By Jonathan Ho

Dear readers, 

20/20 vision means you can see at twenty feet what someone with normal vision can also see at twenty feet. 20/200 vision means you can see at twenty feet what someone with normal vision can see at two hundred feet. Sometimes we have to be closer to a problem to see what others at a further distance can see much more easily. This is true not only with physical vision, but also in other areas. 2020 was a year when many issues became more apparent in the public sphere. 

The year 2020 was a difficult year for everyone. Not only did we have the COVID-19 pandemic, we also dealt with political divisiveness along with revelation after revelation of racial injustices. What might have been obvious to some groups of people has started to come into focus for us. And what has been obvious to us, has started to come into focus for others.

It is during these turbulent times that we often see change in the world, both for good and for evil. As followers of Christ, we must remain vigilant and be both wise and bold in our witness. 

At KRC, we aim to point you to Christ and his ministry in the world. This is not a push for Republican or Democratic ideals, conservative or liberal messages, nor even Christian religious ideals, but to spur on your relationship with God, to equip you to follow Christ, one day at a time. 

I often wish our walk with God were like a rulebook: do X or Y whenever Z happens, but this is not so. For some of us in these times, God is calling us to listen. For some of us, God is calling us to speak. And for some of us, God is telling us to do both and more. Hearing God one day at a time is not easy. 

Back in the day of the prophet Samuel, Israel had been governed by judges, those God raised up to save his people. As Samuel grew older, his sons were corrupt and Israel longed to be as all the other nations around them; they longed for a king. This displeased God, who said they were rejecting him as their king (see 1 Samuel 8).

We too may long for a king as the Israelites did, a human to whom we can turn to tell us what to do, but we must learn to seek our true King who is God. This is not a clean or easy process, but the path with a small gate and a narrow path. It is a difficult path to follow Jesus. At times, people will praise you, and at other times they will persecute and try to get rid of you. During these times, we need the courage and strength of the Holy Spirit to step up as Esther did to King Ahasuerus. Raised up by God for her time, she spoke up to the king for her people. I believe each of us have been raised up by God for such a time as this. May we learn to humbly sit at the feet of Jesus and do what he commands us to do. 

As we look back at 2020, we must learn to see more clearly what others already see. In this edition we’ve asked people to share what they’ve seen in this past year. I ask you to do the same as we continue this year: ask people around you about their year. Don’t assume what they’ll say or lead them in your questions, but listen, and see what God has laid on their hearts. 

Reflections ranged from volunteering during these difficult times to what the gathering of the church may look like and reflections after the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings. We’ve also included a glossary of terms you may be unfamiliar with. While these terms may not be directly from Scripture, they are connected with the heart of our calling in Scripture and necessary to help us become better stewards and peacemakers in this time. 

This year, may God give us strength to follow him. The way to life is not the path with a wide gate and a broad path, but the one where those who wish to speak should remain silent and listen, those who are timid and quiet must stand up and speak, and those who wish to remain on the sidelines must step into the fray. May we be as the people of Issachar, people who understand the times and who know what to do (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). May God have grace on us as we seek his will together.