Source: www.persecution.org
Date: May 24, 2020
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” - John 10: 11-13 (NIV)
I’m sure you are aware of how the Church has exploded in China over the last 60 years. The country is probably at least 10% Christian at this point.
This amazing body of Christ has been built on those who came before. Those who suffered terribly at the hands of communists.
One such leader who had a huge impact on the modern Chinese Church is Watchman Nee. His mother, like the biblical Hannah, dedicated him to the Lord to do his work.
He named himself “Watchman” because he considered himself to be a watchman, raised by God to sound a warning to the world about the darkness that threatened them.
Watchman Nee lived with suffering all his life, stricken with poverty, bad health, and imprisonment. He was visited again and again by suffering and this repeatedly shows up in his teachings.
In 1949, when communism took over China, he sent the leaders of his church movement to Taiwan for safety, but he didn’t go.
He said: “If a mother discovered that her house was on fire, and she herself was outside the house doing the laundry, what would she do? Although she realizes the danger, would she not rush into the house? Although I know that my return is fraught with dangers, I know that many brothers and sisters are still inside. How can I not return?”
In 1952, he was falsely accused, unfairly judged, and unjustly sentenced to 15 years in prison for his faith. His prison years were shrouded in darkness until the 1970s, when one of his fellow prisoners, Yo-Chi, brought to light his life in prison.
When they first met in prison, Yo-Chi wasn’t a Christian. He hated Watchman Nee. He saw him writing continually and assumed that he must be reporting others to the guards. Later, Yo-Chi came to Christ after observing Watchman Nee’s life and his love and care for him when Yo-Chi’s wife divorced him during his prison sentence.
The opportunity to leave prison was always available to Watchman Nee. All he had to do was to renounce his faith, but he considered it a high price for such a small comfort.
He lived faithfully for Christ from the moment of his conversion up until his death in prison on May 30, 1972, where he died alone, in solitary confinement. After his death, his niece went to the prison to retrieve the burned ashes of his cremated body and his artifacts.
She found a letter under his pillow in his prison cell that read: “Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ.”
Today, the Chinese Christian population is probably between 100 and 150 million and continues to thrive. Numbers don’t tell the full story of the Chinese Church, however. The depth of the Church reveals its underlying roots, laid down by Watchman Nee and thousands of others who were tortured and murdered for Jesus.
Their ministry continues to this day. God has truly blessed the faithfulness of these pastors who sacrificed comfort, social status, and even life itself to serve Christ.
Think about them today and those who taught you and poured into your spiritual life. Pass that gift on to another. Tell them about the good shepherd who longs to add them to His flock!