disciplines of true Christian living within their home—setting an example for their children—became both a challenge and an encouragement to my own spiritual life, giving me an opportunity to examine myself again.

After their marriage, they never missed a single day of family worship—not even during the days when they carried evacuation bundles on their backs. They raised their children strictly in the Word of God, feeding them Scripture through letters as they brought up their five sons and daughters. Even after their children grew up, married, and gave them daughters‑in‑law, sons‑in‑law, and grandchildren, they never ceased the practice of reciting Scripture—their spiritual nourishment—before meals. When grandchildren visited from America after a long time away, they had them memorize Scripture and recorded their recitations. After the children returned home, the grandparents would listen to the recordings, praying that the Word would continue to grow in their hearts, soothing their longing through prayer.

Their eldest grandchild, a college student, once visited his grandparents in Korea. On the way to Gimpo Airport to return to America, he began reciting the Scripture he had memorized with his grandmother—and was moved to tears.

Later, when the elders visited their children in America after many years, they gathered the whole family for worship. After reciting the Word themselves, they had their sons, daughters‑in‑law, and grandchildren recite in turn. A humorous story emerged: before meals, everyone had to recite Scripture before eating. Those who were good at memorizing always began eating first, while those who struggled had to wait—even until their food grew cold—until they finished reciting.

Whenever the family gathered, they began and ended the day with hymns, worship, and Scripture. Seeing how the couple lived with God first in both joy and sorrow, I could not help but feel a holy envy—if their blessings on earth were already so great, how much greater must their reward be in heaven. It is a blessed thing when suffering leads a person to discover God and draw near to Him. But to bow before God while possessing abundant wealth, honor, and learning—this is truly beautiful.

“Keep these words that I command you today in your heart. Teach them diligently to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates… Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments…” (Deut. 6:6–8; 7:9)

These elders realized early on that what they must pass down to their children was not material wealth but an invisible treasure. They devoted their entire lives to planting God’s Word in the souls of their descendants—a task far from easy—and even now they continue tirelessly to unearth and pass on that treasure.

Human beings are merely guests who pass briefly through this world, clothed in flesh within the limits of time and space. There is no place on earth where we can settle forever. Some stay for a hundred years, some fifty, some ten, five, or even just one year—passing through like travelers. During that time, we cause one another sorrow and joy. And today, as we labor and search to leave the best for our children, we must ask: What is it that we are truly trying to leave behind?

The two elders stayed briefly and then returned to Korea. Yet the place where they had been remained filled with abundant grace and quiet awe.

— Yoon Wan‑Hee, April 25, 1994