A journey of the soul – Day 18

The gospel is powerful and knows no bounds, as the following story shows. Many years ago, someone told me about a Chinese couple they had met on their travels in China. They later became friends and began talking about religion. The man was not a believer but was very interested in the Christian faith. (Christianity has a long history in China, but has suffered severe persecution under the regime of Mao Zedong and other communist leaders.)

They corresponded with each other regularly. Later on, the man, with his wife and son, happened to come to South Africa to work for a large South African company. Here, they began attending church and became Christians. One day, Sheng Fei, the father, called the pastor of the church, saying he and his family wanted to be baptised the following Sunday! The pastor was a little hesitant; what would the elders say if he baptised someone who knew nothing about the Confession of Faith or the Creed, and has never even attended Sunday School. Sheng Fei and Nini then explained that were returning to China the following week and refused to go unless they were baptised. What church can refuse such a request? Surely, Christ showed the way by healing the lame man on the Sabbath.

When he was finally baptised, with tears of joy streaming down his face, Sheng Fei’s words were, “I came to Africa to find gold, but I found God.”

Today, they are active members of a church in Beijing and every time they come to South Africa, they come to greet their family in Christ, with the same zeal as the day they became a part of God’s family.

Pray for Christians worldwide

Let us we pray for the many new Christians in China and the thousands of Christians who are persecuted in many countries, especially in the Middle East. Pray for people in our country who are free to believe, but have lost their love for God and his church.