bound yet free

From the Pastor to you:

I immigrated to Canada with my parents when I was ten years old. It was not a decision I made, nor one I could influence. I had no choice. My early years in Canada were shaped by the weight of immigrant life—by struggle, by experiences of racial discrimination, and by a growing awareness of the injustices embedded in society. After graduating from high school, my parents decided to relocate once again, this time to Los Angeles, California. And once again, it was not what I wanted. Toronto had become home. My friendships were there. My life had taken root. Yet it was through this move—one I resisted—that God quietly unfolded a blessing I could not have imagined. In Los Angeles, I met the woman who would become my wife. Following our marriage, we returned to Toronto and committed ourselves to rigorous study in preparation for pastoral ministry. Nearly a decade later, we made plans once more—plans to return to Los Angeles. But God had other intentions. Instead of California, He redirected us to Detroit, Michigan. It was not my will. It was never part of my design. And yet, it was there that God entrusted us with our two precious daughters, and it was there, in the faithful labor of ministry, that I was shaped, refined, and formed as a pastor and preacher.

After serving for nearly a decade as a senior pastor within a cross-cultural ministry context, God called me once again—this time back to a Korean church, and specifically to Dallas. To be honest, this was not part of my plan. I had never envisioned returning to a Korean church setting, nor had I ever imagined myself relocating to Dallas. Yet along the way, I encountered a God who faithfully unfolds life not according to my will, but according to His. Today, it is my great honor to serve as the Lead Pastor of RockSpring Church. As I look back over the course of my life, I realize nothing has unfolded according to my own designs—and for that, I am profoundly grateful. Had life followed my plans, had I met different people at different moments, had I insisted on my own desires, I would not be standing here today.

Consider this: how can one who has been called a servant of Christ continue to live according to his own will? A servant, by definition, must lay down his own desires in order to truly serve. A faithful servant does not live for himself, but for the will and purpose of his master. In Romans 1:1, Paul introduces himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. During the Roman Empire, it is estimated that more than sixty million people lived as slaves. Everyone understood what it meant to be a slave—the loss of personal autonomy, the surrender of one’s own will. And yet, Paul’s bold declaration that he belonged to Christ as His servant would have stunned Roman citizens. Is not the great dream of human life to be free—to live as we choose, to follow our own desires? Yet here stands Paul, willingly laying aside his own dreams and his claim to freedom in order to live fully under the will and purpose of God. What a shocking confession this must have been to a world that prized power, status, and self-determination. This is what it truly means to encounter Christ—to move from Saul to Paul. The name Saul means “one who grasps, one who clings,” while Paul means “the small one.” No longer a life defined by grasping and self-assertion, but a life marked by humility—becoming small before Christ. For this reason, I struggle to understand arrogant Christians. I struggle to understand believers driven by greed and self-interest. I struggle to understand Christians who are so devoted to building their own kingdoms and creating their own followers.

Wives, learn to serve your husbands in love. Husbands, bind yourselves to your wives as servants, giving yourselves to them in faithful devotion. In Christ, marriage is not about power or control, but about joyful servanthood. When a husband willingly takes the posture of a servant toward his wife, he is freed from every other temptation. When a wife willingly takes the posture of a servant toward her husband, she is freed from every other distraction. It is both bound and free. The same is true for our relationship with Christ. He is our Bridegroom, and we are His bride. In this covenantal relationship, if we are truly bound to Him alone, we are free from all else. Do you truly want to live in freedom? Then follow the will of God. Be completely bound in Christ, and there you will find true freedom.

This past week, the severe winter storm led to the closure of our church, as well as many schools and workplaces. Now, gradually, life is returning to its normal rhythm. On Friday, we will continue our study through 1 Corinthians, and on Sunday, we will continue our exposition of the Gospel of Mark. I pray that you will join us, using this time to seek not your own will, but the will of God. May your lives grow ever more bound to Christ, and may you experience the beauty of a life freed from the world.

Grace and Peace,

Rev. Won D. Kim

The Lead Pastor of RockSpring Church.