Reminders to Myself

If you're "into" China, and would like some helpful articles to read, the Global China Center has some great stuff, book reviews, articles on pertinent topics, etc. Here's the intro to a review that was a good reminder to myself of that Path Emily and I have chosen. It can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task with no end in sight and seemingly little progress made. But, we are making forward progress and trusting in the Lord. He has led us this far and won't fail us.

Anyone who wants to understand Chinese Christianity today must have some knowledge of its religious milieu. In other words, to see the tree clearly, we must study the forest; to appreciate the flower, we must survey the entire garden. Why? Many reasons, including these:

1. The Bible employs vocabulary that existed in Chinese before the Christians arrived. Key words (such as dao, rebirth, love) carry denotations and connotations from other faiths that must be distinguished from their biblical uses.
2. Chinese who investigate the Christian faith bring a mixed repertory of religious ideas and images that inevitably color their understanding of the Gospel.
3. Even after conversion to Christ, they will be heavily influenced by notions that seem natural and right to them simply because they are so familiar and taken for granted, even if these ideas conflict with biblical teaching.
4. For Christianity to penetrate and redemptively transform Chinese culture, it must engage in meaningful dialogue with the best representatives of other faiths.
5. Love of neighbor has to include respectful listening, with the goal of understanding, before any attempt at persuasion.
6. To make sense of the relationship between Christianity and the government, one must go back several millennia for patterns and paradigms that prevail even now.

Numbers four and five were particularly encouraging to me regarding our direction. That's where we are, and where we hope to be in the future. Two and three are the biggest challenges for believers here (and everywhere else, I think; just look at our own American Church and it's excesses). Those mixed ideas and images (whether religious or not) tend to confuse us as to how we're really supposed to live, and what's "natural and right" is not always how God wants us to live. This looks different in each culture, because each culture lines up with God's word in different places. But the overall issue is the same.

One of the biggest lies I've heard from many a Christian (and even pastors!) that comes right out of our culture is, "God just wants me to be happy". And this is used to justify pretty much any action, as long as it makes you happy. The catch is, there's some truth to that! God DOES want you to be happy. He didn't create you for misery. But the source of that happiness is not always what YOU think it is. He has made it plain in his Word that our "Best Life Now" (if you've heard of Joel O's best seller...) is found, not in Health and Wealth (like Joel says), but in obedience to His Word. That doesn't guarantee that health or wealth will come your way. But you will be walking closely with the Author of Life itself, and JOY is found in His presence (Psalm 16:11), not in His presents.

Hoping you find Joy in His presence today.