Mr. Sohn has been the Christian in charge of a leper asylum in Southern Korea for many years. When Shinto shrine worship was made compulsory by the Japanese authorities, he refused. Every school was also forced to worship, so he took his two sons away from school and sent them into a factory where shrine worship was not practiced. Japanese police summoned Mr. Sohn and ordered him to worship the shrine but he would not obey, so he was put in prison. While he was in prison the family suffered great hardship, for they had only the meager wage earned by the two boys.
After the U. S. Army came to Korea, Mr. Sohn was released. He resumed his old work at the leper asylum, and sent his two sons to a high school in Soonchun. The elder one was twenty-three years old, the younger nineteen, and they had to study with twelve or thirteen year olds. These two sons were as faithful to the Lord as their father, and they proclaimed the salvation of Christ both in school and out. They became the leaders of a small band of Christians in the school.
Then the Communists raised a riot in the districts of Yusoo and Soonchun, in the extreme south of Korea. One day the elder son of Mr. Sohn was in his lodgings when the landlord came in and urged him to escape. He said he would die for the cause of Christ rather than run away, so he stayed in his room praying. Rioters came to the house, guided by a boy who was in the same class at school. He opened the door of the room and pointed at him, crying, "Here is the most obnoxious Christian boy! Take him." The rioters rushed at him, beat him and stabbed him with bamboo spears. He was taken to the people's court and sentenced to be shot.
When the Christian boy was taken to the place of execution his younger brother ran to him and screened him, saying, "Don't kill him. Kill me instead." The rioters shot both boys to death.
The day after this murder the national army occupied Soonchun and drove out the Communists. Everything was suddenly changed. Many students were arrested and among them the one who caused the death of the two Sohn boys. He was sentenced to be shot.
When Mr. Sohn heard that, he hurried to the army headquarters and asked the commanding officer to pardon the boy. His reason was that, although his two boys were killed, they were now with the Lord; but if this boy were shot he would not have any opportunity to be saved. The commanding officer would not listen at first, but the man's plea was so earnest, that the officer at last gave way. Mr. Sohn took the boy to his home and cared for him as his own son. The boy was moved at such love and grace and became a Christian.
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." 1 John 4:10, 1110Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. (1 John 4:10‑11).
“He that covereth his sins
shall not prosper: but
whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall
have mercy.”