Chinese Christian vs. Western Christian thought
Two of my recent reads were the books Daughter of China and Across the China Sky, both by C. Hope Flinchbaugh. I had first heard of them through rave reviews on YLCF (here and here) and when I got a wonderful Amazon gift certificate for my birthday, they were two of the books I definitely wanted to purchase with it. And I’m so glad I did! Both books were amazing…and I would very much recommend them anyone (above the age of say, twelve or so). They give a very accurate (or so I have been told) portrayal of what Chinese Christians go through.
After being immersed in these books (that’s what happens when I read a gripping book…and then you have to come back to the real world when it’s done!), one thing that really struck was the spiritual sensitivity of the Chinese Christians. They would recognize and repent of sins that Western Christians would usually justify with the “we’re just human” mindset. I won’t give specific details so as not to ruin the story for those of you planning to read them, but the characters in these books struggle with sins such as hate for their tormentors and the deep-reaching results of that torture, pride, wrong motives in seemingly good actions, etc. After the Lord revealed to the Chinese Christians in the books that they had committed these sins, they immediately repented of them, recognizing them as horrible sin against the God Who had bought them with the precious blood of His Son.
But I think that most Western Christians would not have responded in the same way…and I know this because I am oftentimes guilty of the same thing. We would justify those sins by saying things like, “Well, I have every right to hate those that torture me!” or “Pride is a good thing…you can’t let others see you humiliated.” or “It’s the end result that matters.” But as much as we try to justify ourselves, the bottom line is that sin is sin. And no sin is worse than another (James 2:10). We need to be careful not to become desensitized to things we deem as “just small sins”…because no sin is “small”. All sin is an act of rebellion against the Most Holy God. May we ever be ready and open to the Holy Spirit’s revealing of sin in our lives…and then may we immediately repent of every sin.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess out sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” ~1 John 1:8-10
After being immersed in these books (that’s what happens when I read a gripping book…and then you have to come back to the real world when it’s done!), one thing that really struck was the spiritual sensitivity of the Chinese Christians. They would recognize and repent of sins that Western Christians would usually justify with the “we’re just human” mindset. I won’t give specific details so as not to ruin the story for those of you planning to read them, but the characters in these books struggle with sins such as hate for their tormentors and the deep-reaching results of that torture, pride, wrong motives in seemingly good actions, etc. After the Lord revealed to the Chinese Christians in the books that they had committed these sins, they immediately repented of them, recognizing them as horrible sin against the God Who had bought them with the precious blood of His Son.
But I think that most Western Christians would not have responded in the same way…and I know this because I am oftentimes guilty of the same thing. We would justify those sins by saying things like, “Well, I have every right to hate those that torture me!” or “Pride is a good thing…you can’t let others see you humiliated.” or “It’s the end result that matters.” But as much as we try to justify ourselves, the bottom line is that sin is sin. And no sin is worse than another (James 2:10). We need to be careful not to become desensitized to things we deem as “just small sins”…because no sin is “small”. All sin is an act of rebellion against the Most Holy God. May we ever be ready and open to the Holy Spirit’s revealing of sin in our lives…and then may we immediately repent of every sin.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess out sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” ~1 John 1:8-10