the body
Recently, I learned about the heartbreak suffered by a Chinese Pastor, Wang Lin, who was arrested last year and charged with fraud and illegal practices. He and other leaders of Zion Church have been in prison ever since. Wang Lin's wife, Su Ziming, needed to relocate to the U.S. with their children and has been advocating for the release of her husband and others ever since.
In the course of an interview, Su Ziming reflected on the cost of being part of a church not recognized by the Chinese government. She wondered about whether it might be possible for her to return to China if she could just be a private Christian, praying her prayers, but no longer identifying with any church. She decided that she couldn't take that option.
Back here in the U.S., the land of the free, we can gather for worship, prayer, and outreach without fear, even if our church holds beliefs contrary to the policies of our government. And yet, 40% of professing Christians do not identify with a church, with perhaps an equal percentage who may "go to" church, but don't actually belong to a local body of believers. The contrast between the church culture of China and the U.S. could not be more different. Though we are grateful for the difference between our governments' policies about religion, we need to repent of the difference between our churches' practices.
The Bible makes it clear that one can't be considered a Christian without identifying oneself as part of Christ's Body, the Church. The practices of believers from the Day of Pentecost included being devoted to fellowship (Acts 2:42-47). They were reminded by the writer to Hebrew believers not to neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some (Hebrews 10:25). Paul states that there is one Body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to one Hope...one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-5). The message about our need to be in the body could not be more clear.
So let's pray for God's protection of the church in China, and for courage for its members, including Wang Lin and Su Ziming and their children. And let's pray for ourselves, part of the Body in our land, that we would resist spiritual sloth and take our place with the heroes of the church by becoming one in it.