From the other side

     It is interesting to listen for a little while on 'the other side' of things.  At Tiananmen Square, Kara, Sarah and I snapped a couple selfies with Mao, whose picture adorned a large red wall with Chinese characters around it.  I expressed my curiosity as to their meaning out loud, and Kara graciously volunteered to 'translate':  "It says:  Communism is the bomb."

     While Communism may not quite be 'the bomb', visiting Communist nations has given me an awareness and appreciation for some of its more positive aspects which I am not accustomed to hearing about.  

     For example, in Russia people expressed appreciation for how Putin has brought a level of stability to life there.  If nothing else, he has provided a sense of security and national unity.  

     In Mongolia, illiteracy is currently a problem.  However, under Communist China, education was considered very important and apparently literacy rates were near 100%.  

     In China, we visited two Three Self Churches on Sunday.  In the one, the pastor spoke on unity from Psalm 133.  To me, it seemed like a pep talk on harmony with examples from history more than a message about Christ.  It fit what I had expected from a Three Self Church, to be honest.  However, at the second one that we visited, I was impressed by the pastor's testimony and emphasis on Christ and His work.  She came from a non-Christian family, and studied music at the university.  One Sunday she randomly walked with a group of people into a church, and was strongly touched by the song that they were singing, "In the Cross" by Fanny Crosby.  The Holy Spirit was at work in her heart, she said, and she asked to join the choir.  That began her journey in coming to know Christ.  And now she is a pastor, sharing the gospel and planting churches through a government-sponsored church.  God is at work in powerful and surprising ways!  

     I am not really sure what the conclusion to this post should be.  So maybe I will end with a verse from Habakkuk:  "Look among the nations and watch—be utterly astounded!  For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you." 

     My prayer is that we would have eyes to see what God is doing, a desire to take part in His kingdom work, and a heart to praise and worship Him for what He is doing and has done!