For those of you who follow this blog, you probably saw the post a couple weeks ago referencing the Soccer Outreach Camp in Beijing, China. I got to be part of that mission, and it provided an opportunity to do quite a bit of blogging (although on a slightly different topic!). I am incredibly thankful for the team that works together to write this blog, as I found that it didn’t take long in China before I was completely out of good ideas to write about. Nevertheless, the opportunity to witness and be part of what God is doing in the nation of China was an honor and a privilege.
I’ve been home from China now for two weeks, and I was so impacted by the days I spent there. I really don’t have much else on my heart to write about. In addition to a soccer camp with kids, we got to participate in a Sunday at Haidian Christian Church in Beijing. I spent some time with choir members, worship leaders, and other servants at this vibrant church. Although China puts restrictions on the ways Christians can express their faith, Pastor Wu and the church he leads have been able to minister effectively and help many people find life in Jesus.
Spending time in a sprawling Asian city like Beijing always makes me feel small. I am unable to communicate unless a bilingual friend helps me out. My tall, white frame clearly doesn’t fit in, and the masses of people move around me on all sides with grace and ease. I feel like everything I do makes a scene and stands out. For me, it’s a perfect picture of being a citizen of a different kingdom. It feels like a tangible example of the comparison we sometimes draw between being citizens of the world and citizens of heaven (1 Peter 2:9).No matter how hard I try, everyone in China knows I’m not local … especially the locals.
Somehow I found myself identifying with Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5 several times while I was in Beijing:
Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. (2 Cor. 5:5-9)
I spent much of my week NOT living by sight and reliance on myself. I had to put my trust in the Chinese Christian brothers and sisters who drove me around, translated for me, and helped me navigate life in a foreign land. Somehow, in the midst of this, it also seemed easier to depend on the Lord, since I was relying on friends to do so many of the everyday things I can normally rely on myself to do at home.
Then on Sunday morning, things really came into focus. Our team of 6 from Beaverton Foursquare was invited to participate in a Sunday morning service being conducted in Chinese. Haidian Church was excited about the soccer camp we led and wanted to say thank you. We were the “guests of honor” in their service, but if our wonderful translator hadn’t told us what was being said, we would not even have known when to stand up!
However, shortly after the church said thank you to us, the pastor led the congregation in a time of communion. The choir sang a traditional Chinese hymn, and a team of servants passed out the bread and juice for everyone to receive the Lord’s Supper. As I stood there among hundreds of people who were completely different from me in all external ways, I found that all of the things that really mattered were completely the same between us. I was overcome by emotion to get to stand, worship Jesus, and celebrate His death and victory over sin with the Chinese church. I found myself making up words to the worship songs, singing quietly to myself as I praised God alongside them.
In that moment, the truth became crystal clear for me … the heavenly citizenship I share with believers in China trumps the earthly citizenship we have that are so visibly different. For now, we are all equally “absent” from our homes in heaven. Our temporary dwellings and the cities that surround them might look different, but in a very short period of time, our life by faith and sight will converge into a heavenly reality that we will enjoy forever.
Let’s keep our focus squarely on Jesus as we await that day,
Brent
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