Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. - A letter written to the Hebrews.
Growing up as an only child, I am more comfortable being by myself than in community. But being isolated is not what God created us for. Even Jesus, when He retreated away from the crowds, was never isolated from community, because His retreat was for private communion with God the Father. How can God be love, if love needs both a lover and a beloved, and before the creation of man there was no one but God?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
God the Father has always loved God the Son in eternity. That is why John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, could claim that God is love.
By isolating myself from community, I had also isolated myself from God. It is a mistake to think that I can go at it alone in my relationship with Him, or even have my family exist apart from the greater community of neighbours, fellow Christians, and those whom we come into contact with.
So by the end of 2012, I lost any vision beyond the petty matters of daily work. I was on the verge of quitting from the job, and breaking my contract with my employers. All because work had neither taste nor purpose to me. It was then, through a combination of her great love for me and the love God had put into her heart, that my dear Geraldine prayed for God to send Christian brothers to speak with me, and for God to show me a glimpse of His vision for China. I had also asked Him to speak to me.
It was no coincidence there was a gathering of Christian expatriate men in January 2013, in a posh hotel somewhere in an industrial/high-tech business area in Pudong, Shanghai. It was, in fact, an annual gathering to hear testimonies, and visions and purposes for foreign Christians working in Shanghai. The theme for that particular gathering was “Hearing God’s Voice in the Marketplace”. The speaker was a certain Paul Hawkins, a leader of YWAM. I’m including his name here for future reference.
Without going into the details of the 2-day meeting, I realized that I did not hear from God because I chose not to. Why should He speak if I was not going to obey? Do I want to hear His voice like I would a CD? Popping on the headphones only when I want to feel good?
After repentance and prayers, God revealed a part of His vision for China. He is moving His body of believers in China, giving the Chinese economic power and favour with nations in Central Asia. He is training the Chinese church in leadership roles, using Christian expatriates as mentors. I am privileged that God chose to use my family to reach out to the Shanghai community. In a small way, my family brought the light of the Gospel to a small corner of Shanghai, touching one family, or even one person at a time.
God would reveal a larger part of His vision to me barely five months later, as the summer of 2013 approached. This time, not through a large gathering in a posh hotel in far-flung Pudong, but in a small Korean house church along a quiet street in messy Hongqiao.
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