Jesus in China

Just finished watching the 2nd episode of Jesus in China. It’s a documentary about Christianity and the Christian church in China, mostly through testimonies of Chinese Christians there. Much has been heard about the rapid growth of Christianity in China in recent times, but despite that, persecution and suffering are still very real.

The documentary is full of ministers of house churches, missionaries and ordinary Christians who have endured and still continue to be under persecution. Getting arrested and going to jail more than once and for 10 or 20 years are common occurrences. Under the Communist government, Christians meeting outside the government approved Three Self Church is illegal. Those who were jailed were asked to denounce Jesus. Yet none of these persecution, suffering, jail or risk of dying seem to chip away their faith in God or convince them not to be followers of Christ.

What really moved me and stirred my spirit is to see Christians of such strong faith, conviction, devotion, boldness and gratitude in the face of imprisonment, suffering, hardships and ridicule. Their determination to carry the cross and follow Christ no matter what. Their hunger and thirst for God’s words. Their eagerness to meet with other Christians to pray and study God’s word everyday. Their sincere and authentic Christianity. Jesus is truly precious to them, and they show and demonstrate it in their daily life. They truly live like passers by rather than taking up permanent residency in this world. It is a picture of the early Christian church in the Bible.

How I wish our churches and Christians in the western world today to regain their focus and dedication to Jesus like these Christians do. We are blessed with freedom and abundance in this country, but that blessing could also become a curse. We simply become too comfortable and let our surroundings and busy lifestyle take our focus away from God.

It’s so wonderful to see Christians, like those in the documentary, to be so consumed and captured by God. Imagine if we and our churches are on fire like that, how much more God could use us in this sick and troubled world? How much more our testimony will mean to the world around us?

May we get back to our first love. May Christ capture our mind. May we hunger for God’s word and thirst for His righteousness. May we be people of conviction and fervour.

This documentary is available from the public library. You can also download or watch the 4-part documentary or read the scripts from their website at www.chinasoul.org.