By: Chef Furikake
My worth is not in what I own
Not in the strength of flesh and bone
But in the costly wounds of love
At the cross
My worth is not in skill or name
In win or lose, in pride or shame
But in the blood of Christ that flowed
At the cross
From My Worth is Not in What I Own
by Keith and Kristyn Getty
I would guess that the above song is familiar to many of us. But even if it is new to you, for the Christian, the truths it proclaims are not. God tells us again and again in His Holy Word that a person’s worth is not found in his accomplishments, status, race, gender, or anything else, but in his or her being created in the image of God (Galatians 3:28-29: Genesis 1:26-27). Furthermore, this God sent his Son into the world to die for our sins so that we might be reconciled to our Creator and live in restored fellowship with Him forever (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:13-17). The Lord Jesus, the worthy One, died for us, the unworthy ones, so that we might be reconciled to God and rest in His imputed righteousness (Revelation 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:18).
For those who are still far off and have not yet put their faith in Christ, however, the question of where they find their worth is very difficult to answer. We hear a multitude of suggestions based on background, experience, and opinions, but apart from God, the search does not yield answers that can ever truly satisfy. Nonetheless, people continue to ask, where is my worth found? What gives us value?
The Japanese people are no exception in the search to answer this question. In fact, I would argue that Japan’s collectivistic culture and the people’s deeply ingrained desire to maintain relational harmony makes the search to find their sense of worth and what makes them valuable very difficult. But I believe this difficulty may actually provide a unique and powerful gateway for evangelism and Gospel conversations among the Japanese. For a people that largely finds their sense of worth in their accomplishments and how they are viewed among others to hear that their worth is not found in these things may sound crazy at first or too good to be true, but I believe that this is what Japanese people are thirsting for in their souls. Beginning Gospel conversations with the Biblical truth of how one’s worth is not found in what others say about you but in what the God who created you says about you will I believe awaken their thirst for the living water Christ promises to all who come to Him.
Valuable in Whose Sight? Restoration with their Creator
While it is crucial in evangelism to the Japanese to emphasize that there is one God who is the Creator of all things, including people, this concept of a Creator God will be new and even shocking to most Japanese people. If you ask a Japanese person to describe God, he or she may ask you, which one? Japan is known as the land of 8 million gods, ranging from sun gods to transportation gods, and many of these gods are things in the control of people. Therefore, introducing the idea of one God, a Creator God, a God who knows us and whom we can actually know, will be completely novel to the average Japanese person. Thus, it is crucial to begin with focusing on God as Creator in order that they may understand that God is personal, that he already knows them, and that their identity and worth come from God.
In a culture where a word exists to describe death from overwork (過労死 (Karoshi)), this good news about the Creator God forming Japanese people and their worth being found in their being His creation should fill Japanese hearts with hope, shouldn’t it? God did not simply create us and then leave us. Rather, he created us for a relationship with Himself, and thus a fruitful way to continue to introduce the God of Scripture to Japanese people is to share with them God’s words about how He views His people.
Isaiah 43:4 Precious, Honored, Loved
“Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.” Isaiah 43:4
「わたしの目には、あなたは高価で尊い。わたしはあなたを愛している。」イザヤ 43:4
(Watashi no me ni wa, anata wa kouka de tattoi. Watashi wa anata wo aishite iru. –izaya 43:4)
If you’d ask me before moving to Japan what Isaiah 43:4 says, I would have had no idea. But for the past 10 years it’s been written on my heart (both in Japanese and English) because it crops up again and again. Before looking closely at verse 4, I want to begin by looking at the context of Isaiah 43, a chapter overflowing with hope and comfort for exiled Israel. As the ESV Study Bible notes, “God comforts his exiled people by promising the world-transforming display of his glory.” In Isaiah 43:1-7, God, in his great mercy, reassures his people that, for His Name’s sake, He will guarantee their beautiful restoration.
Isaiah 43:1-4 reads:
“But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.”
Though the Word of God is still not widely known in Japan, the first half of Isaiah 43:4–”Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you”–appears perhaps more frequently than any other Bible passage in Japan. You see it quoted in Japanese, English, and often in both languages. In Christian bookstores in Japan you find it on bookmarks, file folders, wall hangings, calendars, and the list goes on. But you also find it elsewhere, such as on the packaging of Kuze Fuku and Co., which is a top Japanese gourmet store. Its website characterizes it as “the go-to place for authentic, old-world Japanese cuisine and culinary items.” Its Japanese founders are reportedly Christian, and Kuze and Fuku stores are found in malls throughout Japan. The stores are frequented by the general Japanese population, and many people purchase the items to give as gifts to neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc. Gift-giving is of great importance among the Japanese (with giving/receiving food items being very popular), so a shop like Kuze Fuku shines as a valuable resource for Japanese people.
While the packaging might appear at first glance as nothing extraordinary, on closer examination a quote in English catches the eye. On most of the Kuze Fuku labels Isaiah 43:4 in the NIV translation appears: “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.” In Isaiah 43, God assures his exiled people that he will restore them because they are precious and honored in his sight, and because he loves them. They were taken captive and brought into a foreign land, but God was still their God, and He promised He would restore them to Himself. And though 21st Century Japan may seem very far removed from this original context of Isaiah 43, I believe the presence of this verse in the culture serves as an effective entry point to sharing the Gospel with the Japanese. But why?
The Gospel through the Lens of Relationship
As we have said, Japan’s collectivistic culture places great value on relationships. And in Isaiah 43:4, God speaks to his people personally and tells them how he views them–that they are precious and honored in his sight, and that he loves them. In Japanese, the word translated “honored” is translated as “very valuable” or “very costly/expensive,” and this word choice highlights the truth that how God views us is what ultimately matters. To translate literally from the Japanese, the verse reads: “In my eyes, you are precious and very valuable. I love you.”
This verse is not an explanation of the grace and love of God (such as we find in Ephesians 2:8, John 3:16, etc), but one in which God Himself speaks of his love and how he views his people. And I believe this helps us to contextualize the gospel in Japan by focusing on (1) the restoration of relationship with the Creator God who made all people, including the Japanese and (2) focusing on where their worth or value is truly found–that is, not in other’s opinions (or in the “sight” of others), not in their accomplishments, in worldly success, or in anything else, but in God’s words about them.
Thus, if God is Creator and knows his creation, and because we are his creation is what gives us value, then what God says about us is of tantamount importance. A Japanese friend of mine once said, “Japan is a relational culture, and people really receive any truth claim through the lens of relationship.” If we use Isaiah 43:4 as an evangelistic bridge, then, we are presenting the God of Scripture through the lens of relationship. God declares how he views his people in Isaiah 43:4–it is absolute fact, and what God says, as Israel’s Creator and Redeemer, is what counts. And what God says ultimately matters for the Japanese people as well.
Looking at the second half of Isaiah 43:4, in speaking to Israel, God says that He gives “ men in return for [them], peoples in exchange for [their] life.” This foreshadows the Great Exchange where Christ took our sin upon Himself so that we might receive His righteousness and be reconciled to God. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us (Romans 8:32). God so loved the world that he gave His only Son so that we might not perish but have eternal life through faith in Jesus (John 3:16).
Isaiah 43:4 provides a powerful bridge to help bring Japanese people to see who God really is and what He has done out of His great love for them. And I believe the fact that this verse is frequently seen in Japan–again, even in a mainstream Japanese store–greatly helps make the Bible seem less “foreign” to Japanese people. Though the verse appears in English on the Kuze Fuku label, even this language choice may prove to be another Gospel entry point. Many Japanese desire to learn English, and companies with advertising or packaging with English are often regarded as stylish or culturally relevant. Further, this Bible verse is typically the only English on the label, so it stands out against the Japanese text of each product. Each label shines forth with a message of hope for a people still dwelling in darkness. They just need someone to help them see it.
Conclusion
During my 10+ years living and serving in Japan, I have seen the reality of the hard soil and the resistance to the gospel. I have felt the weight firsthand of the frequently quoted statement that Japan is a missionary graveyard. But I have also been amazed to see God again and again use the smallest things to plant gospel seeds in Japanese hearts and even bring about saving faith in seemingly impenetrable Japanese hearts. And I believe that God will work in this way again through things like the quiet presence of His Word in Isaiah 43.
I believe that though great spiritual darkness continues to blind millions of Japanese people that the day of the dawning of the light of Christ in those millions will come–and perhaps when we least expect it. In Matthew 13:31-32, Jesus speaks about the kingdom of heaven and its surprising presence and growth. He says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Even from the smallest seed, such as one verse of Scripture, the kingdom of God may suddenly break forth in Japan and bring many to reconciliation with their Creator to the praise of the glory of God. Let us plead with the Lord for this day to come soon.