One of my favorite “grab a quick bite” restaurants in Charleston is run by a little Korean lady named Mama Kim. Mama Kim is a born again Christian who is very religious and who takes her faith quite seriously – to the point where she has several mission and outreach donation jars that make the tip jar almost invisible. She is very opinionated and sometimes will change your order if she doesn’t like what you have ordered. I am a big guy, but sometimes I like to just get one of her smaller items called a small bowl. If she is working the counter, she never lets me leave with just a small bowl. I end up walking out with gobs of food, but only having paid for the small bowl, go figure… She has a big mouth, but her big heart, giant sense of humor, and endless love for the Lord are worth a million bucks.
I always laugh when I walk into her restaurant because she is all about telling you her opinion and is unashamed in doing so. Notice the door, it looks like any take-out restaurant door with the name adorned on it along with some hand written signs. Take a look at one of the handwritten signs noting the Sunday hours (below). I just love the little bit of Law she gives to all of her customers who enter her restaurant.
If you are ever in Charleston, SC, stop by and see Mama Kim on Calhoun Street across from Marion Square. It is well worth the trip and the food is great! and….Go to church!
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11 comments
Frank Sonnek says:
Jan 19, 2010
True outward righteousness, pleasing to God, is to practice self discipline to be able to commit acts of love for ones neighbor (Romans chapter 8)
This sounds like one righteous woman.
It also sounds like she has the "parable shaped life nailed". Gobs of food for the price of a small bowl. Not fair but feels like love and goodness I bet!
Browder says:
Jan 19, 2010
I love that place!
Michael Cooper says:
Jan 19, 2010
If someone full of love gives you a little "law", it almost tastes like grace. If someone without love feeds you a heap of abstract "grace", it almost tastes like "law".
John Zahl says:
Jan 19, 2010
I've only been to Mama Kim's once, but I think it's high time I made it back there. Thanks for the reminder.
Also, side note: I took my wife to a Korean restaurant for our first date, knowing full well that the statistical odds were in my favor that the people running the joint were believers. Sure enough, the waitress came to our table and she had a cross around her neck…and then, after my card was declined on our second date, Deirde married me! Korean Food = Christian Food.
dan says:
Jan 19, 2010
Mama Kim's is wonderful. I need to go there again soon.
SC says:
Jan 21, 2010
How is this Law? Doesn't Hebrews 10:25 say the same thing?
Nick Lannon says:
Jan 21, 2010
SC – there's LOTS of law in the Bible (e.g. love the lord your God with all your heart…), so just because something is in the Bible (and good, right, and true) doesn't mean it's not law. Many Mockingbirders would say that while the law is good, it doesn't give us the power to keep it. So, "law" isn't a pejorative…just an adjective and requires another word: of grace.
SC says:
Jan 21, 2010
I think the writer of Hebrews isn't all that concerned with the mechanics of grace getting someone to church… but with their choice… "Do not forsake the assembly" implies a "just do it" mentality…
jim says:
Jan 22, 2010
SC: "How is this Law? Doesn't Hebrews 10:25 say the same thing?"
Both Law and Gospel are in both Testaments.
Basically (oversimplified, but not much) Law tells us what WE have to do, Gospel tells us what JESUS did FOR US.
"You go to church" is LAW
SC says:
Jan 22, 2010
I guess I read a lot of "mocking" into comments about the Law – and in this post… so, while I agree that Grace is "what Jesus did for us"… this particular Law is "what Jesus told us to do" – Law and Grace are equal goods… perhaps that's where the original poster was going… and I didn't read it that way.
Charles E. Jenkins says:
Jan 23, 2010
SC – I view the world with Law/Gospel glasses on. It is hard for me not to read some sort of Law and/or Gospel into practically everything I encounter. As far as this post, it was basically supposed to be humorous.
To better explain the post I should probably have given a little background information. This restaurant is in the middle of the College of Charleston, and the majority of Mama Kim's customers are college kids. So telling these college kids to "go to church" essentially represents "the law." That's where I was going with this. It wasn't supposed to be derogatory in any way or down with the law, just another (humorous) example of how our world is full of Law/Gospel examples.