c. 1998 Religion News Service

(Timothy Dearborn is chief of staff for World Vision, United States).

UNDATED _”If your enemy is hungry, feed them.” These words from Scripture still ring with challenge.

A deadly famine has been stalking for more than two years a part of the world unseen and ignored by most. Innocent men, women and children have died _ perhaps as many as 2 million _ and many more are suffering in a virtually invisible country on the brink of disaster _ North Korea.

The famine plaguing this isolated nation has evoked little compassion from most Americans.

Perhaps it is because North Korea, one of the last communist countries, is seen as a brutal, totalitarian regime, issuing threats and massing millions in its army to stare down 37,000 American troops across the De-Militarized Zone.

Perhaps it is because Americans have not been bombarded nightly on television with pictures of starving North Korean children.

Perhaps it is because North Koreans were our enemy in a war that cost tens of thousands of American lives and divided millions of Korean families. Or perhaps it is simply because our lives are overwhelmed with news of too many needs, crises and catastrophes.

And yet, as Christians we are to see beyond governments, militaries and even our own incapacities. We see innocent people suffering, people whom God loves. These innocent people are beginning to see us.

On a recent assessment mission in North Korea, a World Vision relief worker visited a nursery on a cooperative farm. Malnourished children were being fed a special corn-soy blend of food. Red, white and blue grain bags, prominently stamped with the words”a gift from the people of the United States of America,”were stacked outside and grateful parents knew who was helping to keep their children alive.

Such facts are not easily forgotten. In these small but significant ways the seeds of peace and understanding are sown.

And peace and reconciliation are what we hope to see in our lifetime.

The border between North and South Korea stretches far beyond the DMZ. It divides more than 1 million Korean families in the Koreas, the United States, and elsewhere.

The Rev. Chung Nam Shik, a pastor from the Seattle area, prays everyday for reunification.”I am an old man. Before I die, I must see my family,”says Chung, who fled with part of his family during the retreat in 1951. Four siblings were left behind. They were too young to flee. Two have died; a younger brother and sister remain.

Unfortunately, many other separated brothers and sisters in North Korea have died unseen because of the famine.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the righteous ask Jesus,”Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?”Jesus answers,”Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Are we missing an opportunity to see our Lord in helping the least of North Korea? God invites us to extend God’s own compassion to people, regardless of their governments.”Why?”persist the wary,”isn’t this communist nation our enemy?” The Book of Proverbs, echoed by the Apostle Paul, instructs us:”If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. … Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good?

Further instructions to”love your enemy”say it best. We are called not to love friends and neighbors and family only _ what is there in that? The gospel calls us to forgiveness and true reconciliation and the hard work of making peace with our enemies.

Faith-based relief organizations and other international groups, like UNICEF and the World Food Program, recognized the great need in North Korea about three years ago and began delivering a trickle of assistance. By 1998, that trickle has become a small stream of food, medicines, clothing, seeds, tools and fertilizer. But much more assistance is needed to help the hungry survive the summer until the harvest next fall.

The U.N. World Food Program this month began its largest food aid appeal ever, for a $378 million, 658,000-ton grain package it hopes will help more than 7 million North Koreans _ about a third of the population.

Our faith challenges us to a new way of seeing the people of North Korea.

As we see and respond to those whose suffering is hidden from the media, we also see Jesus. This is the wonder of the gospel.

DEA END DEABORN