This is the best blog that exists for Xinjiang, China's northwesternmost province.
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http://www.farwestchina.com/
...stoked.
I am...
http://www.farwestchina.com/
...stoked.
2012/05/30
How Many Is Too Many?
I was talking with a Japanese friend a few nights ago.
We were praying about some problems he was having at his church. He's taken on some leadership roles at his church. As we prayed, I saw some things in the spirit, and developed a sense that a big part of the problem was that there were many people who had grown up worshiping other gods, and maybe still hadn't broken ties with their family gods. And then it came out...
He hadn't quite broken those ties, either. And he's in a leadership position. Oops!
I know that in the Japanese culture, it's very difficult to convert to Christianity, and it took him a few years to finally make the decision. Honestly, if he hadn't been living far away from his family, it might never have happened at all. But, he finally told me that he has just never been able to bring himself to tell his family back in Japan about his conversion.
And because they don't know he's a Christian, it would just be too awkward not to take part in worshiping the family idols in their house. So,he said that when he goes home each year, he goes through the motions of bowing before the family gods.
"But," he made clear, "I don't worship them in my heart."
The conversation continued for a while. He knows what he has to do...he's just not ready to do it.
Of course, this whole conversation convicted me, too. My friend has a pretty clear situation of plain, old-fashioned idolatry. You bow your head and offer the incense, or else you face alienation from family and friends. It's that simple.
How much different is my situation, though? There are so many times when I've avoided letting people know about my devotion to Christ, because "They just wouldn't understand."
I can't keep nodding my head in agreement with idols, even if I don't worship them in my heart...so, I finally decided to start telling people why I'm not interested in getting drunk, sleeping around, etc. "我是基督教。” "I'm a Christian."
It's that simple.
We were praying about some problems he was having at his church. He's taken on some leadership roles at his church. As we prayed, I saw some things in the spirit, and developed a sense that a big part of the problem was that there were many people who had grown up worshiping other gods, and maybe still hadn't broken ties with their family gods. And then it came out...
He hadn't quite broken those ties, either. And he's in a leadership position. Oops!
I know that in the Japanese culture, it's very difficult to convert to Christianity, and it took him a few years to finally make the decision. Honestly, if he hadn't been living far away from his family, it might never have happened at all. But, he finally told me that he has just never been able to bring himself to tell his family back in Japan about his conversion.
And because they don't know he's a Christian, it would just be too awkward not to take part in worshiping the family idols in their house. So,he said that when he goes home each year, he goes through the motions of bowing before the family gods.
"But," he made clear, "I don't worship them in my heart."
The conversation continued for a while. He knows what he has to do...he's just not ready to do it.
Of course, this whole conversation convicted me, too. My friend has a pretty clear situation of plain, old-fashioned idolatry. You bow your head and offer the incense, or else you face alienation from family and friends. It's that simple.
How much different is my situation, though? There are so many times when I've avoided letting people know about my devotion to Christ, because "They just wouldn't understand."
I can't keep nodding my head in agreement with idols, even if I don't worship them in my heart...so, I finally decided to start telling people why I'm not interested in getting drunk, sleeping around, etc. "我是基督教。” "I'm a Christian."
It's that simple.
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