Eugene Cho Quotes

Our calling is not simply to change the world, but perhaps as important, our calling is to be changed ourselves.

What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”3

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

To “do justice” means to render to each what each is due. Justice involves harmony, flourishing, and fairness, and it is based on the image of God in every person—the Imago Dei—that grants all people inalienable dignity and infinite worth.

A religion true to its nature must also be concerned about man’s social conditions.… Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.7

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. —African proverb

A temptation of our culture is the need to debate and comment on every single event. Sometimes, wisdom is evident in silence. Sometimes, silence is necessary for sanity.

What brings credibility to the gospel is not more hour-long sermons. What brings credibility, passion, and, ultimately, belief is seeing the gospel at work … the incarnate gospel. What will move skeptics, cynics, and critics are Christians who love God and love their neighbors—including neighbors who don’t look like them—by willingly and humbly serving their needs.

If we want to be a people who bring hope and healing to a broken culture, with the message of Jesus, we must be willing to scoot over to make room at the table for the untouchables, no matter who they might be.

Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.7

The Jesus I follow is not the emperor arriving on a chariot, but the humble King arriving on a donkey. The all-powerful Lord who chooses a different way, who comes to serve. The Jesus I follow made deliberate efforts to get to know and befriend those who were shunned by society. The Jesus I follow did not have a home, and challenged people to not follow the law, but to live into a new life, a new way of thinking, to bring forth the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

If you truly believe in the gospel, then you have to believe that it matters not just for your personal salvation and blessings but also for God’s pursuit of restoration, redemption, and reconciliation for the entire world. I believe in this gospel. I live for this gospel.

When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice.2

A gospel that not only saves but serves. A gospel that not only saves but seeks to restore all things back unto the One that ushered forth all that is good and beautiful; A gospel that not only saves but ushers in the kingdom of God; A gospel that not only saves but restores the dignity of humanity-even in the midst of our brokenness and depravity.

To devalue the life of another, to be a jerk, is counter to the kingdom. To be a jerk, to revel in earthly shouting matches, sells short the radically different way of Christ. It’s a poor representation of Christianity and also a foolish political move. Before all of our best arguments, let’s first show love. That’s what we’re supposed to be known for, after all.

Much is made about the right to vote and the importance of election days. However, if we reduce civic engagement to a singular vote every two or four years, we are part of the problem. Yes, get out and vote. But don’t just cast a vote. Embody your faith. Serve your neighbors. Advocate for the last and the least. Share the gospel. Work for the common good. Pursue justice. Seek the peace of your city.

Nonviolence means that we will not return evil for evil. It means we will turn the other cheek. We will love our enemies. And yet it does so bravely, leaning forward into the conversation no one is allowing us to have—and speaking up for matters of justice. For matters of equality. To make things right that are broken. Nonviolence is not an invitation to be trampled on. Rather, it requires us to believe that God’s ways are more powerful than ours.

The life of Martin Luther King Jr. was one that typified the pursuit of justice, both spiritually and socially. He said these words: A religion true to its nature must also be concerned about man’s social conditions.… Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.7

If only Facebook had always been around, our broken world would have been fixed long ago. All you have to do to make the world a better place is to change your profile picture or status update. Just think, Dr. King wouldn’t have needed to march. Gandhi wouldn’t have gone on a hunger strike. And Mother Teresa would have never needed to actually touch a sick or poor person. They could have just let everyone know their opinion on FB and everything would have changed for the better.

Justice is the act of restoring something to fullness after it has been harmed. Justice is making things right. But that definition for me is still a little incomplete. Even more fundamental than a definition of justice is the place from which our understanding of justice emanates. It is hard to restore what has been wronged if you don’t have a point of reference. We need to know what this fullness looks like in its pure form. We need to know where this restoration comes from. If fullness is the goal for us as the church and as Christians, we must seek to understand the fullness of what God intended for His creation. We need to more deeply understand God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. We need to more deeply grow in intimacy with the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. More often than not, we’re fixed in the brokenness of our world because we are constantly surrounded by such things. But if we’re not careful, we lose sight of God. We lose sight of God’s purposes and intent for creation. We lose sight of God’s promise to restore our brokenness and our fallen world. This is why for us, as Christians, the person of God, the deity of God, God’s justice, and God’s goodness are such powerful things. God’s justice is His plan of redemption for a broken world. God’s justice is renewing the world to where He would have intended it to be. Justice is not just a thing that is good. Justice is not merely doing good. Justice is not something that’s moral or right or fair. Justice is not, in itself, a set of ethics. Justice is not just an aggregation of the many justice-themed verses throughout the Scriptures. Justice is not trendy, glamorous, cool, or sexy. Justice isn’t a movement. Justice is so much more, and the understanding of this fullness is central to the work that we do in pursuing justice.

I believe every single man, woman, and child—including the pre-born—is created in the image of God. I believe in the sanctity and dignity of life from womb to tomb. Not only babies’ lives, but also the lives of their mothers. Not just our lives, but their lives. Not just American lives, but Syrian lives. Not just Christian lives, but Muslim lives. To be pro-all-life is to acknowledge the systemic injustice that operates against indigenous and black and brown people in our culture. To be pro-all-life is to be broken by the fact that LGBTQ youth are three to six times more likely to attempt suicide. 16 And the list goes on …

If you truly believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you believe that the gospel matters not just for your personal salvation and blessing, but also for God’s pursuit of restoration, redemption, and reconciliation of the entire world. Christians believe in the gospel that is revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ: A gospel that not only saves but also serves; A gospel that not only saves but seeks to restore all things back unto the One that ushered forth all that is good and beautiful; A gospel that not only saves but ushers in the kingdom of God; A gospel that not only saves but restores the dignity of humanity—even in the midst of our brokenness and depravity. This gospel is not just for us. The gospel is good news for all. Justice as Discipleship

I believe you cannot credibly follow Christ unless you pursue justice.

But do you really believe in Jesus when there is no evidence that you are doing what He compels us to do?

Where you’re from should never determine how anyone’s going to treat you. Regardless of citizenship, everyone, by God, has earned the dignity of personhood.

We are all more alike than we like to think we’re all different. We find ourselves in days where it’s too often considered a radical, dangerous act to simply see our shared humanity. But in actual fact, maybe it’s far more dangerous when we can’t see that. What if we leaned in and listened to voices and stories and sat with the hope that we are family not because we have the same nationality—but because we bear the image of the same God. What if we were a society that wasn’t so profoundly image conscious but was more profoundly conscious of the image of God in each other? What if we were less devoted to projecting a certain image and were more devoted to protecting the image of God in each other? What if we took time to honestly ask ourselves: Why in the world are we all born where we are born? Where we live has to mean more than getting something—it has to mean that to those who have been given much, much will be required. It has to mean that those who have privilege can’t live indifferently but are meant to live differently so others can simply live. It has to mean that we are living meaningful lives only if we are helping others get to live meaningful lives.

is doing for others what we would want done for us.

we must reflect on the truth that justice is a reflection of God’s character. Justice is the pursuit of the shalom that God intended for the world and humanity.

Sometimes the things that need to be set right are not just in the lives of those we seek to serve. The things that need to be set right may also be in our own lives.

Now, I am not suggesting that we all adopt a lifestyle of absolute poverty but rather a theology, praxis, and lifestyle of enough. We have enough. We are blessed and blessed immensely. God has given us enough. God is our enough. I’m reminded of the wise words G. K. Chesterton said: “There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”11

But the criticism directed at TOMS (and presumably BOBS as well) in the humanitarian world is that the sometimes-airdropped boxes of shoes disrupt the economies they seek to help, and that they are essentially passing off consumption as charity.6 Instead of addressing the problems of poverty and unemployment, TOMS and BOBS are merely treating a symptom and are in fact making the economy worse in countries that already have high unemployment.

We all love justice … until there’s a cost. But here’s the tension and truth: There’s always a cost to doing justice. And there’s always a cost to following Jesus.

Have you ever heard this kind of promise: “Three easy steps to achieving all your dreams!”? Anyone who suggests such ludicrous fallacies is simply lying to you. There’s a cost to pursuing your dreams, visions, and convictions. And there’s a cost to following Jesus.

Stories matter. How we communicate those stories matters. Our choices in the photos we capture and parade on our websites, brochures, and campaigns matter. Our choice to use photos of real children, women, or men on T-shirts, and to sell them for good causes matters. Asking ourselves the questions, “Should we do it?” and “What were we thinking?” matters, even if we have their permission. We need to question this practice and consider the stories we’re telling. I mean, seriously, would you want photos of your children being paraded around on clothing worn by strangers?

And this is the gospel: The good news is not merely that Jesus saves but that Jesus is with us. The promise of the gospel isn’t the health and wealth we often hear through erroneous prosperity theology, but that in all situations, God is with us.

Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice.2

People really do need improved access to clean water, better health care, decent education, and a living wage. But they, and we, need something far more profound. Whether we realize it or not, we all are longing for an intimate relationship with God, for a sense of dignity, for community and belonging, and for the ability to use our gifts and abilities to develop creation.

However, this initial phase of emergency assistance is often where we stop. We do not move beyond handouts. This is our Western mind-set about helping people: to be content with giving handouts instead of equipping people long-term. In reality, this initial phase of relief should be time limited, likely only one to three months.

Ordinary offerings do not go unnoticed by God; in fact, God can use ordinary offerings to change the world.”4

I quietly mutter, "twelve items...twelve. I know because I count. I am like grocery-store Pharisee who counts twelve items.

Ideas, dreams, and visions don’t change the world. Rather, it’s people—like you and me, who faithfully, prayerfully, and tenaciously live out these ideas, dreams, and visions—who change the world.

Consider the wisdom in these words from Tim Keller: “Doing justice, then, requires constant sustained reflection and circumspection. If you are a Christian, and you refrain from committing adultery or using profanity or missing church, but you don’t do the hard work of thinking through how to do justice in every area of life—you are failing to live justly and righteously.”1

It really is God’s grace that He doesn’t reveal the entirety of our futures all at once. If we knew what we’d have to face in the future, we’d all likely run the other way—like Jonah.

It is also impossible to separate word and deed ministry from each other in ministry because human beings are integrated wholes—body and soul. When some Christians say, “Caring for physical needs will detract from evangelism,” they must be thinking only of doing evangelism among people who are comfortable and well-off.6

to hear His

Thank you for your work, but as you share the stories of difficulties and pain, don’t forget to share the stories of beauty, hope, courage, and love. Please be responsible in your storytelling.

The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.…

lives. We need to pursue justice not just because the world is broken, but because we’re broken too. Pursuing justice helps us put our own lives in order. Perhaps this is what God intended—that in doing His work serving others, we discover more of His character and are changed ourselves.

pursuing the dreams and visions that God has deposited in the hearts of those who love Him. Ideas, dreams, and visions don’t change the world. Rather, it’s people—like you and me, who faithfully, prayerfully, and tenaciously live out these ideas, dreams, and visions—who change the world.

We need to pursue justice not just because the world is broken, but because we’re broken too.

From a political perspective, cultural Christianity is when our theology is held captive by our politics rather than our politics being informed and even transformed by our theology.

To be a Christ follower is to be faithful amid tension. To stay engaged, to remain hopeful, to love anyway, to walk with integrity, and to bear witness to the love, mercy, and grace of Christ. This is becoming increasingly difficult, but such is our call as followers of Jesus. It’s not merely what we believe but also how we engage.

Nonviolence is not an invitation to be trampled on. Rather, it requires us to believe that God’s ways are more powerful than ours.

If we’re not willing to cross the street to love our neighbor, we have no right to be enraged at national politics. But if we’re about kingdom work in our neighborhoods and cities, we can help to bring about positive change nationally.

We must consider how we tend to align politically and then question our tribes. But more than that, this must be personal. We must be willing to pick apart what we believe. We must think independently. We must pursue truth. We must watch what we believe and what we share. Without this critical thinking, we do not know our blind spots.

To be a Christ follower is to be faithful amid tension. To stay engaged, to remain hopeful, to love anyway, to walk with integrity, and to bear witness to the love, mercy, and grace of Christ.

Generosity is what keeps the things I own from owning me. In other words, the point of my generosity isn’t just to bless others; it’s also to liberate me.

We can be informed and educated about many things, but we can only go deep in a few things.

Take the time, and make a commitment to be an expert in the areas of your passion.

If people know that you believe it, that you are invested, and they know that you are not just skimming the surface, they will begin to realize that it’s not something you’re selling. Not something you want to monetize.

Today, we believe stories change the world. Yes, they do. But by emphasizing that so much, we place the art of storytelling on a pedestal. At times we may feel tempted to manipulate the story so that it becomes more attractive, or dare I say it, marketable. Marketable for what? Some try to manipulate a story to sell products, solicit more donations, build our platforms, or grow our tribe.

If you don’t know who you are, you risk burnout, shortcuts, and the possibility that your good intentions will harm others.

the most foundational thing that we were called to do in response to loving God was to love our neighbor, for the simple reason that everyone is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect because of whose image we bear.

three options for God’s people—go, send, or disobey.

On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” Our service toward those who are hurting is a way to demonstrate love of neighbor, but altering systems and structures is also critical to ensure that our neighbors thrive.

God is a God of justice who advocates for the vulnerable, which include the “quartet of the vulnerable”—the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant. God acknowledged their vulnerabilities and instituted structures and systems to take care of them.

To truly enter this stage of solidarity in our relationships, we as the church need to be engaging our brothers and sisters with questions: What issues most impact you? What do you need? How can we stand with you? What can we celebrate with you? These are questions we should be asking consistently, both as a church community and as individuals.

Immigrants, particularly the most vulnerable, are looking for people who will stand with them—not for them. They are inviting us to come and stand alongside them.

people want a community to belong to before they want something to believe in.

Churches are presented with the opportunity to be “home away from home.” We are provided an opportunity to embody and witness to the love of Christ. Not in what we say but in how we live

To love our neighbors as ourselves is the natural outcome of our love toward God.

prioritize relationships over “problem solving.

Though we may begin with hospitality, where we are saying “we welcome you,” Scripture calls us to journey from that place, through a place of solidarity (“we stand with you”), and ultimately to mutuality (“we need you”), where we comprehend just how deeply the global community of Jesus followers need each other in order to be the people of God we are called by Scripture to be.

Welcome isn’t just a word we speak but a way we live.

Upon hearing the news of Judah, Nehemiah didn’t go to social media and post about it, nor did he go to his friends and start talking about it. He poured his heart and soul out to the Lord. It says in Nehemiah 1:4 that “When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah then prays a prayer of worship and confession, and requests that God grant him success and favor in order to do what he felt was weighing heavy on his, and God’s, heart. When we are moved in our hearts and distressed about the circumstances around us, Nehemiah teaches us to take our heartaches and longings to the Lord first.

Nehemiah is a classic example of a leader who used his voice, position, and resources to help defend and rebuild a system that he believed was needed to protect the people of Jerusalem. What we see in his story is that (1) his heart broke for the people of Jerusalem; (2) he prayed and fasted for God to work through him; (3) he used his voice to speak up to people in power; and (4) he gathered people around him who shared the vision with him.

we are to affirm the image of God in every person through our words and deeds.